SAT Command of Evidence (Hard) - English – Real Collegeboard Practice Questions with Answers and Explanations

Choice B is the best answer. The lighter bars show what happened when the announcement was to come before the election, and the darker bars show what happened when the announcement was to come after the election. For all three of the outcomes, the light and dark bars are virtually the same, demonstrating that the announcement timing didn’t actually make a difference. Choice A is incorrect. This accurately describes some data from the graph, but it doesn’t weaken the hypothesis. It doesn’t include the “announcement after election” data for comparison. Choice C is incorrect. This accurately describes some data from the graph, but it doesn’t weaken the hypothesis. It doesn’t include the “announcement after election” data for comparison. Choice D is incorrect. This accurately describes some data from the graph, but it doesn’t weaken the hypothesis. It doesn’t include the “announcement before election” data for comparison.

Choice A is the best answer. The researchers concluded that the meteorite’s nucleobases weren’t the result of soil contamination. Presence of nucleobases in the meteorite and not in soil provides evidence that those nucleobases likely didn’t come from the soil. Choice B is incorrect. This choice doesn’t justify the conclusion. The researchers concluded that the meteorite’s nucleobases weren’t the result of soil contamination. If the nucleobases are present in both the soil and meteorite, then it’s possible that these nucleobases came from the soil. Choice C is incorrect. This choice misreads the table. Purine was not detected in the Assessment SAT Test Reading and Writing Domain Information and Ideas Skill Command of Evidence Difficulty soil sample. Choice D is incorrect. This choice misreads the table. Both isoguanine and hypoxanthine were detected in both Murchison meteorite samples.

Choice C is the best answer because it presents the finding that, if true, would most strongly support Tannen’s hypothesis. According to the text, Tannen’s hypothesis is that multiple perspectives presented in a noncompetitive format is more informative than a debate between opposing viewpoints is. If participants who saw a panel of three commentators with various views about an issue answered more questions about the issue correctly than did participants who saw a debate, that would support Tannen’s hypothesis since it would show that participants who heard multiple varied perspectives were better informed than were participants who heard a debate between opposing viewpoints. Choice A is incorrect because finding that participants perceived commentators in the debate as more knowledgeable than commentators in the panel is irrelevant to Tannen’s hypothesis, which is that presenting multiple perspectives on an issue is more informative to the audience than presenting opposing views of the issue is. Participants’ perception of how knowledgeable panelists are has no bearing on how much participants learn from the panelists. Choice B is incorrect because finding that participants perceived commentators in the panel as more knowledgeable than a single commentator is irrelevant to Tannen’s hypothesis, which is that presenting multiple perspectives on an issue is more informative to the audience than presenting opposing views of the issue is. Participants’ perception of how knowledgeable panelists are has no bearing on how much participants learn from the panelists, and Tannen’s hypothesis says nothing about how informative Assessment SAT Test Reading and Writing Domain Information and Ideas Skill Command of Evidence Difficulty single commentators are. Choice D is incorrect because finding that participants who watched a single commentator answered more questions correctly than participants who watched the debate did wouldn’t be relevant to Tannen’s hypothesis, which is that hearing multiple varying perspectives is more informative than hearing a debate. Tannen’s hypothesis says nothing about how informative single commentators are.

Choice C is the best answer. The fact that Henry VIII commissioned a survey of church holdings just before enacting the Dissolution of the Monasteries suggests that he was interested in the potential profits from claiming their assets. This supports the historians’ assertion. Choice A is incorrect. This choice describes a potential effect of the Dissolution of the Monasteries. The decrease in the proportion of monks in England isn’t relevant to the question of Henry VIII’s motivations. Choice B is incorrect. Details about how the monks were treated during the dissolution don’t address Henry VIII’s motivations for enacting the policy in the first place. That the monks could keep the content of their cells (their rooms) and sell off the timber they’d harvested has no impact on the value of the monasteries’ estates—their land holdings. Choice D is incorrect. This choice mentions one impact that the Dissolution of the Monasteries contributed to, two years after it happened. But it doesn’t help explain why Henry VIII might have wanted to enact the policy in the first place.

Choice C is the best answer. If REM sleep were homeostatically regulated in fur seals, then all the seals would compensate with REM levels significantly over baseline after going weeks without REM. We’d also expect the seals to maintain those elevated REM levels for some time. Since seals B and C return very quickly to baseline REM levels, this suggests that REM sleep in fur seals may not be regulated homeostatically. Choice A is incorrect. This doesn’t support the conclusion. If REM sleep were homeostatically regulated in fur seals, then we’d suspect the seals to sustain REM levels well above baseline for a prolonged period in order to compensate for weeks of REM deprivation while in the water. Whether or not there’s a reduction in REM sleep from day 1 to day 2 doesn’t tell us how REM sleep on those days relates to baseline, which is where our focus should be. Choice B is incorrect. The y-axis of this graph doesn’t depict baseline levels of REM sleep, but rather shows REM sleep as a percent of baseline. Choice D is incorrect. The graph doesn’t depict REM sleep while in the water for the seals in the study. Additionally, we’re told fur seals get no REM sleep while in the water, which is significantly different to the values shown in the graph for after they return to land.

Choice D is the best answer. The researchers concluded that as we approach maximum plausible surface temperatures, there will be a larger percentage of sites where thermal pollution could contribute to meeting home heating needs. By showing that only a small percentage of homes can currently use thermal pollution for home heating, and that this percentage would grow much larger at maximum plausible surface temperatures, this choice supports the researchers’ conclusion. Choice A is incorrect. We do not know how many sites could have all (i.e., 100%) of their local heating needs met by thermal pollution, as the graph only classifies sites by whether "0%," "Up to 25%," and "More than 25%" of heating needs could be met. Choice B is incorrect. The graph is not depicting need for supplemental heating from thermal pollution, but rather potential to use thermal pollution for supplemental heating. Choice C is incorrect. The graph indicates that, at current surface temperatures, less than 10% of sites can meet 25% of local home heating needs and that more than 80% of sites cannot meet any local home heating needs.

Choice A is the best answer. While many networks can perform navigation tasks, or even mimic grid cells, it doesn’t mean they’re actually behaving like biological brains—this finding suggests that the rules that govern neural network behavior are completely unlike the way real brains work. Choice B is incorrect. Although it mentions the rules that are programmed into the networks, this finding wouldn’t clarify whether or not these rules have anything to do with the function of biological brains. Choice C is incorrect. This choice suggests that neural networks are modeled after multiple types of brain cells, which sidesteps the question of whether these rule-based networks are genuinely similar to biological brains. Choice D is incorrect. This choice doesn’t address the key point of the claim, which is that the apparent similarity between neural networks and biological brains is only due to the rules programmed into the networks. It focuses on training tasks, not the originally programmed rules.

Choice A is the best answer. Zheng’s claim is that the idea of world music “homogenizes” (meaning makes similar) distinct kinds of music by reducing them to one category. In other words, Zheng thinks the concept of world music is a harmful oversimplification of diverse musical forms. To support this claim, we need evidence that these musical traditions are so different from one another that they should not fall into the same category. If it’s true that mbaqanga and quan họ developed separately and have little in common musically, then it wouldn’t make sense to lump them into the same category. Choice B is incorrect. If true, this wouldn’t affect the claim. To support the claim, we need evidence that these musical traditions are so different from one another that they should not fall into the same category. A difference in popularity doesn’t necessarily mean that the two musical traditions shouldn’t be categorized together: instead, we need to know if the music itself is similar or different. Choice C is incorrect. If true, this wouldn’t affect the claim. To support the claim, we need evidence that these musical traditions are so different from each other that they should not fall into the same category. This choice doesn’t do that. Choice D is incorrect. If true, this would actually weaken the claim. Zheng thinks it’s reductive or oversimplifying to put distinct musical traditions into a single category. But if mbaqanga and quan họ are similar to each other, then it would make sense to put them in the same category.

Choice A is the best answer because it presents a finding that, if true, would most strongly support the team’s conclusion that cattle were likely raised closer to human settlements than sheep and goats were. The text explains that Vaiglova, Liu, and their colleagues analyzed the chemical composition of sheep, goat, and cattle bones from the Bronze Age in China in order to investigate the animals’ domestication, or their adaptation from a wild state to a state in which they existed in close connection with humans. According to the text, the team’s analysis showed that sheep and goats of the era fed largely on wild plants, whereas cattle fed on millet—importantly, a crop cultivated by humans. If analysis of the animal bones shows that the cattle’s diet also consisted of wheat, another crop cultivated by humans in China during the Bronze Age, the finding would support the team’s conclusion by offering additional evidence that cattle during this era fed on human-grown crops— and, by extension, that humans raised cattle relatively close to the settlements where they grew these crops, leaving goats and sheep to roam farther away in areas with wild vegetation, uncultivated by humans. Choice B is incorrect because if it were true that sheep’s and goats’ diets consisted of small portions of millet, which the text states was a crop cultivated by humans, the finding would suggest that sheep and goats were raised relatively close to human settlements, weakening the team’s conclusion that cattle were likely raised closer to those settlements than sheep and goats were. Choice C is incorrect because the finding that cattle generally require more food and nutrients than do sheep and goats wouldn’t support the team’s conclusion that cattle were likely raised closer to human settlements than sheep and goats were. Nothing in the text suggests that cattle were incapable of obtaining sufficient food and nutrients without access to human-grown crops. Hence, even if cattle’s diets are found to have different requirements than the diets of Assessment SAT Test Reading and Writing Domain Information and Ideas Skill Command of Evidence Difficulty sheep and goats, the cattle could have met those requirements from food located far from human settlements. Choice D is incorrect because if it were true that the diets of sheep, goats, and cattle varied based on what the farmers in each Bronze Age settlement could grow, the finding would weaken the team’s conclusion that cattle were likely raised closer to human settlements than sheep and goats were, suggesting instead that all three types of animals were raised close enough to human settlements to feed on those settlements’ crops.

Choice D is the best answer. This finding, if true, would support the archaeologists’ conclusion. Dense central settlements linked to smaller ones would provide evidence of cities and suburbs—in other words, “a form of urbanism.” Choice A is incorrect. This finding, if true, would weaken the archaeologists’ conclusion. Widely separated, small settlements with jungle in between would support the long-held belief that the Casarabe culture “was characterized by a sparse, widely distributed population and little intervention in the surrounding wilderness.” Choice B is incorrect. This choice wouldn’t support the researchers’ conclusion. These large cities are located outside Casarabe territory, which doesn’t show evidence of Casarabe urbanism. Choice C is incorrect. This finding wouldn’t support the archaeologists’ conclusion. Scattered small farms in jungle clearings are not good evidence to support the existence of cities (“a form of urbanism”).

Choice C is the best answer because it illustrates the student’s claim about some historians viewing Lumumba primarily as a symbol. This quotation argues that Lumumba “warrants” (or deserves) “scholarly attention” as a symbol and not for his “practical accomplishments”—that is, his actions as prime minister—which “can be passed over quickly,” or dismissed as being of comparatively little importance. Thus, the quotation expresses the view that the student criticizes some historians for holding. Choice A is incorrect. Although this quotation touches on the difficulty of evaluating Lumumba’s legacy, it doesn’t address how historians of modern African politics view him as a symbol. Choice B is incorrect. While this quotation mentions Lumumba’s political beliefs, it doesn’t discuss historians viewing him as a symbol. Choice D is incorrect. This quotation touches on Lumumba’s vision for his country, but it doesn’t discuss historians viewing him as a symbol.

Choice B is the best answer. This would weaken the explanation. If the recipients of electronic money immediately withdrew it all as physical money, then both kinds of recipients ended up spending physical money on food. So there must be some other explanation why those who initially received electronic money ate different kinds of food. Choice A is incorrect. This wouldn’t weaken the explanation. If anything, it actually supports it: it demonstrates that recipients of electronic money and recipients of physical money have different spending habits. Choice C is incorrect. This wouldn’t weaken the explanation. The explanation we’re testing this choice against is about the way that people might “conceive of and allocate” physical and electronic funds differently. This choice only focuses on the timing, not what they spend the money on. Choice D is incorrect. This would have no impact on the explanation. It doesn’t tell us anything about possible differences between the spending habits of those who spend physical money and those who spend money electronically.

Choice D is the best answer because it presents a finding that, if true, would weaken the scientists’ hypothesis about icebergs that appear to be green. The text indicates that most icebergs are either mostly white or blue in color but that some icebergs in Antarctica appear to be green. The text goes on to say that the scientists hypothesized that this green color occurs when yellow-tinted dissolved organic carbon in ocean waters mixes with blue ice. A finding that both blue icebergs and green icebergs contain similarly small traces of dissolved organic carbon would suggest that something other than yellow-tinted organic carbon causes some icebergs’ green color, since the blue icebergs that contain yellow-tinted organic carbon remained blue instead of turning green. Choice A is incorrect because, according to the text, the scientists’ hypothesis was that blue icebergs, not white ones, change color when their ice mixes with yellow-tinted dissolved organic carbon. A finding that white ice, because of its air bubbles, doesn’t change color when it’s mixed with dissolved organic carbon would therefore have no bearing on the scientists’ hypothesis. Choice B is incorrect because the text focuses only on Antarctic icebergs that appear to be green. It doesn’t indicate that icebergs in locations other than Antarctica have been found to have a green hue. A finding that dissolved organic carbon has a stronger yellow color in Antarctic waters than in other places would therefore have no bearing on the scientists’ hypothesis that green color in icebergs in Antarctica is caused by yellow-tinted dissolved organic carbon mixing with blue ice. Choice C is incorrect because, according to the text, the scientists’ hypothesis was that blue icebergs turn green when their ice mixes with yellow-tinted dissolved organic carbon in the sea around them. If that’s correct, one would expect blue icebergs and green icebergs to be located at a distance from each other since all blue icebergs in an area where the waters contain yellow-tinted dissolved organic carbon would take on a green hue. A finding that blue icebergs and green icebergs are rarely found near each other would therefore strengthen, not weaken, the researchers’ hypothesis. Assessment SAT Test Reading and Writing Domain Information and Ideas Skill Command of Evidence Difficulty

Choice B is the best answer. In this quotation, Dr. Proudie is described as "fondly flatter[ing] himself" that he has gifts that "must be sure to recommend him to a yet higher notice." In other words, he expects his skills to push him to greater fame and success. This implies an exaggerated sense of his own abilities, which matches the claim we’re trying to support. Choice A is incorrect. This quotation doesn’t describe Proudie’s view of himself, nor does it paint him in an especially flattering light. Instead, by saying his mental powers and business skill are not "proved," it implies that he is actually dim- witted and bad at business. Choice C is incorrect. This choice describes Proudie’s closeness to power and importance, but it doesn’t show what Proudie thinks of himself. Proudie is not describing himself or his abilities here. The narrator is. Choice D is incorrect. While this quotation offers Proudie very mild praise, it doesn’t show what Proudie thinks of himself or his own abilities, which is what the claim focuses on.

Choice C is the best answer because it presents a finding that, if true, would most directly support the scholars’ claim about the board game. The text explains that the remains of a 4,000-year-old board game were found in Oman. The text then states that scholars claim this board game was played mostly by traders. If the other known examples of this board game from the same time period were discovered along routes that seem to have been used primarily by traders, this finding would directly support the scholars’ claim because it suggests that the game was largely played by traders who brought it with them for entertainment as they traveled. Choice A is incorrect because this finding would suggest only that a single trader may have possessed examples of the board game, perhaps for the purpose of trading or selling the game to residents of Oman. For this reason, the finding wouldn’t directly support the scholars’ claim that the majority of the game’s players were traders. Choice B is incorrect because this finding doesn’t mention the board game at all, referring only to similar games found at other sites, and would therefore provide no direct support for the scholars’ claim about the board game. Choice D is incorrect because this finding doesn’t mention the board game at all, referring only to the remains of other goods found at the site in Oman, and would therefore provide no direct support for the scholars’ claim about the board game.

Choice A is the best answer. The student concluded that country-specific factors influence changes to median age of first marriage. This choice describes a time period when the rate of change differed between countries, suggesting that country- specific factors may have played a role in these changes. Choice B is incorrect. This choice misreads the graph. The median age of first marriage was consistently higher for men than for women in the United States during the time period depicted. Choice C is incorrect. The student concluded that country- specific factors influence changes to median age of first marriage. However, this choice doesn’t provide any contrasts between countries and thus doesn’t support the idea of country-specific factors influencing median age of first marriage. Choice D is incorrect. The students’ conclusion is about changes that occurred during the 20th century. This choice provides broad information about the century as a whole, so it doesn’t give insight into how median age at first marriage changed over time.

Choice A is the best answer. This finding would support the conclusion. If stream banks are collapsing into the water at multiple points, then sediment is getting into the water at those various points. This supports the conclusion that the inflow of sediment is very spread out. Choice B is incorrect. This finding wouldn’t support the conclusion. The conclusion is about the influx of sediment being “spatially diffuse,” meaning spread out over a large area. The type of sediment wouldn’t have an impact on the conclusions. Choice C is incorrect. This finding wouldn’t support the conclusion. It doesn’t say anything about the influx of sediment being “spatially diffuse” (spread out). Choice D is incorrect. This finding wouldn’t support the conclusion. Any sediment that enters downstream of the sampling sites wouldn’t end up in the samples, so it wouldn’t affect the findings or the conclusion.

Choice A is the best answer because it most effectively uses data from the table to support the student’s argument about the role of bufadienolide in the egg preferences of cane toad tadpoles. For each of five amphibian species included in the 2022 study, the table gives the percentage of available eggs that the cane toad tadpoles ate. According to the table, the tadpoles ate 10% of striped burrowing frog eggs and 1% of dainty green tree frog eggs, which suggests a preference for striped burrowing frog eggs over dainty green tree frog eggs. The table also indicates that neither of these species’ eggs Assessment SAT Test Reading and Writing Domain Information and Ideas Skill Command of Evidence Difficulty produces bufadienolide. Thus, these data suggest that something other than the presence or absence of bufadienolide is needed to adequately explain the tadpoles’ egg preferences. Choice B is incorrect. Although the table shows that for each of the five amphibian species, the cane toad tadpoles ate less than 100% of that species’ eggs, which demonstrates that the tadpoles did indeed leave some eggs for each species unharmed, this fact alone is irrelevant to the tadpoles’ preferences for some species’ eggs over other species’ eggs. Choice C is incorrect. Although the table indicates that the cane toad tadpoles ate 90% of the cane toad eggs and 7% of the short- footed frog eggs, which suggests that they prefer cane toad eggs over short-footed frog eggs, the table also indicates that cane toad eggs produce bufadienolide, whereas short-footed frog eggs do not. Therefore, these data are not sufficient to exclude that bufadienolide alone could explain the tadpoles’ preference for some species’ eggs over other species’ eggs. Choice D is incorrect. Although the table shows that for both dainty green tree frog eggs and little red tree frog eggs, the cane toad tadpoles ate 1% of those species’ eggs, it also indicates that neither produces bufadienolide. Thus, these data alone don’t indicate bufadienolide’s role in the tadpoles’ egg preferences.

Choice B is the best answer. If there are parasites that feed on both snakes and frogs, they could carry BovB from snakes to frogs. HT could occur “indirectly” through those encounters, which frogs are more likely to survive than snake encounters. Choice A is incorrect. The team’s conclusion specifically argues that BovB is transmitted from snakes to frogs via HT, and this choice doesn’t mention snakes. Choice C is incorrect. The team argues that BovB is transmitted from snakes to frogs via HT, and this answer choice discusses a scenario in which the gene is not transmitted. Choice D is incorrect. Whether or not frog species with BovB are advantaged isn’t relevant to the team’s conclusion about how the gene is transmitted.

Choice B is the best answer because it presents a finding that, if true, would most directly support Gómez-Bahamón and her team’s hypothesis about fork-tailed flycatchers. The text indicates that although two subspecies of the birds live in the same region, the tail feathers of the migrating males make a higher-pitched sound than the tail feathers of the nonmigrating males do. Gómez-Bahamón and her team hypothesize that female fork-tailed flycatchers are attracted to the particular sound made by the tail feathers of males of their own subspecies, which will bring about additional “genetic and anatomical divergence” between the two subspecies. If it were found that the pitch generated by the tail feathers of migrating males is getting higher over successive generations, it would indicate that the shape of the migrating subspecies’ tail feathers is diverging further from that of the nonmigrating subspecies. And if females continue to prefer the sounds of the males of their own subspecies, the females of the migrating subspecies will become acclimated to increasingly higher pitches over subsequent generations, causing further divergence between the subspecies. Thus, if it were found that migrating males’ tail feathers were producing higher pitches over time, that would support the researchers’ hypothesis. Choice A is incorrect because the researchers’ hypothesis is that female flycatchers prefer the sounds produced by the tail feathers of males of their own subspecies, which will lead to further divergence between the two subspecies. This finding is Assessment SAT Test Reading and Writing Domain Information and Ideas Skill Command of Evidence Difficulty about the shape of wing feathers and how that affects long-distance flight, whereas the hypothesis is about the shape of tail feathers and how that relates to female mate preference. Choice C is incorrect because the researchers’ hypothesis is that female flycatchers prefer the sounds produced by the tail feathers of males of their own subspecies, which will lead to further divergence between the two subspecies. This finding focuses on how the tail feather sounds communicate different messages, which doesn’t address differences between the subspecies or female preferences. Choice D is incorrect because the researchers’ hypothesis is that female flycatchers prefer the sounds produced by the tail feathers of males of their own subspecies, which will lead to further divergence between the two subspecies. The finding that breeding habits haven’t changed for either subspecies does not, by itself, suggest anything about female preferences or divergence between the two subspecies.

Choice D is the best answer because it describes data in the graph that support Meng and colleagues’ conclusion that the Ultra-Fast Robot Hand has a higher payload capacity than the Yale Model T. According to the text, payload capacity is calculated by using a ratio of a robot’s holding force to the robot’s weight, and higher ratios indicate a greater payload capacity. The Ultra-Fast Robot Hand has a holding force of 56 newtons, four times greater than that of the Yale Model T. Additionally, the graph shows that the Ultra-Fast Robot Hand has a weight of approximately 500 grams, slightly more than the Yale Model T’s weight of approximately 480 grams. Therefore, the Ultra-Fast Robot Hand has a higher ratio of holding force to weight than the Yale Model T. Since higher ratios correspond to greater payload capacity, the information from the graph indicating that the Ultra-Fast Robot Hand weighs only slightly more than the Yale Model T combined with the information in the text ultimately supports the conclusion that the Ultra-Fast Robot Hand has a higher payload capacity than the Yale Model T. Choice A is incorrect. Although, according to the graph, it’s true that both the Ultra-Fast Robot Hand and the Yale Model T weigh more than 450 grams, this statement doesn’t support Meng and colleagues’ conclusion that the Ultra-Fast Robot Hand has a higher payload capacity than the Yale Model T. This statement emphasizes a similarity, not a distinction, between the two robots. Choice B is incorrect. Although, according to the graph, it’s true that the Ultra-Fast Robot Hand and the Yale Model T both weigh more than the Permanent Magnet Hand does, this statement doesn’t support Meng and colleagues’ conclusion that the Ultra-Fast Robot Hand has a higher payload capacity than the Yale Model T. This statement emphasizes a similarity, not a distinction, between the Ultra-Fast Robot Hand and the Yale Model T. Furthermore, the comparison to the Permanent Magnet Hand is irrelevant to the claim about the relative ratios and payload capacities of the Ultra-Fast Robot Hand and the Yale Model T. Choice C is incorrect. Although the text states that the Yale Model T has a lower holding force than the Permanent Magnet Hand, the graph provides no information about holding force. Moreover, information about the Permanent Magnet Hand is irrelevant to the conclusion by Meng and colleagues, which only concerns the Ultra-Fast Robot Hand and the Yale Model T.

Choice D is the best answer because it provides a quotation that effectively supports the student’s claim about the film One Night in Miami…. The quotation states that in researching the play on which the film was based, Kemp Powers only found superficial details about what actually happened during the 1964 meeting in Miami between four leading Civil Rights leaders, meaning that there is very little information about the meeting in the historical record. In the absence of greater details, it wouldn’t have been possible for the film to be a precise retelling of the historical events it depicts. The quotation explains that to compensate for this lack of information about the meeting, Powers did extensive research into the four figures and how they thought at the time in order to speculate in an informed way about what they might have said or what might have occurred between them. Therefore, the quotation effectively supports the claim that the film is best understood not as a precise retelling of a historical event but as a deeply informed imaginative rendering of that event. Choice A is incorrect. Although the quotation discusses how on learning about the 1964 meeting in Miami, Powers was inspired to write a play and, later, to adapt it into a screenplay, it doesn’t discuss Powers’s approach to representing what had occurred in the meeting. Instead, it states that Powers didn’t initially plan to write a story only “focusing on the meeting itself” but rather had considered writing a “much longer” and more expansive work about the meeting’s four participants. Choice B is incorrect because the quotation doesn’t discuss Powers’s approach to representing historical events in his play Assessment SAT Test Reading and Writing Domain Information and Ideas Skill Command of Evidence Difficulty and in the film; instead, the quotation focuses on the film’s positive critical reception by mentioning that it received numerous awards and nominations. Choice C is incorrect. Although the quotation references historical events that are discussed directly in the play and film by explaining how the four historical figures featured in the story engage in political debates about contemporary issues, it doesn’t specify to what extent Powers’s representation of what occurred during the 1964 meeting in Miami is a factual retelling of what happened and how much is an imaginative rendering of what might have happened. Rather, the quotation focuses on Powers’s description of the film’s basic premise and how the characters engage with the historical context of its setting.

Choice D is the best answer because it presents a finding that, if true, would support Asmerom and colleagues’ conclusion that the ITCZ may have expanded northward and southward rather than shifting south during the Little Ice Age. The text indicates that the ITCZ, a band of clouds in the tropics that is a significant rainfall source, can change position. Data from Peru’s Huagapo Cave suggest that the ITCZ shifted south during the Little Ice Age. But according to the text, if the ITCZ moved into South America in that way, then Central America should have been drier than climate models suggest it was. In other words, rainfall should have been reduced in Central America because the ITCZ, a significant rainfall source, had shifted into South America, but climate models do not show such a reduction in Central America. The text goes on to say that Asmerom and colleagues tried to resolve this apparent conflict by collecting data from Yok Balum cave in Central America and comparing them with data from Huagapo, which led the researchers to conclude that the ITCZ may have expanded both northward and southward rather than simply shifting south. If it is true that Yok Balum in Central America and Huagapo in South America show strongly correlated patterns of high rainfall during the Little Ice Age, such a finding would support Asmerom and colleagues’ conclusion by suggesting that the two areas were affected by the same rainfall source, and thus that the ITCZ may have expanded rather than shifted. Assessment SAT Test Reading and Writing Domain Information and Ideas Skill Command of Evidence Difficulty Choice A is incorrect because there is no information in the text about how, if at all, the ITCZ affects temperature in areas where it is located. Rather, the text states that temperature variations across Earth’s hemispheres can shift the position of the ITCZ. Finding that neither Yok Balum nor Huagapo data show evidence of significant local variations in temperature during the Little Ice Age would have no clear bearing on Asmerom and colleagues’ claim. Choice B is incorrect because finding that both Yok Balum and Huagapo experienced prolonged dry conditions during the Little Ice Age would not support Asmerom and colleagues’ conclusion that the ITCZ, a major source of rainfall, may have expanded northward and southward rather than simply shifting south. Dry conditions in both locations would suggest that the ITCZ did not cover either location. Additionally, finding that temperatures were elevated in both locations would have no clear bearing on Asmerom and colleagues’ conclusion, since there is no information in the text that indicates how, if at all, the ITCZ affects temperature. Choice C is incorrect because finding that Yok Balum experienced prolonged dry conditions at the same time that Huagapo experienced high rainfall would weaken Asmerom and colleagues’ conclusion, not strengthen it. Such a finding would suggest that the ITCZ shifted south and left Central America dry rather than expanding both northward and southward.

Choice C is the best answer. Electra states that she “knows her own passion,” which shows that she’s aware of the intensity of her grief. But she also claims that the “causes are so dire”—meaning the reasons for her grief are so awful—that she can’t let it go, which shows that she believes her grief is justified. Choice A is incorrect. This quotation doesn’t show that Electra believes her grief is justified. It shows that Electra is aware of its intensity, but it doesn’t suggest that she believes she has a legitimate reason for feeling that way. Choice B is incorrect. This quotation doesn’t show that Electra believes her grief is justified. It shows that Electra is aware of its intensity, but it doesn’t suggest that she believes she has a legitimate reason for feeling that way. Choice D is incorrect. This quotation doesn’t show that Electra believes her grief is justified. It shows that Electra is aware of the intensity of her grief, but it doesn’t suggest that she has a legitimate reason for feeling that way.

Choice B is the best answer. This data shows that the tadpoles in the high-density pond (meaning those with the most competition) didn’t grow as big as the other two groups but produced more bufadienolide. Assessment SAT Test Reading and Writing Domain Information and Ideas Skill Command of Evidence Difficulty Choice A is incorrect. This doesn’t fully support the conclusion. It doesn’t include any data about bufadienolide production. Choice C is incorrect. This doesn’t fully support the conclusion. It doesn’t include any data about growth. Choice D is incorrect. This doesn’t fully support the conclusion. It doesn’t demonstrate that the tadpoles in the high-density pond produced more bufadienolide overall. The fact that they didn’t produce more kinds of bufadienolide isn’t relevant to the conclusion.

Choice A is the best answer because it most effectively uses data from the table to support the underlined claim. The text indicates that Swahili is the first language of up to 15 million people worldwide. The text goes on to claim, in the underlined portion, that even in countries where nearly everyone speaks Swahili, many of the language’s speakers don’t have Swahili as their first language. The table indicates that 61 million people in Tanzania, which amounts to 100 percent of the population, speak Swahili. If 61 million people in Tanzania speak Swahili, but only 15 million people worldwide have Swahili as their first language, that means there are many people in Tanzania who speak Swahili as a language other than their first language. This information about Swahili speakers in Tanzania therefore supports the claim that many Swahili speakers in countries Assessment SAT Test Reading and Writing Domain Information and Ideas Skill Command of Evidence Difficulty where nearly everyone speaks Swahili speak it as a language other than their first language (such as their second, third, or fourth language). Choice B is incorrect because it doesn’t accurately describe information in the table. According to the table, Tanzania has 61 million Swahili speakers, not at most 15 million Swahili speakers. Additionally, the table indicates that 100 percent of Tanzania’s population speak Swahili, which means that the number of Swahili speakers in the country and the country’s total population should be the same, not that they should differ by such a large amount. Choice C is incorrect because there’s no information in the table or the text that indicates where people who speak Swahili as their first language live. Although Kenya’s total population can be inferred from the table—if Kenya has 55 million Swahili speakers and 100% of Kenya’s population speak Swahili, then Kenya must have a population of 55 million people—nothing suggests that all the people who speak Swahili as their first language live in a single country, let alone that they all live in Kenya. Choice D is incorrect. Although the table does indicate that 100 percent of Kenya’s population and 25 percent of the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s population speak Swahili, this comparison is irrelevant to the claim that Swahili isn’t the first language of many of its speakers even in countries where almost everyone speaks Swahili. On its own, a difference in the proportions of the population who speak Swahili cannot reveal whether those Swahili speakers have Swahili as their first language or a subsequent language.

Choice D is the best answer. The text tells us that the farther the correlation is from 0, the “stronger” it is (doesn’t matter if it’s negative or positive). The table shows that the correlations with velocity are farther from zero than the correlations with density, which supports the conclusion that the correlations with velocity are stronger. Choice A is incorrect. This choice doesn’t support the conclusion. It makes an “apples to oranges” comparison by comparing density and velocity correlations across features instead of comparing them for each feature. Choice B is incorrect. This choice doesn’t support the conclusion. It doesn’t include the density correlations for comparison. Choice C is incorrect. This choice doesn’t support the conclusion. The text tells us that the farther the correlation is from 0, the “stronger” it is: it doesn’t matter for “strength” whether it’s negative or positive.

Choice A is the best answer because it describes an experimental outcome that would most directly weaken the student’s hypothesis. According to the text, the student hypothesizes that Brassica rapa parachinensis (choy sum) will benefit more from acidic soil than it will from neutral soil. The text then explains that the student planted 16 choy sum seeds in potting soil with coffee grounds added to increase acidity and another 16 seeds in soil without coffee grounds as a control (a group identical to the experimental group except for the experimental modification being tested). If the hypothesis were correct, the plants in the more acidic soil-and-coffee-grounds mixture would grow faster than those in the control group. However, choice A proposes a scenario in which the plants in soil without coffee grounds were “significantly taller” than those in the more acidic mixture—an outcome that weakens the hypothesis that higher acidity is beneficial to the plants’ growth. Choice B is incorrect. If the choy sum planted in the neutral soil produced less plant matter and therefore weighed less than the choy sum planted in the acidic soil-and-coffee-grounds mixture, this finding would strengthen the student’s hypothesis, not weaken it. Choice C is incorrect. If seeds planted in neutral soil (without coffee grounds) sprouted significantly later than seeds planted in the acidic soil-and-coffee-grounds mixture, this finding would strengthen, not weaken, the student’s hypothesis that acidic soil benefits choy sum. Choice D is incorrect. If seeds planted in the neutral soil (without coffee grounds) sprouted significantly fewer plants than seeds planted in the acidic soil-and-coffee-grounds mixture did, this finding would strengthen, not weaken, the student’s hypothesis that choy sum benefits from acidic soil. Assessment SAT Test Reading and Writing Domain Information and Ideas Skill Command of Evidence Difficulty

Choice D is the best answer. This critic challenges the claim by arguing that A History of Mexico is not so idiosyncratic (unique) as to resist classification because its use of Maya-style human profiles actually “invites classification as Indigenous art.” Therefore, according to this critic, the work can be viewed, at least partially, through a lens of national or cultural identity. Choice A is incorrect. While it describes the Maya influence on a particular aspect of A History of Mexico, this quotation doesn’t push back on Medellín’s “idiosyncratic” (unique) style, nor does it try to categorize the entire work into a single cultural tradition. Choice B is incorrect. This choice doesn’t directly challenge the underlined claim, but rather supports it. It suggests that the work effectively blends a variety of artistic products to create a single work that can’t be defined by any one tradition. Instead, the work recalls many centuries of history and culture all at once. Choice C is incorrect. This choice supports rather than challenges the underlined claim. The quotation argues that other critics focus too much on Indigenous influences on the artwork instead of viewing all of the influences equally—that they should instead be viewing the work as an idiosyncratic whole instead of through one or two narrow cultural lenses.

Choice A is the best answer. The table provides evidence that the words for corn in the Cherokee and Muskogean languages appear unrelated to those in Caddo language, which is described as closely related to the Totozoquean language family. This Assessment SAT Test Reading and Writing Domain Information and Ideas Skill Command of Evidence Difficulty supports the claim that corn cultivation spread across the Southeast without necessarily spreading Totozoquean vocabulary along with it. Choice B is incorrect. This choice emphasizes the diversity of Southeastern languages in general, but we’re specifically looking for information about words associated with corn. Choice C is incorrect. This choice shows how words for corn can change and evolve, but we’re looking for an example that shows how some words for corn can be completely unrelated. Choice D is incorrect. This choice shows words for corn that share a common root, but we’re looking for an example that shows how some words for corn can be unrelated.

Choice D is the best answer. The claim is that divided Congresses are necessary but insufficient—that is, we need divide Congresses, but they are not enough—to decrease government size, as measured by total federal outlays. This choice accurately expresses the supporting data from the “change in total outlays” part of the graph. Within the data set, divided Congresses sometimes decreased total outlays, but undivided ones never did. Choice A is incorrect. The claim is only about government size, as measured by total federal outlays—defense and nondefense outlays aren’t relevant. Choice B is incorrect. The claim is only about government size as measured by total federal outlays—nondefense outlays aren’t relevant. Choice C is incorrect. The claim is only about government size as measured by total federal outlays—specific information about defense or nondefense outlays isn’t relevant.

Choice B is the best answer. The finding that all the regions reported at least some effects on provisioning services supports the first part of the assertion. And the fact that provisioning services comprise 75% of the reported services overall supports the second part of the assertion. Choice A is incorrect. This choice doesn’t fully support the assertion. It doesn’t include the finding that all the regions (not just Central and West) reported at least some effects on provisioning services. Choice C is incorrect. This choice doesn’t Assessment SAT Test Reading and Writing Domain Information and Ideas Skill Command of Evidence Difficulty fully support the assertion. It doesn’t demonstrate that provisioning services represent the majority of the reported services overall. Choice D is incorrect. This choice doesn’t fully support the assertion. It doesn’t demonstrate that provisioning services represent the majority of the reported services overall.

Choice A is the best answer because it presents a finding that, if true, would support the scholar’s claim about Toni Morrison’s likely goal of strengthening the presence of Black writers on Random House’s list of published authors. The text explains that Morrison was the first Black woman to be an editor for Random House and that she was an editor there from 1967 to 1983. If it were true that Random House published a higher percentage of works by Black authors throughout the 1970s—during most of Morrison’s time working there—than it had previously published, that would suggest that Morrison may have made a deliberate effort to strengthen the presence of Black authors on the list of Random House’s published authors, thus supporting the scholar’s claim. Choice B is incorrect because the scholar’s claim is about Morrison’s work as an editor at a publishing company and her likely effort to strengthen the presence of Black writers on that company’s list of published authors. It might be true that Black authors interviewed in the 1980s and 1990s often cited Morrison’s novels as an influence on their work, but that finding would simply suggest something about how those authors approached their work; it wouldn’t show that Morrison intended to increase the number of Black writers among the published authors specifically at Random House. Choice C is incorrect because the scholar’s claim is about Morrison’s work as an editor at a publishing company, not about her work as a novelist. Therefore, a finding that Morrison’s novels published after 1983 sold more copies and were more widely acclaimed than her earlier novels would have no bearing on the claim that as an editor Morrison made an effort to ensure that more Black writers were present on Random House’s list of published authors. Choice D is incorrect. Although the text discusses Morrison’s work as an editor at Random House, the scholar’s claim focuses on Morrison’s likely effort in that role to increase Assessment SAT Test Reading and Writing Domain Information and Ideas Skill Command of Evidence Difficulty the number of Black writers present on Random House’s list of published authors, not on the influence she may have had on the content of the works she edited. Without knowing whether Morrison’s stylistic influence led to more publications or if Morrison applied her influence specifically to works by Black writers, the finding that works edited by Morrison could be identified by stylistic characteristics would have no bearing on the claim that Morrison intended to strengthen the presence of Black writers among the published authors at Random House.

Choice C is the best answer because it presents a finding that, if true, would support the researchers’ claim that archaeologists are unlikely to be replaced by certain computer models. The text explains that although archaeologists hold that categorizing pottery fragments relies on both objective criteria and instinct developed through direct experience, researchers have found that a computer model can categorize the fragments with the same degree of accuracy as the humans can—a finding that has caused some archaeologists to worry that their own work won’t be needed any longer. If survey results indicate that categorizing pottery fragments limits the amount of time archaeologists can dedicate to other important tasks that only human experts can do, that would mean that computer models aren’t able to do all of the important things archaeologists do, thus supporting the researchers’ claim that computer models are unlikely to replace human archaeologists. Choice A is incorrect because if it were true that the computer model could categorize the pottery fragments much more quickly than the archaeologists could, that would weaken the researchers’ claim that archaeologists are unlikely to be replaced by certain computer models, since it would demonstrate that the models could conduct the archaeologists’ work not only with equal accuracy but also at a faster pace. Choice B is incorrect because the inability of both the computer model and the archaeologists to accurately categorize all of the pottery fragments presented wouldn’t support the researchers’ claim that archaeologists are unlikely to be replaced by certain computer models. The text indicates that some Assessment SAT Test Reading and Writing Domain Information and Ideas Skill Command of Evidence Difficulty archaeologists are worried because the computer model’s accuracy is equal to their own, and that could be the case whether both were perfectly accurate or were unable to achieve complete accuracy. Choice D is incorrect because survey results showing that few archaeologists received special training in properly categorizing pottery fragments wouldn’t support the researchers’ claim that archaeologists are unlikely to be replaced by certain computer models. The amount of special training in categorizing pottery fragments that archaeologists have received has no direct bearing on whether computer models’ success at categorizing fragments will lead to the models replacing the archaeologists.