12.Practice.Tests.for.the.SAT_2015-2016_1128p

12 Practice Tests for t h e SAT
472
Practice Test Five Answers and Explanations
Your first step s h ou l d be to return to paragrap h 3 and reread
wdiscussed h at it says about Martian surface temperatures. T h is is
most fu l l y in t h e secon d sentence: Since Mars
is about 50 percent farther from the Sun than is Earth
and has only I percent as much atmospheric pressure,
Martian surface temperatures average minus 81 degrees
Fahrenheit. Look t h roug h t h e c h oices for references to
Mars's distance from t h e Sun or atmosp h eric pressure.
C h oice (A) is distortion; greenhouse gasses are discussed
as a possibl e so l ution to t h e l ow temperatures, not as
a cause of t h em. C h oice (B) is correct; t h e sentence in
question certain l y indicates suc h a re l ations h ip. C h oice
(C) is out of scope; on l y t h e l ast paragrap h supports t h is,
not paragrap h 3. C h oice (D) is distortion; t h e paragrap
states that the Martian atmosp h ere has h
1 percent as much
atmospheric pressure as does Eart h 's. Temperature is
irre l evant to t h is figure. C h oice (E) is a misused detai l ;
thickening of t e Martian atmosp h ere is discussed in t h e
sixt h paragrap h .
19. D
Difficulty: Medium
W h en asked about a detai l , don't try to answer from
memory. Make sure you go back and reread t h e re l evant
detai l in order to find t h e correct answer.
Your notes s h ou l d point you to paragrap h 4, w h ic discusses orbita l mirrors. h
Difficult to use in t e stem
s ou l d a l ert you to l ook for drawbacks, w h ic h come after
t h e word Unfortunately in l ine 53. T h e aut h or says t h at,
unfortunately, eac h mirror wou l d need to be at least the
size of West Virginia to be any h e l p and t h at suc a mirror
wou ld h ave to weigh over 200,000 tons.
l T h us, t e difficu l ty
ies in size an d h t. Look for t h is among t h e c h oices.
C h oice (A) is an opposite; t h e paragrap h states t h at NASA
cou ld d o t h is. C h oice (B) is a misused detai l ; t h is is a detai
from t h e discussion about asteroids in paragrap h l
5. C h oice
C h oice (C) is distortion; t h e paragrap h states t h at t h e mirrors
wou ld me l t portions of t h e po l ar ice caps, but it never states
t h at t h e me l ting ice wou ld flood Mars. C h oice (D) is correct;
it says t h at t e mirrors are too massive, meaning t h ey are
too big and eavy. C h oice (E) is a misuse d detai l ; t h is is a
detai l from t h e discussion of asteroids in paragrap h 5.
20. A
Difficulty: Low
Do not mistake Function questions for Detai l questions.
Function questions require you to answer why t h e aut h or
inc l udes t h e re l evant information in t h e passage. T h e aut h or
writes t h at t h e mirrors wou l d h ave to be at l east as l arge
as West Virginia to h eat even a small area
h of Mars. T h us,
e uses West Virginia to in dicate t h e necessary size of t h e
mirrors. C h oice (A) is correct; t h is matc h es t h e prediction
nice l y. C h oice (B) is out of scope; t h e comparison West
Virginia cannot indicate orientation. C h oice (C) is distortion;
e aut h or mentions t h e small area of t h e Martian surface
t h at wou l d be h eated. C h oice (D) is distortion; it wou ld be
strange and sure l y unnecessary to use t h e out l ine of West
Virginia as an indicator of shape. C h oice (E) is out of scope;
t h e reference is not focused on orbital coordinates.
21. B
Difficulty: Medium
Draw a conc l usion based on t h e facts in t h e passage and
remember not to make h uge l eaps of l ogic. Your notes
s h ou ld d irect you to paragrap h 5, w h ic h is fair l y l ong, making
prediction difficu l t. Do a quick skim of t h e paragrap h ; t h en
move t h roug h t h e c h oices, e l iminating c l ear l y incorrect
c h oices. C h eck t h ose remaining against t h e passage.
C h oice (A) is distortion; paragrap h 5 says t h at, since objects
c l oser to t h e Sun orbit faster t h an objects fart h er from t h e
Sun, asteroids from fart h er orbits, near P l uto's, wou l d h ave
to be used. W h i l e we can infer t h at h ig h speed some h ow
contributes to t h is difficu l ty, we cannot go so far as to
infer t h at asteroids t h at orbit too fast are not useful for
terraforming. C h oice (B) works. T h e fift h paragrap h states
t h at it wou ld be too difficult to move an asteroid near Mars,
since objects c l oser to t h e Sun orbit faster t h an objects
fart h er from t h e Sun. You can infer from t h is t h at fasterorbiting
objects are h ard to move. C h oice (C) is extreme;
t h e aut h never states t at ammonia is essential. C h oice
(D) is distortion; t h e aut h or references energy equivalent
to t h at of a nuc l ear war, not nuclear elements. C h oice (E)
is extreme; t h e paragrap h never goes so far as to say t h at
it wou l d be impossible to l and on an asteroid t h at orbits
quickl y.