Ron Woldoff - SAT For Dummies

22. In the first paragraph (Lines 1–19), the author discusses a garden to

(A) explain the attraction of Nature

(B) advocate balance in Nature

(C) show that scientific thought may be applied to commonplace things

(D) provide a concrete image of symmetry

23. Which choice provides the best evidence for the answer to the previous question?

(A) Lines 2–5 (“When people trim … things, a balance”)

(B) Lines 17–18 (“Other concepts or entities … balancing act”)

(C) Line 8 (“The same is true of ideas”)

(D) Lines 12–14 (“The balance required, however, is not between large and small ideas”)

24. In the context of Line 8, what is the best definition of “adequate”?

(A) complete

(B) satisfactory

(C) plenty

(D) permissible

25. According to the passage, with which statement would a philosopher agree?

(A) No one can define “true” or “good” or “beautiful.”

(B) Good can exist only if evil exists.

(C) Nature tends toward imbalance.

(D) Opposites attract.

26. Which choice provides the best evidence for the answer to the previous question?

(A) Line 8 (“The same is true of ideas”)

(B) Lines 17–18 (“Other concepts or entities can exist … balancing act”)

(C) Lines 26–27 (“The true, the good, and the beautiful … their opposite partners”)

(D) Lines 50–51 (“The belief among scientists … even deeper”)

27. According to the ideas expressed in the passage, each of the following is an example of symmetry EXCEPT

(A) a forest

(B) a butterfly

(C) a human face

(D) armies attacking and defending a fort

28. One reason scientists predict that someday “antimass” (Line 31) will be found is that

(A) antimatter exists

(B) some evidence of antimass has already been discovered

(C) the need for balance is extremely strong

(D) antimass is a natural quality

29. The author discusses antimatter in order to

(A) show that mathematics is useful

(B) explain why some entities appear unbalanced

(C) focus the reader’s attention on scientific theories

(D) support the idea that Nature seeks balance

30. In the context of Line 39, which of these is the best definition of “conclusion”?

(A) judgment

(B) termination

(C) goal

(D) end

31. Given “the belief among scientists in this kind of balance” (Line 50), with which of the following statements would scientists also agree?

(A) A system may be unbalanced only for a limited period of time or under certain conditions.

(B) Scientific theories are more often wrong than right.

(C) Balance is always temporary.

(D) Only the past can predict the future.

1 D. The first paragraph “shows” the reader a garden that’s lopsided, with all the “tall delphiniums off center … or the large yews on one side” (Lines 5–6). The garden image is preceded by the statement that “people trim the natural shapes” (Lines 2–3) because of a need for “balance” (Line 5). Symmetry means balance , so Choice (D) is your answer. Were you fooled by Choice (A)? True, the first paragraph talks about what human beings find “more appealing” (Lines 1–2), but Choice (A) is too vague.

2 A. Take a look at the explanation for Question 22. You see that all the garden comments support a need for balance, with the garden as an example. Choice (A) is correct.

3 B. The passage explains that a garden with all the tall plants on one side or all the big trees clumped together “just does not seem adequate” (Lines 7–8), which reads like, “just not good enough.” In other words, it’s not satisfactory, and Choice (B) is your answer.

4 B. The second paragraph of the passage (Lines 20–27) is the only one to deal directly with philosophy. The author gives an example of balance in math, with positive numbers requiring the existence of negative numbers. The author also states that “[t]he true, the good, and the beautiful all have their opposite partners” (Lines 26–27). Put those two ideas together — as the author does in paragraph two — and you arrive at Choice (B). The other choices are all the sort of vague statement that philosophers love to debate, but only Choice (B) is justified in the passage.

5 C. The explanation for the answer to Question 25 points you to the second paragraph, where the concept of balance is illustrated with examples from both math and philosophy. Choice (C) combines these ideas and is the correct answer.

6 A. The balanced garden of paragraph one (Lines 1–19) is similar to Choices (B) and (C) — both examples of visual symmetry. The passage also discusses balanced actions (Line 22: “an equal and opposite reaction”), so Choice (D) doesn’t work. You’re left with Choice (A). A forest doesn’t necessarily grow in a balanced, patterned way, so it’s not an example of symmetry.

7 C. Antimass is called “nonexistent” in Line 34, but the passage states that “the need for balance is so strong … that one day antimass will be found” (Lines 31–33). Sounds like Choice (C)! The prize for runner-up goes to Choice (A), because antimatter balances out matter. However, Choice (C) addresses the balance issue directly, so it’s a better answer.

8 D. The passage explains that by the time the existence of antimatter was proved experimentally, it had already been predicted mathematically because of a fundamental quality of Nature — its tendency to be balanced. Therefore, Choice (D) is your answer.

9 A. Lines 40–41 describe the way in which scientists put ideas together (“interpreting a mathematical treatment”) to reach a “conclusion,” or judgment. Choice (A) is your answer.

10 A. The last paragraph talks about the lack of balance sometimes found in Nature and goes on to say that if balanced pairs don’t exist now, “at some earlier time or in some other physical state the balance once did exist” (Lines 52–54). Therefore, Nature tends toward balance, and anything unbalanced now was balanced at some point or is balanced in some other way. This is why Choice (A) is the correct answer.

Questions 32–42 are based on the following passages.

Passage 1 discusses the relationship between geography and human culture. Passage 2 is an excerpt from The Secret Life of Dust by Hannah Holmes (Wiley). The author addresses climate change. ( Note: An oviraptor is a type of dinosaur. Mount Pinatubo was a volcano that erupted in 1991.)

Passage 1

Passage 2

32. Based on the statements in the first paragraph (Lines 1–12) of Passage 1, which position would that author most likely support?

(A) History is intertwined with geography.

(B) Human beings shape their environment, not the other way around.

(C) Climate and prosperity are completely unrelated.

(D) Dramatic climate changes always cause dramatic cultural shifts.

33. Which choice provides the best evidence for the answer to the previous question?

(A) Lines 1–4 (“Human … physical world”)

(B) Lines 6–7 (“The earth’s climate … history”)