Digital SAT: Supporting & Undermining 1

1. Historian Priya Shah is studying why a port city experienced rapid economic growth during the late 1700s. She notes that the city expanded its shipbuilding industry at roughly the same time that trade volume increased dramatically. Shah hypothesizes that the growth of shipbuilding helped drive the city’s economic expansion by creating jobs and supporting increased trade activity.

Which finding, if true, would most directly support Shah’s hypothesis?

A) Merchants from several neighboring regions began visiting the city more frequently during the late 1700s.

B) Employment records show that growth in shipbuilding jobs occurred before major increases in trade revenue and population.

C) The city imported large quantities of timber during the same period that its economy expanded.

D) Some shipbuilders also worked in other industries during periods of reduced demand.

Question 1 of 5

2. Biologist Elena Morris argues that a decline in a river’s salmon population was caused primarily by increased water pollution from nearby factories. She notes that pollution levels rose significantly during the same decade that salmon numbers fell.

Which finding, if true, would most directly weaken Morris’s claim?

A) Several factory owners denied responsibility for pollution entering the river.

B) The decline in salmon populations began shortly after the construction of a dam that blocked access to important upstream spawning grounds.

C) Pollution levels in the river fluctuated from year to year during the decade.

D) Some fish species in the river were less affected by pollution than salmon were.

Question 2 of 5

3. Psychologist David Lin observes that students who regularly quiz themselves while studying tend to retain information longer than students who mainly reread notes. Lin hypothesizes that the act of retrieving information from memory strengthens long-term learning.

Which finding, if true, would most directly support Lin’s hypothesis?

A) Students who use self-quizzing methods generally spend less total time studying than students who reread notes do.

B) Students often report that rereading notes feels easier than self-quizzing.

C) Brain imaging studies show increased activation in memory-retrieval regions when students practice recalling information during study sessions.

D) Some students combine rereading with self-quizzing when preparing for exams.

Question 3 of 5

4. An economist claims that a city’s falling unemployment rate was caused primarily by a tax incentive program designed to attract new businesses. She points to declining unemployment figures in the years following the program’s introduction.

Which finding, if true, would most directly weaken the economist’s claim?

A) Some businesses receiving tax incentives hired relatively few workers after relocating to the city.

B) Several nearby cities introduced similar incentive programs during the same period.

C) The city experienced substantial population growth during the years after the program began.

D) A major manufacturing plant employing thousands of workers opened shortly before unemployment rates began falling, but the plant was not connected to the tax incentive program.

Question 4 of 5

5. Environmental scientist Nora Vega is studying why a species of shrub spreads rapidly in areas recently affected by wildfires. Vega hypothesizes that the shrub benefits from increased sunlight because many taller plants that normally block light are destroyed by fire.

Which finding, if true, would most directly support Vega’s hypothesis?

A) Soil in recently burned areas contains higher concentrations of certain nutrients than soil in unburned areas does.

B) In controlled experiments, the shrub grows substantially faster when exposed to higher light levels similar to those found after wildfires.

C) Some seeds of the shrub can survive exposure to extremely high temperatures.

D) Animals in burned areas sometimes feed on competing plant species.

Question 5 of 5