Digital SAT- Rhetorical Synthesis Quiz 2

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1. While researching a topic, a student has taken the following notes:

• In the late 1890s, over 14,000 unique varieties of apples were grown in the US.
• The rise of industrial agriculture in the mid-1900s narrowed the range of commercially grown crops.
• Thousands of apple varieties considered less suitable for commercial growth were lost.
• Today, only 15 apple varieties dominate the market, making up 90% of apples purchased in the US.
• The Lost Apple Project, based in Washington State, attempts to find and grow lost apple varieties.

The student wants to emphasize the decline in unique apple varieties in the US and specify why this decline occurred. Which choice most effectively uses relevant information from the notes to accomplish these goals?

5 points

A) The Lost Apple Project is dedicated to finding some of the apple varieties lost following a shift in agricultural practices in the mid-1900s.

B) While over 14,000 apple varieties were grown in the US in the late 1890s, only 15 unique varieties make up most of the apples sold today.

C) Since the rise of industrial agriculture, US farmers have mainly grown the same few unique apple varieties, resulting in the loss of thousands of varieties less suitable for commercial growth.

D) As industrial agriculture rose to prominence in the mid-1900s, the number of crops selected for cultivation decreased dramatically.

Clear selection

2. While researching a topic, a student has taken the following notes:

• Cecilia Vicuña is a multidisciplinary artist.
• In 1971, her first solo art exhibition, Pinturas, poemas y explicaciones, was shown at the Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes in Santiago, Chile.
• Her poetry collection Precario/Precarious was published in 1983 by Tanam Press.
• Her poetry collection Instan was published in 2002 by Kelsey St. Press.
• She lives part time in Chile, where she was born, and part time in New York.

The student wants to introduce the artist’s 1983 poetry collection. Which choice most effectively uses relevant information from the notes to accomplish this goal?

5 points

A) Before she published the books Precario/Precarious (1983) and Instan (2002), Cecilia Vicuña exhibited visual art at the Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes in Santiago, Chile.

B) ) Cecilia Vicuña is a true multidisciplinary artist whose works include numerous poetry collections and visual art exhibitions.

C) Published in 1983 by Tanam Press, Precario/Precarious is a collection of poetry by the multidisciplinary artist Cecilia Vicuña.

D) In 1971, Cecilia Vicuña exhibited her first solo art exhibition, Pinturas, poemas y explicaciones, in Chile, her country of birth.

Clear selection

3. While researching a topic, a student has taken the following notes:

• When medical students mention their patients on social media, they may violate patient confidentiality.
• Terry Kind led a study to determine how many medical schools have student policies that mention social media use.
• Kind and her team reviewed 132 medical school websites, examining publicly available student policies.
• Only thirteen medical schools had guidelines that explicitly mention social media, and only five defined what constitutes acceptable social media use.

The student wants to emphasize the study’s methodology. Which choice most effectively uses relevant information from the notes to accomplish this goal?

5 points

A) The student policies of 132 medical schools can be found online, according to research by Terry Kind.

B) To find out how many medical schools have guidelines about student social media use, Terry Kind and her team examined the student policies of 132 medical schools.

C) Out of 132 medical schools, only thirteen had student policies that mentioned social media, and only five specified what use was acceptable.

D) Terry Kind and her team wanted to know how many medical schools have student social media policies in place about protecting patient confidentiality.

Clear selection

4. While researching a topic, a student has taken the following notes:

• The Gullah are a group of African Americans who have lived in parts of the southeastern United States since the 18th century.
• Gullah culture is influenced by West African and Central African traditions.
• Louise Miller Cohen is a Gullah historian, storyteller, and preservationist.
• She founded the Gullah Museum of Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, in 2003.
• Vermelle Rodrigues is a Gullah historian, artist, and preservationist.
• She founded the Gullah Museum of Georgetown, South Carolina, in 2003.

The student wants to emphasize the duration and purpose of Cohen’s and Rodrigues’s work. Which choice most effectively uses relevant information from the notes to accomplish this goal?

5 points

A) At the Gullah Museums in Hilton Head Island and Georgetown, South Carolina, visitors can learn more about the Gullah people who have lived in the region for centuries.

B) Louise Miller Cohen and Vermelle Rodrigues have worked to preserve the culture of the Gullah people, who have lived in the United States since the 18th century.

C) Since 2003, Louise Miller Cohen and Vermelle Rodrigues have worked to preserve Gullah culture through their museums.

D) Influenced by the traditions of West and Central Africa, Gullah culture developed in parts of the southeastern United States in the 18th century.

Clear selection

5. While researching a topic, a student has taken the following notes:

• In North America, woodlands have expanded into areas that were once grasslands.
• Thomas Rogers and F. Leland Russell of Wichita State University investigated whether woodland expansion is related to changes in climate.
• Rogers and Russell analyzed core samples from oak trees on a site that was not wooded in the past and indexed the age of the trees with historical climate data to see if tree populations and climate were correlated.
• Tree population growth was associated with dry intervals.
• Droughts may have played a role in woodland expansion.

The student wants to emphasize the aim of the research study. Which choice most effectively uses relevant information from the notes to accomplish this goal?

5 points

A) Thomas Rogers and F. Leland Russell, researchers at Wichita State University, wanted to know if woodland expansion is related to changes in climate.

B) Thanks to the work done by Thomas Rogers and F. Leland Russell, we now know that droughts may have played a role in woodland expansion.

C) Wichita State University researchers have determined that tree population growth was associated with dry intervals.

D) Thomas Rogers and F. Leland Russell analyzed core samples from oak trees on a site that was not wooded in the past, indexing the age of the trees with historical climate data.

Clear selection

6. While researching a topic, a student has taken the following notes:

• Shaun Tan is an Australian author.
• In 2008, he published Tales from Outer Suburbia, a book of fifteen short stories.
• The stories describe surreal events occurring in otherwise ordinary suburban neighborhoods.
• In 2018, he published Tales from the Inner City, a book of twenty-five short stories.
• The stories describe surreal events occurring in otherwise ordinary urban settings.

The student wants to emphasize a similarity between the two books by Shaun Tan. Which choice most effectively uses relevant information from the notes to accomplish this goal?

5 points

A) Shaun Tan’s book Tales from Outer Suburbia, which describes surreal events occurring in otherwise ordinary places, contains fewer short stories than Tales from the Inner City does.

B) Tales from Outer Suburbia was published in 2008, and Tales from the Inner City was published in 2018.

C) Unlike Tales from the Inner City, Shaun Tan’s book Tales from Outer Suburbia is set in suburban neighborhoods.

D) Shaun Tan’s books Tales from Outer Suburbia and Tales from the Inner City both describe surreal events occurring in otherwise ordinary places.

Clear selection

7. While researching a topic, a student has taken the following notes:

• The factors that affect clutch size (the number of eggs laid at one time) have been well studied in birds but not in lizards.

• A team led by Shai Meiri of Tel Aviv University investigated which factors influence lizard clutch size.
• Meiri’s team obtained clutch-size and habitat data for over 3,900 lizard species and analyzed the data with statistical models.
• Larger clutch size was associated with environments in higher latitudes that have more seasonal change.
• Lizards in higher-latitude environments may lay larger clutches to take advantage of shorter windows of favorable conditions.

The student wants to emphasize the aim of the research study. Which choice most effectively uses relevant information from the notes to accomplish this goal?

5 points

A) Researchers wanted to know which factors influence lizard egg clutch size because such factors have been well studied in birds but not in lizards.

B) After they obtained data for over 3,900 lizard species, researchers determined that larger clutch size was associated with environments in higher latitudes that have more seasonal change.

C) We now know that lizards in higher-latitude environments may lay larger clutches to take advantage of shorter windows of favorable conditions.

D) Researchers obtained clutch-size and habitat data for over 3,900 lizard species and analyzed the data with statistical models.

Clear selection

8. While researching a topic, a student has taken the following notes:

• Chemical leavening agents cause carbon dioxide to be released within a liquid batter, making the batter rise as it bakes.
• Baking soda and baking powder are chemical leavening agents.
• Baking soda is pure sodium bicarbonate.
• To produce carbon dioxide, baking soda needs to be mixed with liquid and an acidic ingredient such as honey.
• Baking powder is a mixture of sodium bicarbonate and an acid.
• To produce carbon dioxide, baking powder needs to be mixed with liquid but not with an acidic ingredient.

The student wants to emphasize a difference between baking soda and baking powder. Which choice most effectively uses relevant information from the notes to accomplish this goal?

5 points

A) To make batters rise, bakers use chemical leavening agents such as baking soda and baking powder.

B) Baking soda and baking powder are chemical leavening agents that, when mixed with other ingredients, cause carbon dioxide to be released within a batter.

C) Baking soda is pure sodium bicarbonate, and honey is a type of acidic ingredient.

D) To produce carbon dioxide within a liquid batter, baking soda needs to be mixed with an acidic ingredient, whereas baking powder does not.

Clear selection

9. While researching a topic, a student has taken the following notes:

• Soo Sunny Park is a Korean American artist who uses light as her primary medium of expression.
• She created her work Unwoven Light in 2013.
• Unwoven Light featured a chain-link fence fitted with iridescent plexiglass tiles.
• When light passed through the fence, colorful prisms formed.

The student wants to describe Unwoven Light to an audience unfamiliar with Soo Sunny Park. Which choice most effectively uses relevant information from the notes to accomplish this goal?

5 points

A) Park’s 2013 installation Unwoven Light, which included a chain-link fence and iridescent tiles made from plexiglass, featured light as its primary medium of expression.

B) Korean American light artist Soo Sunny Park created Unwoven Light in 2013.

C) The chain-link fence in Soo Sunny Park’s Unwoven Light was fitted with tiles made from iridescent plexiglass.

D) In Unwoven Light, a 2013 work by Korean American artist Soo Sunny Park, light formed colorful prisms as it passed through a fence Park had fitted with iridescent tiles.

Clear selection

10. While researching a topic, a student has taken the following notes:
• Cambodia’s Angkor Wat was built in the 1100s to honor the Hindu god Vishnu.
• It has been a Buddhist temple since the sixteenth century.
• Decorrelation stretch analysis is a novel digital imaging technique that enhances the contrast between colors in a photograph.
• Archaeologist Noel Hidalgo Tan applied decorrelation stretch analysis to photographs he had taken of Angkor Wat’s plaster walls.
• Tan’s analysis revealed hundreds of images unknown to researchers.

The student wants to present Tan’s research to an audience unfamiliar with Angkor Wat. Which choice most effectively uses relevant information from the notes to accomplish this goal?

5 points

A) Tan photographed Angkor Wat’s plaster walls and then applied decorrelation stretch analysis to the photographs.

B) Decorrelation stretch analysis is a novel digital imaging technique that Tan used to enhance the contrast between colors in a photograph.

C) Using a novel digital imaging technique, Tan revealed hundreds of images hidden on the walls of Angkor Wat, a Cambodian temple.

D) Built to honor a Hindu god before becoming a Buddhist temple, Cambodia’s Angkor Wat concealed hundreds of images on its plaster walls.

Clear selection

11. While researching a topic, a student has taken the following notes:
• The calendar used by most of the world (the Gregorian calendar) has 365 days.
• Because 365 days can’t be divided evenly by 7 (the number of days in a week), calendar dates fall on a different day of the week each year.
• The Hanke-Henry permanent calendar, developed as an alternative to the Gregorian calendar, has 364 days.
• Because 364 can be divided evenly by 7, calendar dates fall on the same day of the week each year, which supports more predictable scheduling.

The student wants to explain an advantage of the Hanke-Henry calendar. Which choice most effectively uses relevant information from the notes to accomplish this goal?

5 points

A) The Gregorian calendar has 365 days, which is one day longer than the Hanke-Henry permanent calendar.

B) Adopting the Hanke-Henry permanent calendar would help solve a problem with the Gregorian calendar.

C) Designed so calendar dates would occur on the same day of the week each year, the Hanke-Henry calendar supports more predictable scheduling than does the Gregorian calendar.

D) The Hanke-Henry permanent calendar was developed as an alternative to the Gregorian calendar, which is currently the most-used calendar in the world.

Clear selection

12. While researching a topic, a student has taken the following notes:

• The Haudenosaunee Confederacy is a nearly 1,000-year-old alliance of six Native nations in the northeastern US.
• The members are bound by a centuries-old agreement known as the Great Law of Peace.
• Historian Bruce Johansen is one of several scholars who believe that the principles of the Great Law of Peace influenced the US Constitution.
• This theory is called the influence theory.
• Johansen cites the fact that Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson both studied the Haudenosaunee Confederacy.

The student wants to present the influence theory to an audience unfamiliar with the Haudenosaunee Confederacy. Which choice most effectively uses relevant information from the notes to accomplish this goal?

5 points

A) Historian Bruce Johansen believes that the Great Law of Peace was very influential.

B) The influence theory is supported by the fact that Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson both studied the Haudenosaunee Confederacy.

C) The influence theory holds that the principles of the Great Law of Peace, a centuries-old agreement binding six Native nations in the northeastern US, influenced the US Constitution.

D) Native people, including the members of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy, influenced the founding of the US in many different ways.

Clear selection

13. While researching a topic, a student has taken the following notes:

• In 1999, astronomer Todd Henry studied the differences in surface temperature between the Sun and nearby stars.

• His team mapped all stars within 10 parsecs (approximately 200 trillion miles) of the Sun.

• The surface temperature of the Sun is around 9,800°F, which classifies it as a G star.

• 327 of the 357 stars in the study were classified as K or M stars, with surface temperatures under 8,900°F (cooler than the Sun).

• 11 of the 357 stars in the study were classified as A or F stars, with surface temperatures greater than 10,300°F (hotter than the Sun).

The student wants to emphasize how hot the Sun is relative to nearby stars. Which choice most effectively uses relevant information from the notes to accomplish this goal?

5 points

A) At around 9,800°F, which classifies it as a G star, the Sun is hotter than most but not all of the stars within 10 parsecs of it.

B) Astronomer Todd Henry determined that the Sun, at around 9,800°F, is a G star, and several other stars within a 10-parsec range are A or F stars.

C) Of the 357 stars within ten parsecs of the Sun, 327 are classified as K or M stars, with surface temperatures under 8,900°F.

D) While most of the stars within 10 parsecs of the Sun are classified as K, M, A, or F stars, the Sun is classified as a G star due to its surface temperature of 9,800°F.

Clear selection

14. While researching a topic, a student has taken the following notes:

• The Atlantic Monthly magazine was first published in 1857.

• The magazine focused on politics, art, and literature.

• In 2019, historian Cathryn Halverson published the book Faraway Women and the “Atlantic Monthly.”

• Its subject is female authors whose autobiographies appeared in the magazine in the early 1900s.

• One of the authors discussed is Juanita Harrison.

The student wants to introduce Cathryn Halverson’s book to an audience already familiar with the Atlantic Monthly. Which choice most effectively uses relevant information from the notes to accomplish this goal?

5 points

A) Cathryn Halverson’s Faraway Women and the “Atlantic Monthly” discusses female authors whose autobiographies appeared in the magazine in the early 1900s.

B) A magazine called the Atlantic Monthly, referred to in Cathryn Halverson’s book title, was first published in 1857.

C) Faraway Women and the “Atlantic Monthly” features contributors to the Atlantic Monthly, first published in 1857 as a magazine focusing on politics, art, and literature.

D) An author discussed by Cathryn Halverson is Juanita Harrison, whose autobiography appeared in the Atlantic Monthly in the early 1900s.

Clear selection

15. While researching a topic, a student has taken the following notes:

• The magnificent frigatebird (fregata magnificens) is a species of seabird that feeds mainly on fish, tuna, squid, and other small sea animals.

• It is unusual among seabirds in that it doesn’t dive into the water for prey.

• One way it acquires food is by using its hook-tipped bill to snatch prey from the surface of the water.

• Another way it acquires food is by taking it from weaker birds by force.

• This behavior is known as kleptoparasitism.

The student wants to emphasize a similarity between the two ways a magnificent frigatebird acquires food. Which choice most effectively uses relevant information from the notes to accomplish this goal?

5 points

A) A magnificent frigatebird never dives into the water, instead using its hook-tipped bill to snatch prey from the surface.

B) Neither of a magnificent frigatebird’s two ways of acquiring food requires the bird to dive into the water.

C) Of the magnificent frigatebird’s two ways of acquiring food, only one is known as kleptoparasitism.

D) In addition to snatching prey from the water with its hook-tipped bill, a magnificent frigatebird takes food from other birds by force.

Clear selection

16. While researching a topic, a student has taken the following notes:

• In 1859, the novel Adam Bede was published in England.

• According to the novel’s title page, the author’s name was George Eliot.

• George Eliot was widely assumed to be a pseudonym.

• A pseudonym is a fake name used to conceal an author’s identity.

• A woman named Mary Ann Evans later revealed herself as the novel’s real author.

The student wants to identify the real author of Adam Bede. Which choice most effectively uses relevant information from the notes to accomplish this goal?

5 points

A) The real author of Adam Bede was Mary Ann Evans, who published the novel using the pseudonym George Eliot.

B) George Eliot, which Adam Bede’s title page indicated was the name of the novel’s author, was widely assumed to be a pseudonym.

C) The title page of the novel Adam Bede indicated that the author’s name was George Eliot.

D) A woman who had used a pseudonym to conceal her identity later revealed herself as the real author of Adam Bede.

Clear selection

16. While researching a topic, a student has taken the following notes:

• Scientists have developed a “freeze-thaw” battery that can retain 92% of its charge after twelve weeks.

• The battery contains molten salt (a type of salt that liquifies when heated and solidifies at room temperature).

• When the salt is in a liquid state, energy flows through the battery.

• When the salt is in a solid state, energy stops flowing and is stored in the battery.

• The stored (frozen) energy can be used by reheating (thawing) the battery.

The student wants to specify how the salt enables energy storage. Which choice most effectively uses relevant information from the notes to accomplish this goal?

5 points

A) Scientists have developed a freeze-thaw battery that contains molten salt, which liquifies when heated and solidifies at room temperature.

B) The stored energy in a freeze-thaw battery, which contains molten salt, can be used by reheating the battery.

C) When the molten salt in a freeze-thaw battery solidifies at room temperature, energy stops flowing and can be stored in the battery.

D) Molten salt allows a freeze-thaw battery to retain 92% of its charge after twelve weeks.

Clear selection

17. While researching a topic, a student has taken the following notes:

• The US Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) keeps a list of all at-risk species.

• Species on the list are classified as either endangered or threatened.

• A species that is in danger of extinction throughout most or all of its range is classified as endangered.

• A species that is likely to soon become endangered is classified as threatened.

• The California red-legged frog (Rana draytonii) is likely to soon become endangered, according to the FWS.

The student wants to indicate the California red-legged frog’s FWS classification category. Which choice most effectively uses relevant information from the notes to accomplish this goal.

5 points

A) Species on the FWS list, which includes the California red-legged frog (Rana draytonii), are classified as either endangered or threatened.

B) The California red-legged frog (Rana draytonii) appears on the FWS list of at-risk species.

C) According to the FWS, the California red-legged frog is in the endangered category, in danger of extinction throughout most or all of its range.

D) Likely to soon become endangered, the California red-legged frog is classified as threatened by the FWS.

Clear selection

18. While researching a topic, a student has taken the following notes:

• Iranian scholar Abu Rayhan al-Biruni studied Earth’s physical features.

• He theorized that a large landmass existed west of Europe and east of Asia.

• Al-Biruni published his landmass theory in 1037 CE.

The student wants to specify when al-Biruni published his landmass theory. Which choice most effectively uses relevant information from the notes to accomplish this goal?

5 points

A) In 1037 CE, al-Biruni published his theory that a large landmass existed west of Europe and east of Asia.

B) Al-Biruni, who studied Earth’s physical features, published a theory about a large landmass.

C) Al-Biruni was an Iranian scholar who studied Earth’s physical features.

D) An Iranian scholar who studied Earth’s physical features, al-Biruni theorized that a large landmass existed west of Europe and east of Asia.

Clear selection

19. While researching a topic, a student has taken the following notes:

• In astronomy, the mass of stars can be described in units called solar masses.
• One solar mass is roughly equal to the mass of the Sun.
• The mass of the star Proxima Centauri is 0.122 solar masses.
• The mass of the star Sirius A is 2.063 solar masses.

The student wants to emphasize the mass of Sirius A. Which choice most effectively uses relevant information from the notes to accomplish this goal?

5 points

A) The mass of stars, like Proxima Centauri, can be described in units called solar masses.

B) In astronomy, the mass of stars can be described in units called solar masses, and one solar mass is roughly equal to the mass of the Sun.

C) The Sun is more massive than Proxima Centauri, which has a mass of 0.122 solar masses.

D) With a mass of 2.063 solar masses, Sirius A is more massive than the Sun.

Clear selection

20. While researching a topic, a student has taken the following notes:

• A lever is a simple machine consisting of a rigid beam and a fulcrum.
• The fulcrum is the point about which the beam pivots.
• The input force (effort) is the force applied to the lever.
• The output force (load) is the force that the lever exerts on another object.
• In first-class levers, the fulcrum is located between the effort and the load.
• In second-class levers, the load is located between the effort and the fulcrum.

The student wants to contrast first-class levers and second-class levers. Which choice most effectively uses relevant information from the notes to accomplish this goal?

5 points

A) In levers, the effort is the force applied to the lever; the load, in contrast, is the force that the lever exerts on another object.

B) In first-class and second-class levers, the fulcrum and the load are in different locations.

C) First-class levers are simple machines consisting of a rigid beam and a fulcrum, but then again, the same is true of second-class levers.

D) In first-class levers, the fulcrum is located between the effort and the load, but in second-class levers, the load is located between the effort and the fulcrum.

Clear selection

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