SAT: Command of Evidence

The share of the world's population living in cities has increased dramatically since 1970, but this change has not been uniform. France and Japan, for example, were already heavily urbanized in 1970, with 70% or more of the population living in cities. The main contributors to the world's urbanization since 1970 have been countries like Algeria, whose population went from ______Which choice most effectively uses data from the graph to complete the assertion?

• less than 20% urban in 1970 to more than 50% urban in 2020.

• around 50% urban in 1970 to around 90% urban in 2020.

• around 40% urban in 1970 to more than 70% urban in 2020.

• less than 40% urban in 1970 to around 90% urban in 2020.

Investigative journalists research and report about fraud, corruption, public hazards, and more. The graph shows the number of investigative articles published in the Albuquerque Journal newspaper from 2010 to 2019. According to an analyst, although the number of investigative articles published in this newspaper has varied significantly over the period shown, the number overall has fallen since 2010.Which choice most effectively uses data from the graph to justify the underlined claim?

• The greatest annual number of investigative articles published in the newspaper during the period shown is approximately 1,000 in 2017.

• The newspaper published approximately 1,000 investigative articles in 2010 and approximately 1,600 in 2013.

• The smallest annual number of investigative articles published in the newspaper during the period shown is approximately 1,600 in 2013.

• The newspaper published approximately 1,000 investigative articles in 2010 and approximately 500 in 2019.

Tags

CCSS.RI.11-12.7

CCSS.RI.9-10.7

CCSS.RL.11-12.7

CCSS.RL.8.7

CCSS.RL.9-10.7

Correlations Between Congestion Ratings and Features of the Crowd in Raters' Immediate VicinityResearcher Xiaolu Jia and colleagues monitored individuals' velocity and the surrounding crowd density as a group of study participants walked through a space and navigated around an obstacle. Participants rated how congested it seemed before the obstacle, after the obstacle, and overall, and the researchers correlated those ratings with velocity and density. (Correlations range from ?1 to 1, with greater distance from 0 indicating greater strength). The researchers concluded that the correlations with velocity are stronger than those with density.Which choice best describes data from the table that support the researchers' conclusion?

• The correlation between congestion ratings before the obstacle and density is further from 0 than the correlation between overall congestion rating and velocity is.

• The correlation between congestion ratings before the obstacle and velocity is further from 0 than the correlation between congestion overall and velocity is.

• For each of the three ratings, the correlation with velocity is negative while the correlation with density is positive.

• For each of the three ratings, correlations with velocity are further from 0 than the corresponding correlations with density are.

Average Nitrate and Phosphate Concentrations in Seawater after Volcanic EruptionAfter a volcanic eruption spilled lava into North Pacific Ocean waters, a dramatic increase of diatoms (a kind of phytoplankton) near the surface occurred. Scientists assumed the diatoms were thriving on nutrients such as phosphate from the lava, but analysis showed these nutrients weren't present near the surface in forms diatoms can consume. However, there was an abundance of usable nitrate, a nutrient usually found in much deeper water and almost never found in lava. Microbial oceanographer Sonya Dyhrman and colleagues believe that as the lava plunged nearly 300 meters below the surface it dislodged pockets of this nutrient, releasing it to float upward, given that ______Which choice most effectively uses data from the table to complete the statement?

• for both depth ranges measured in the seawater in the lava-affected area, the average concentrations of nitrate were substantially higher than the average concentrations of phosphate.

• for both depth ranges measured, the average concentrations of nitrate were substantially higher in the seawater in the lava-affected area than in the seawater outside of the lava-affected area.

• in the seawater outside of the lava-affected area, there was little change in the average concentration of nitrate from 75–125 meters below the surface to 5–45 meters below the surface.

• at 5–45 meters below the surface, the average concentration of phosphate was about the same in the seawater in the lava-affected area as in the seawater outside of the lava-affected area.

Tags

CCSS.HSN.VM.C.6

Comfort Ratings and Temperature-Adjustment Preferences from One SurveyNan Gao and her team conducted multiple surveys to determine participants' levels of comfort in a room where the temperature was regulated by a commercial climate control system. Participants filled out surveys several times a day to indicate their level of comfort on a scale from ?3 (very cold) to +3 (very hot), with 0 indicating neutral (neither warm nor cool), and to indicate how they would prefer the temperature to be adjusted. The table shows three participants' responses in one of the surveys. According to the table, all three participants wanted the room to be cooler, ______Which choice most effectively uses data from the table to complete the statement?

• but participant 20 reported feeling significantly colder than the other two participants did.

• but participant 1 reported feeling warmer than the other two participants did.

• and they each reported the same level of comfort.

• even though each participant's ratings varied throughout the day.

Distribution of Ecosystem Services Affected by Invasive Species by Service TypeTo assess the impact of invasive species on ecosystems in Africa, Benis N. Egoh and colleagues reviewed government reports from those nations about how invasive species are undermining ecosystem services (aspects of the ecosystem on which residents depend). The services were sorted into three categories: provisioning (material resources from the ecosystem), regulating (natural processes such as cleaning the air or water), and cultural (nonmaterial benefits of ecosystems). Egoh and her team assert that countries in each region reported effects on provisioning services and that provisioning services represent the majority of the reported services.Which choice best describes data from the table that support Egoh and colleagues' assertion?

• Provisioning services are shown for each region, while no cultural services are shown for some regions.

• None of the percentages shown for provisioning services are lower than 33%, and the overall percentage shown for provisioning services is 75%.

• The greatest percentage shown for provisioning services is 88% for the North region, and the least shown for provisioning services is 33% for the Central region.

• Provisioning services represent 73% of the services reported for the West region and 33% of those for the Central region, but they represent 75% of the services reported overall.