Digital SAT: Fact 2

1. In the early 1900s, chemist Alice Ball developed an injectable treatment for Hansen’s disease, also known as leprosy, using oil from the chaulmoogra tree. Earlier treatments made from chaulmoogra oil were difficult for patients to take because the oil could not be easily absorbed by the body. Ball altered the oil’s chemical form so that it could be mixed with water and injected more effectively, making it one of the most successful treatments for the disease at the time.

According to the text, why was Ball’s treatment an improvement over earlier chaulmoogra oil treatments?

2. In the late nineteenth century, inventor Margaret E. Knight designed a machine that could cut, fold, and glue paper into flat-bottomed bags. Before her invention, many paper bags were shaped more like envelopes, which made them less convenient for carrying bulky items. Knight’s machine allowed flat-bottomed bags to be produced quickly and consistently, helping make them practical for widespread use in stores.

According to the text, why was Knight’s machine significant?

3. In the early twentieth century, physicist Chien-Shiung Wu conducted experiments involving beta decay, a type of radioactive process in which particles are emitted from atomic nuclei. At the time, many physicists assumed that certain particle interactions behaved the same way when reflected in a mirror-like arrangement, a principle known as conservation of parity. Wu’s carefully designed experiment showed that, in beta decay, particles were emitted more often in one direction than in the mirror-image direction, providing evidence that parity was not conserved in that process.

According to the text, what did Wu’s experiment show about beta decay?

4. In the 1800s, astronomer Maria Mitchell became widely known after observing a comet through her telescope from Nantucket, Massachusetts. At the time, several European observatories offered prizes to people who discovered previously unknown comets, but confirming a discovery required careful comparison with existing records. After Mitchell’s observation was verified as a new comet, she received international recognition and became one of the first American women to gain prominence in astronomy.

According to the text, why did Mitchell’s comet observation bring her recognition?

5. In the early twentieth century, engineer Edith Clarke developed mathematical methods that helped solve problems in electrical power systems. At the time, engineers often had to perform long calculations by hand to predict how electricity would behave across transmission lines. Clarke created a graphical calculator that made some of these calculations faster and less prone to error, helping engineers analyze increasingly complex power grids.

According to the text, why was Clarke’s graphical calculator useful?

6. In the 1940s, mathematician Katherine Johnson performed calculations for flight paths at the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics, which later became part of NASA. When electronic computers began to be used for space missions, astronauts still sometimes requested that Johnson verify the machines’ calculations by hand. Her work helped confirm that spacecraft would follow safe trajectories during missions.

According to the text, why did astronauts ask Johnson to check computer calculations?

7. In the late nineteenth century, chemist Ellen Swallow Richards studied the quality of water supplies in Massachusetts at a time when many communities were becoming concerned about pollution from factories and sewage. Richards helped develop methods for testing water samples and used the results to show that some sources were unsafe for drinking. Her work contributed to the growth of sanitary engineering, a field focused on using scientific principles to protect public health.

According to the text, how did Richards’s work contribute to public health efforts?

8. In the early twentieth century, Japanese chemist Kikunae Ikeda investigated why broth made from kombu, a type of seaweed, had a savory taste that did not seem to fit the four commonly recognized tastes of sweet, sour, salty, and bitter. Ikeda isolated glutamate from the kombu and identified it as the source of this distinctive flavor. He named the taste umami, a term now used to describe the savory quality found in foods such as seaweed, mushrooms, and aged cheeses.

According to the text, what did Ikeda’s research show?

9. In the 1800s, physician John Snow investigated a cholera outbreak in London by mapping where people who became ill lived and where they obtained their drinking water. He noticed that many cases were clustered near a public water pump on Broad Street. After officials removed the pump’s handle, the number of new cases decreased, supporting Snow’s argument that cholera was being spread through contaminated water rather than through bad air, as many people believed at the time.

According to the text, how did Snow’s investigation support his argument about cholera?

10. In the late nineteenth century, physicist Lord Rayleigh and chemist William Ramsay investigated an unusual difference between nitrogen collected from the air and nitrogen produced from chemical compounds. The nitrogen from air was slightly heavier, even after impurities had been removed. Ramsay eventually isolated a previously unknown gas mixed with atmospheric nitrogen, and the two scientists named it argon. Their work showed that the atmosphere contained gases that had not yet been identified.

According to the text, why did Rayleigh and Ramsay’s investigation lead to the discovery of argon?