Digital SAT: Supporting & Undermining 2

1. Archaeologist Lena Ortiz is studying an ancient farming community that suddenly began producing much larger harvests. Excavations show that irrigation canals were expanded shortly before crop production increased significantly. Ortiz hypothesizes that the new irrigation system was primarily responsible for the improved harvests.

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

A) Farmers in the region also began growing a wider variety of crops during the same period.

B) Areas connected to the new canals experienced the largest increases in crop yields, while fields farther from the canals showed little change.

C) The farming community traded crops with neighboring settlements for many years before the canals were expanded.

D) Records from nearby villages suggest that some farmers may have experimented with new planting techniques and seasonal crop rotations around the same time that the irrigation canals were enlarged.

Question 1 of 5

2. Biologist Marcus Hill claims that a decline in a coastal turtle population was caused primarily by increased boat traffic near nesting beaches. He notes that tourism and boating activity both rose during the same decade that turtle numbers declined.

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

A) Researchers discovered that a fungal disease affecting turtle eggs spread rapidly through the region before boat traffic increased substantially.

B) Some tourists reported observing fewer turtles near the beaches during recent years.

C) Boat traffic tends to be heaviest during the same season in which turtles nest along the coast.

D) Environmental organizations have proposed stricter regulations intended to reduce the impact of tourism, nighttime artificial lighting, beach erosion, and recreational boating on turtle nesting areas.

Question 2 of 5

3. Psychologist Erin Blake observes that employees who take short breaks during long work sessions tend to maintain higher productivity levels than employees who work continuously for many hours. Blake hypothesizes that short breaks improve productivity by reducing mental fatigue.

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

A) Employees who take breaks often report feeling more satisfied with their jobs overall.

B) Productivity tends to decline most sharply among employees working on repetitive tasks that require sustained concentration.

C) In controlled studies, employees allowed short breaks show smaller declines in attention and reaction time over long work sessions than employees who work continuously do.

D) Some companies encourage employees to take breaks because doing so may improve morale, workplace communication, long-term job satisfaction, and overall attitudes toward management.

Question 3 of 5

4. An economist argues that rising apartment prices in a city are primarily the result of increased demand from young professionals moving into the area. She points to strong population growth and low vacancy rates over the past several years.

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

A) Surveys indicate that many young professionals moved to the city because of new employment opportunities.

B) Some neighborhoods experienced faster rent increases than others during the same period.

C) Vacancy rates declined steadily as housing prices increased.

D) The number of newly constructed apartment buildings fell sharply after zoning restrictions limited large residential development projects across much of the city.

Question 4 of 5

5. Marine biologist Carla Nguyen is studying why a species of reef fish gathers near coral formations with narrow openings and complex structures. Nguyen hypothesizes that the fish prefer these environments because they provide protection from predators.

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

A) The fish consume food sources that are available in many parts of the reef ecosystem.

B) Predator species are significantly less successful at catching the fish in areas with dense coral structures than in areas with more open terrain.

C) Some coral formations contain slightly warmer water temperatures than nearby open areas do.

D) Researchers studying reef ecosystems have suggested that coral density, water temperature, food availability, migration patterns, breeding behavior, and seasonal environmental conditions may all influence where different fish species choose to gather.

Question 5 of 5