SAT Reading and Writing · Topic 1.3
Command of Evidence: Textual Practice
Part of Information and Ideas.
Practice questions
150
Sample questions
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Sample 1difficulty 2/5
A team of engineers claims that their new water-filter design removes a wider range of contaminants than current home filters.
Which finding, if true, would most strongly support the team's claim?
- A
The new filter is similar in size to current home filters.
- Bcheck_circle
Laboratory tests with the new filter and a leading current home filter showed that the new design removed several classes of contaminants that the current filter did not.
- C
Many home filters are sold each year.
- D
Some filters use activated carbon as a filtration medium.
Why
A directly compares contaminant removal between the new and current filters. B, C, and D are tangential.
- A
Sample 2difficulty 2/5
A software developer claims that adding a brief delay before users can confirm a destructive action (such as deleting files) reduces the rate at which users mistakenly delete important data.
Which finding, if true, would most strongly support the developer's claim?
- A
Some software programs have multiple levels of undo.
- Bcheck_circle
After the delay was implemented, the rate of accidental file deletion among users dropped by 60 percent.
- C
Users tend to perform many actions per minute on average.
- D
Most users find brief delays mildly annoying.
Why
A directly measures the predicted outcome (drop in accidental deletions) after the intervention. B, C, and D are tangential.
- A
Sample 3difficulty 2/5
A researcher claims that ravens can hold grudges, treating people who have previously deceived them differently from people who have treated them fairly.
Which experimental finding, if true, would most strongly support the researcher's claim?
- A
Ravens are members of the corvid family of birds.
- Bcheck_circle
Ravens preferentially exchanged tokens with experimenters who had previously given them fair trades, while avoiding experimenters who had cheated them in earlier sessions.
- C
Ravens can mimic human speech in some cases.
- D
Ravens are found on multiple continents.
Why
A directly demonstrates differential treatment based on prior fairness, supporting the grudge claim. B, C, and D are general facts.
- A
Sample 4difficulty 2/5
A researcher claims that giant pandas, despite being members of the bear family, have a digestive system better suited for processing bamboo than typical bear diets, allowing them to thrive on this specialized food.
Which finding, if true, would most strongly support the researcher's claim?
- A
Many bear species can digest a wide range of foods.
- Bcheck_circle
Examination of giant panda gut microbes revealed bacteria specialized in breaking down bamboo cellulose, distinct from those found in other bear species.
- C
Pandas spend much of the day eating.
- D
Giant pandas are native to bamboo forests in central China.
Why
A documents a specialized digestive adaptation distinct from other bears, supporting the researcher's claim. B, C, and D are general facts.
- A
Sample 5difficulty 2/5
A team of engineers hypothesizes that adding small dimples to the surface of a wind-turbine blade reduces drag and increases the energy the blade captures from the wind.
Which experimental result, if true, would most strongly support the team's hypothesis?
- A
Dimpled balls in some sports travel farther than smooth balls.
- B
Dimples are easier to clean than smooth surfaces.
- C
The cost of adding dimples to a blade is relatively low.
- Dcheck_circle
In a wind-tunnel test, dimpled blades produced 8 percent more energy than smooth blades under identical conditions.
Why
A is a direct test of the hypothesis under controlled conditions. C is a loose analogy. B and D do not test drag or energy capture.
- A