ACT Natural Science: from "Consider the Eel"

31. One of the main ideas established by the passage is

that:

• A. researchers have nearly exhausted their resources

  after spending decades investigating the Sargasso

  Sea.

• B. significant gaps still remain in researchers’ under-

  standing of the life cycle of eels.

• C. eels live their entire lives in the Sargasso Sea, but

  no one has ever seen them there.

• D. female eels turn into silver eels toward the end of

  their lives.

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CCSS.RI. 9-10.2

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32. Learning about which of the following had the largest

impact on scientists’ current understanding of where

eels breed?

• F. The direction in which ocean currents carry eel

  larvae

• G. The relationship of the yellow eel stage to the

  silver eel stage

• H. Schmidt’s discovery of eel larvae in the Sargasso

  Sea

• J. The adult eels found in the stomachs of other fish

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CCSS.RI. 9-10.2

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33. The main purpose of the fourth paragraph (lines

34–47) is to describe the:

• A. eels’ transition from freshwater to the ocean.

• B. method of determining the age of eels.

• C. complexity of the Mississippi River system.

• D. river stage of the eel life cycle.

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CCSS.RI. 9-10.2

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34. The passage states that the Sargasso Sea is set off from

the rest of the Atlantic Ocean by:

• F. the Azores.

• G. several Caribbean countries.

• H. powerful winds.

• J. strong currents.

Tags

CCSS.RI. 9-10.2

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CCSS.RL.9-10.2

35. The passage notes that the Sargasso Sea includes:

• A. the eastern North American shore.

• B. the Bermuda Triangle.

• C. certain coastal estuaries.

• D. the mouth of the Mississippi River.

Tags

CCSS.RI. 9-10.2

CCSS.RI.11-12.2

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36. As it is used in line 13, the word popular most nearly

means:

• F. well liked.

• G. commonly known.

• H. scientifically accepted.

• J. most admired.

Tags

CCSS.RI.11-12.4

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37. As it is used in line 45, the word read most nearly

means to:

• A. learn from print.

• B. observe.

• C. think about.

• D. predict.

Tags

CCSS.RI.11-12.4

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38. The passage indicates that female eels’ pupils expand

and turn blue because the eels:

• F. must adapt to see in an environment with much

  less light than they are used to.

• G. are about to undergo a change in their blood

  chemistry.

• H. no longer need to be able to recognize food

  sources since they have stopped eating.

• J. need to be able to recognize the male eels that will

  fertilize their eggs.

Tags

CCSS.RI. 9-10.2

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39. The passage most strongly emphasizes that the process

of osmosis is necessary for the eels’ transition from:

• A. shallower to deeper water.

• B. feeding to nonfeeding.

• C. immature to mature form.

• D. elver to yellow eel.

Tags

CCSS.RI. 9-10.2

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40. According to the passage, which of the following characteristics of the eel larvae found by Schmidt provided the best evidence that the larvae were hatched in the Sargasso Sea?

• F. Size

• G. Shape

• H. Color

• J. Species

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CCSS.RI. 9-10.2

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