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

12 Practice Tests for the SAT
830
Practice Test Nine Answers and Explanations
15. B
Difficulty: Medium
Scan the end of paragraph 3 to identify the author's
conclusion. That's where the author argues that people
work at recreation because technology has taken the
craft out of their jobs. Now check the choices. Choice
(B) should jump out as correct-describing the skills that
people employ in their leisure time would support the idea
that people are doing meaningful work on the weekends.
Information about jobs that still require a level of expertise,
(A), would weaken the author's point. Information about
(C) and (D) wouldn't affect the author's conclusion-these
choices refer to earlier points. Choice (E) may have been
tempting-but information about technologies in the
workplace would not support the author's conclusion as
directly as information about the skills now involved in
leisure activities-(B).
Questions 16-22
Paragraph 1 introduces readers to dark matter, star
clouds that astronomers once believed were empty and
transparent. Paragraph 2 tells readers that when the clouds
were discovered, astronomers found it hard to believe that
these masses of gas and dust existed in space. Paragraph 3
discusses Robert J. Trumpler's two methods of measuring
how far away these star clouds were, which convinced
other astronomers of their presence. Paragraph 4 explains
a discrepancy between the results of Trumpler's two
methods that helped prove the light from star clouds had
been dimmed on its way to Earth. Paragraph 5 looks at how
Trumpler used this finding.
16. A
Difficulty: Low
The thesis, or main idea, is generally introduced in the
first paragraph. Notice that dark matter is introduced
immediately and see that its discovery is more clearly
defined within the first paragraph.
Choice (A) is a good match. Choice (B) is a misused
detail; photography did indeed aid in the discovery of dark
matter, but this is not the focus of the passage. Choice (C)
is a misused detail; dark matter does present itself as star
clouds and rifts and holes, but there is a better term-dark
matter-which is discussed at length. Choice (D) is an
opposite; the passage explains that astronomers discovered
that the space between stars is filled with dark matter and
therefore is not empty. Choice (E) is out of scope; dark
matter is a topic within astronomy, but the passage does
not cover the entire field of astronomy.
17. A
Difficulty: Low
What spaces are being discussed in this passage? The
passage is concerned with dark matter in the universe.
Determine where the spaces are that are under
consideration.
Choice (A) is a good match for your prediction; Trumpler
researched occurrences of light in the Milky Way, not only
the dark space between the stars. Choice (B) is distortion;
although there is interstellar space between Earth and the
sun, the article is concerned with more than that distance.
Choice (C) is a misused detail; star clouds are present in
interstellar space. Choice (D) is a misused detail; dark matter
is present where there are no stars, but interstellar applies to
the universe as a whole, stars and all. Choice (E) is a misused
detail; interstellar applies to the arena in which empty and
transparent space was once believed to exist.
18. c
Difficulty: Medium
The key word to this question is consequence. The
second paragraph introduces the reader to the reluctance
astronomers felt about the theory of dark matter. The
second sentence continues with The consequence . .. .
The consequence of this dark matter is that it would dim
the light . .. and further complicate the determination of
their distances . ...
Choice (A) is a misused detail. Astronomers were indeed
reluctant; however, reluctance was not a consequence
of dark matter. Choice (B) is a misused detail; again,
astronomers did originally believe that the spaces between
stars were empty, but this does not define the consequence
of dark matter. Choice (C) is a good match for your
prediction; this finding of dark matter would establish
decades of previous research as inaccurate. Choice (D)
is extreme; the passage does not state that astronomers
were embarrassed to admit they were wrong. Choice (E)
is distortion. Indeed, the problem for astronomers was that
dark matter was not transparent; however, this does not
explain the consequence of such a discovery.