Question 1.

Text 1
The idea that time moves in only one direction is instinctively understood, yet
it puzzles physicists. According to the second law of thermodynamics, at a
macroscopic level some processes of heat transfer are irreversible due to the
production of entropy—after a transfer we cannot rewind time and place
molecules back exactly where they were before, just as we cannot unbreak
dropped eggs. But laws of physics at a microscopic or quantum level hold that
those processes should be reversible.

Text 2
In 2015, physicists Tiago Batalhão et al. performed an experiment in which
they confirmed the irreversibility of thermodynamic processes at a quantum
level, producing entropy by applying a rapidly oscillating magnetic field to a
system of carbon-13 atoms in liquid chloroform. But the experiment “does not
pinpoint ... what causes [irreversibility] at the microscopic level,” coauthor
Mauro Paternostro said.

Based on the texts, what would the author of Text 1 most likely say about the
experiment described in Text 2?

A) It would suggest an interesting direction for future research were it not the
case that two of the physicists who conducted the experiment disagree on the
significance of its findings.
B) It provides empirical evidence that the current understanding of an aspect
of physics at a microscopic level must be incomplete.
C) It is consistent with the current understanding of physics at a microscopic
level but not at a macroscopic level.
D) It supports a claim about an isolated system of atoms in a laboratory, but
that claim should not be extrapolated to a general claim about the universe.

Question 2.
Text 1
In a study of the benefits of having free time, Marissa Sharif found that the
reported sense of life satisfaction tended to plateau when participants had two
hours of free time per day and actually began to fall when they had five hours
of free time per day. After further research, Sharif concluded that this dip in
life satisfaction mainly occurred when individuals spent all their free time
unproductively, such as by watching TV or playing games.

Text 2
Psychologist James Maddux cautions against suggesting an ideal amount of
free time. The human desire for both free time and productivity is universal,
but Maddux asserts that individuals have unique needs for life satisfaction.
Furthermore, he points out that there is no objective definition for what
constitutes productivity; reading a book might be considered a productive
activity by some, but idleness by others.

Based on the texts, how would Maddux (Text 2) most likely respond to the
conclusion Sharif (Text 1) reached after her further research?

A) By acknowledging that free time is more likely to enhance life satisfaction

when it is spent productively than when it is spent unproductively
B) By challenging the reasoning in Text 1, as it has not been proved that
productivity commonly contributes to individualsʼ life satisfaction
C) By warning against making an overly broad assumption, as there is no clear
consensus in distinguishing between productive and unproductive activities
D) By claiming that the specific activities named in Text 1 are actually
examples of productive activities rather than unproductive ones

Question 3.
Text 1
In 2021, a team led by Amir Siraj hypothesized that the Chicxulub impactor—
the object that struck the Yucatán Peninsula sixty-six million years ago,
precipitating the mass extinction of the dinosaurs—was likely a member of the
class of long-period comets. As evidence, Siraj cited the carbonaceous
chondritic composition of samples from the Chicxulub impact crater as well
as of samples obtained from long-period comet Wild 2 in 2006.

Text 2
Although long-period comets contain carbonaceous chondrites, asteroids are
similarly rich in these materials. Furthermore, some asteroids are rich in
iridium, as Natalia Artemieva points out, whereas long-period comets are not.
Given the prevalence of iridium at the crater and, more broadly, in geological
layers deposited worldwide following the impact, Artemieva argues that an
asteroid is a more plausible candidate for the Chicxulub impactor.

Based on the texts, how would Artemieva likely respond to Sirajʼs hypothesis,
as presented in Text 1?

A) By insisting that it overestimates how representative Wild 2 is of long-

period comets as a class
B) By arguing that it does not account for the amount of iridium found in
geological layers dating to the Chicxulub impact
C) By praising it for connecting the composition of Chicxulub crater samples to
the composition of certain asteroids
D) By concurring that carbonaceous chondrites are prevalent in soil samples
from sites distant from the Chicxulub crater

Question 4.
Text 1
Philosopher G.E. Mooreʼs most influential work entails the concept of common
sense. He asserts that there are certain beliefs that all people, including
philosophers, know instinctively to be true, whether or not they profess
otherwise: among them, that they have bodies, or that they exist in a world
with other objects that have three dimensions. Mooreʼs careful work on
common sense may seem obvious but was in fact groundbreaking.

Text 2
External world skepticism is a philosophical stance supposing that we cannot
be sure of the existence of anything outside our own minds. During a lecture,
G.E. Moore once offered a proof refuting this stance by holding out his hands
and saying, “Here is one hand, and here is another.” Many philosophers
reflexively reject this proof (Annalisa Coliva called it “an obviously annoying
failure”) but have found it a challenge to articulate exactly why the proof fails.

Based on the texts, how would the author of Text 1 most likely respond to
proponents of the philosophical stance outlined in Text 2?

A) By agreeing with those proponents that Mooreʼs treatment of positions that

contradict his own is fundamentally unserious
B) By suggesting that an instinctive distaste for Mooreʼs position is preventing
external world skeptics from constructing a sufficiently rigorous refutation of
Moore
C) By arguing that if it is valid to assert that some facts are true based on
instinct, it is also valid to assert that some proofs are inadequate based on
instinct
D) By pointing out that Moore would assert that external world skepticism is at
odds with other beliefs those proponents must unavoidably hold

Question 5.
Text 1
A tiny, unusual fossil in a piece of 99-million-year-old amber is of the extinct
species Oculudentavis khaungraae. The O. khaungraae fossil consists of a
rounded skull with a thin snout and a large eye socket. Because these
features look like they are avian, or related to birds, researchers initially
thought that the fossil might be the smallest avian dinosaur ever found.

Text 2
Paleontologists were excited to discover a second small fossil that is similar to
the strange O. khaungraae fossil but has part of the lower body along with a
birdlike skull. Detailed studies of both fossils revealed several traits that are
found in lizards but not in dinosaurs or birds. Therefore, paleontologists think
the two creatures were probably unusual lizards, even though the skulls
looked avian at first.

Based on the texts, what would the paleontologists in Text 2 most likely say
about the researchersʼ initial thought in Text 1?

A) It is understandable because the fossil does look like it could be related to

birds, even though O. khaungraae is probably a lizard.
B) It is confusing because it isnʼt clear what caused the researchers to think
that O. khaungraae might be related to birds.
C) It is flawed because the researchers mistakenly assumed that O. khaungraae
must be a lizard.
D) It is reasonable because the O. khaungraae skull is about the same size as
the skull of the second fossil but is shaped differently.
Question 6.
Text 1
Many studies in psychology have shown that people seek out information even
when they know in advance that they have no immediate use for it and that
they wonʼt directly benefit from it. Such findings support the consensus view
among researchers of curiosity: namely, that curiosity is not instrumental but
instead represents a drive to acquire information for its own sake.

Text 2
While acknowledging that acquiring information is a powerful motivator,
Rachit Dubey and colleagues ran an experiment to test whether emphasizing
the usefulness of scientific information could increase curiosity about it. They
found that when research involving rats and fruit flies was presented as having
medical applications for humans, participants expressed greater interest in
learning about it than when the research was not presented as useful.

Based on the texts, how would Dubey and colleagues (Text 2) most likely
respond to the consensus view discussed in Text 1?

A) By suggesting that curiosity may not be exclusively motivated by the desire

to merely acquire information
B) By conceding that people may seek out information that serves no
immediate purpose only because they think they can use it later
C) By pointing out that it is challenging to determine when information-
seeking serves no goal beyond acquiring information
D) By disputing the idea that curiosity can help explain apparently purposeless
information-seeking behaviors

Question 7.
Text 1
Polar bears sustain themselves primarily by hunting seals on the Arctic sea ice,
but rising ocean temperatures are causing the ice to diminish, raising concerns
about polar bear population declines as these large predatorsʼ seal-hunting
habitats continue to shrink. A 2020 study examining polar bear populations
across the Arctic concluded that populations affected by sea-ice loss are at
great risk of extinction by the end of the twenty-first century.
Text 2
Monitoring carried out by researchers from the Norwegian Polar Institute
shows that the polar bear population on the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard
remains stable and well nourished despite rapidly declining sea ice in recent
years. The researchers attribute this populationʼs resilience in part to a shift in
feeding strategies: in addition to hunting seals, the Svalbard polar bears have
begun relying on a diet of reindeer meat and birdsʼ eggs.

Based on the texts, how would the researchers in Text 2 most likely respond to
the conclusion presented in the underlined portion of Text 1?

A) By noting that it neglects the possibility of some polar bear populations

adapting to changes in their environment
B) By suggesting that it is likely incorrect about the rates at which warming
ocean temperatures have caused sea ice to melt in the Arctic
C) By asserting that it overlooks polar bear populations that have not yet been
affected by loss of seal-hunting habitats
D) By arguing that it fails to account for polar bearsʼ reliance on a single seal-
hunting strategy

Question 8.
Text 1
Growth in the use of novel nanohybrids—materials created from the
conjugation of multiple distinct nanomaterials, such as iron oxide and gold
nanomaterials conjugated for use in magnetic imaging—has outpaced studies
of nanohybridsʼ environmental risks. Unfortunately, risk evaluations based on
nanohybridsʼ constituents are not reliable: conjugation may alter constituentsʼ
physiochemical properties such that innocuous nanomaterials form a
nanohybrid that is anything but.

Text 2
The potential for enhanced toxicity of nanohybrids relative to the toxicity of
constituent nanomaterials has drawn deserved attention, but the effects of
nanomaterial conjugation vary by case. For instance, it was recently shown
that a nanohybrid of silicon dioxide and zinc oxide preserved the desired
optical transparency of zinc oxide nanoparticles while mitigating the
nanoparticlesʼ potential to damage DNA.
Based on the texts, how would the author of Text 2 most likely respond to the
assertion in the underlined portion of Text 1?

A) By concurring that the risk described in Text 1 should be evaluated but

emphasizing that the risk is more than offset by the potential benefits of
nanomaterial conjugation
B) By arguing that the situation described in Text 1 may not be representative
but conceding that the effects of nanomaterial conjugation are harder to
predict than researchers had expected
C) By denying that the circumstance described in Text 1 is likely to occur but
acknowledging that many aspects of nanomaterial conjugation are still poorly
understood
D) By agreeing that the possibility described in Text 1 is a cause for concern but
pointing out that nanomaterial conjugation does not inevitably produce that
result

Question 9.
Text 1
The Cretaceous-Paleogene (K-Pg) mass extinction event is usually attributed
solely to an asteroid impact near Chicxulub, Mexico. Some scientists argue that
volcanic activity was the true cause, as the K-Pg event occurred relatively early
in a long period of eruption of the Deccan Traps range that initially produced
huge amounts of climate-altering gases. These dissenters note that other mass
extinctions have coincided with large volcanic eruptions, while only the K-Pg
event lines up with an asteroid strike.

Text 2
In a 2020 study, Pincelli Hull and her colleagues analyzed ocean core samples
and modeled climate changes around the K-Pg event. The team concluded that
Deccan Traps gases did affect global conditions prior to the event, but that the
climate returned to normal well before the extinctions began—extinctions that
instead closely align with the Chicxulub impact.

Based on the texts, how would Hullʼs team (Text 2) most likely respond to the
argument in the underlined portion of Text 1?
A) By agreeing that the Chicxulub impact changed the climate and that the
Deccan Traps eruption caused the K-Pg event
B) By declaring that the changes in climate caused by the Deccan Traps
eruption werenʼt the main cause of the K-Pg event
C) By questioning why those scientists assume that the Chicxulub impact
caused the Deccan Traps eruption
D) By asserting that the Deccan Traps eruption had a more significant effect on
global conditions than those scientists claim

Question 10.
Text 1
In 2007, a team led by Alice Storey analyzed a chicken bone found in El Arenal,
Chile, dating it to 1321–1407 CE—over a century before Europeans invaded the
region, bringing their own chickens. Storey also found that the El Arenal
chicken shared a unique genetic mutation with the ancient chicken breeds of
the Polynesian Islands in the Pacific. Thus, Polynesian peoples, not later
Europeans, probably first introduced chickens to South America.

Text 2
An Australian research team weakened the case for a Polynesian origin for the
El Arenal chicken by confirming that the mutation identified by Storey has
occurred in breeds from around the world. More recently, though, a team led
by Agusto Luzuriaga-Neira found that South American chicken breeds and
Polynesian breeds share other genetic markers that European breeds lack.
Thus, the preponderance of evidence now favors a Polynesian origin.

Based on the texts, how would the author of Text 2 most likely respond to the
underlined claim in Text 1?

A) By broadly agreeing with the claim but objecting that the timeline it
presupposes conflicts with the findings of the genetic analysis conducted by
Storeyʼs team
B) By faulting the claim for implying that domestic animals couldnʼt have been
transferred from South America to the Polynesian Islands as well
C) By critiquing the claim for being based on an assumption that before the
European invasion of South America, the chickens of Europe were genetically
uniform
D) By noting that while the claim is persuasive, the findings of Luzuriaga-
Neiraʼs team provide stronger evidence for it than the findings of the genetic
analysis conducted by Storey do

Question 11.
Text 1
The fossil record suggests that mammoths went extinct around 11 thousand
years (kyr) ago. In a 2021 study of environmental DNA (eDNA)—genetic
material shed into the environment by organisms—in the Arctic, Yucheng
Wang and colleagues found mammoth eDNA in sedimentary layers formed
millennia later, around 4 kyr ago. To account for this discrepancy, Joshua H.
Miller and Carl Simpson proposed that arctic temperatures could preserve a
mammoth carcass on the surface, allowing it to leach DNA into the
environment, for several thousand years.

Text 2
Wang and colleagues concede that eDNA contains DNA from both living
organisms and carcasses, but for DNA to leach from remains over several
millennia requires that the remains be perpetually on the surface. Scavengers
and weathering in the Arctic, however, are likely to break down surface
remains well before a thousand years have passed.

Which choice best describes how Text 1 and Text 2 relate to each other?

A) Text 1 discusses two approaches to studying mammoth extinction without

advocating for either, whereas Text 2 advocates for one approach over the
other.
B) Text 1 presents findings by Wang and colleagues and gives another research
teamʼs attempt to explain those findings, whereas Text 2 provides additional
detail that calls that explanation into question.
C) Text 1 describes Wang and colleaguesʼ study and a critique of their
methodology, whereas Text 2 offers additional details showing that
methodology to be sound.
D) Text 1 argues that new research has undermined the standard view of when
mammoths went extinct, whereas Text 2 suggests a way to reconcile the
standard view with that new research.
Question 12.
Text 1
Dominique Potvin and colleagues captured five Australian magpies
(Gymnorhina tibicen) to test a new design for attaching tracking devices to
birds. As the researchers fitted each magpie with a tracker attached by a small
harness, they noticed some magpies without trackers pecking at another
magpieʼs tracker until it broke off. The researchers suggest that this behavior
could be evidence of magpies attempting to help another magpie without
benefiting themselves.

Text 2
It can be tempting to think that animals are deliberately providing help when
we see them removing trackers and other equipment from one another,
especially when a species is known to exhibit other cooperative behaviors. At
the same time, it can be difficult to exclude the possibility that individuals are
simply interested in the equipment because of its novelty, curiously pawing or
pecking at it until it detaches.

Based on the texts, how would the author of Text 2 most likely respond to the
researchersʼ perspective in Text 1 on the behavior of the magpies without
trackers?

A) That behavior might have been due to the novelty of the magpiesʼ captive
setting rather than to the novelty of the tracker.
B) That behavior likely indicates that the magpies were deliberately attempting
to benefit themselves by obtaining the tracker.
C) That behavior may not be evidence of selflessness in Gymnorhina tibicen
because not all the captured magpies demonstrated it.
D) That behavior might be adequately explained without suggesting that the
magpies were attempting to assist the other magpie.

Question 13.
Text 1
Despite its beautiful prose, The Guns of August, Barbara Tuchmanʼs 1962
analysis of the start of World War I, has certain weaknesses as a work of
history. It fails to address events in Eastern Europe just before the outbreak of
hostilities, thereby giving the impression that Germany was the warʼs principal
instigator. Had Tuchman consulted secondary works available to her by
scholars such as Luigi Albertini, she would not have neglected the influence of
events in Eastern Europe on Germanyʼs actions.

Text 2
Barbara Tuchmanʼs The Guns of August is an engrossing if dated introduction to
World War I. Tuchmanʼs analysis of primary documents is laudable, but her
main thesis that European powers committed themselves to a catastrophic
outcome by refusing to deviate from military plans developed prior to the
conflict is implausibly reductive.

Which choice best describes a difference in how the authors of Text 1 and Text
2 view Barbara Tuchmanʼs The Guns of August?

A) The author of Text 1 argues that Tuchman should have relied more on the
work of other historians, while the author of Text 2 implies that Tuchmanʼs
most interesting claims result from her original research.
B) The author of Text 1 believes that the scope of Tuchmanʼs research led her to
an incorrect interpretation, while the author of Text 2 believes that Tuchmanʼs
central argument is overly simplistic.
C) The author of Text 1 asserts that the writing style of The Guns of August
makes it worthwhile to read despite any perceived deficiency in Tuchmanʼs
research, while the author of Text 2 focuses exclusively on the weakness of
Tuchmanʼs interpretation of events.
D) The author of Text 1 claims that Tuchman would agree that World War I was
largely due to events in Eastern Europe, while the author of Text 2 maintains
that Tuchman would say that Eastern European leaders were not committed to
military plans in the same way that other leaders were.

Question 14.
Text 1
Most animals can regenerate some parts of their bodies, such as skin. But when
a three-banded panther worm is cut into three pieces, each piece grows into a
new worm. Researchers are investigating this feat partly to learn more about
humansʼ comparatively limited abilities to regenerate, and they're making
exciting progress. An especially promising discovery is that both humans and
panther worms have a gene for early growth response (EGR) linked to
regeneration.

Text 2
When Mansi Srivastava and her team reported that panther worms, like
humans, possess a gene for EGR, it caused excitement. However, as the team
pointed out, the gene likely functions very differently in humans than it does
in panther worms. Srivastava has likened EGR to a switch that activates other
genes involved in regeneration in panther worms, but how this switch
operates in humans remains unclear.

Based on the texts, what would the author of Text 2 most likely say about Text
1ʼs characterization of the discovery involving EGR?

A) It is reasonable given that Srivastava and her team have identified how EGR
functions in both humans and panther worms.
B) It is overly optimistic given additional observations from Srivastava and her
team.
C) It is unexpected given that Srivastava and her teamʼs findings were generally
met with enthusiasm.
D) It is unfairly dismissive given the progress that Srivastava and her team
have reported.

Question 15.
Text 1
Africaʼs Sahara region—once a lush ecosystem—began to dry out about 8,000
years ago. A change in Earthʼs orbit that affected climate has been posited as a
cause of desertification, but archaeologist David Wright also attributes the
shift to Neolithic peoples. He cites their adoption of pastoralism as a factor in
the region drying out: the pastoralistsʼ livestock depleted vegetation,
prompting the events that created the Sahara Desert.

Text 2
Research by Chris Brierley et al. challenges the idea that Neolithic peoples
contributed to the Saharaʼs desertification. Using a climate-vegetation model,
the team concluded that the end of the regionʼs humid period occurred 500
years earlier than previously assumed. The timing suggests that Neolithic
peoples didnʼt exacerbate aridity in the region but, in fact, may have helped
delay environmental changes with practices (e.g., selective grazing) that
preserved vegetation.

Based on the texts, how would Chris Brierley (Text 2) most likely respond to
the discussion in Text 1?

A) By pointing out that given the revised timeline for the end of the Saharaʼs
humid period, the Neolithic peoplesʼ mode of subsistence likely didnʼt cause the
regionʼs desertification
B) By claiming that pastoralism was only one of many behaviors the Neolithic
peoples took part in that may have contributed to the Saharaʼs changing
climate
C) By insisting that pastoralism can have both beneficial and deleterious
effects on a regionʼs vegetation and climate
D) By asserting that more research needs to be conducted into factors that
likely contributed to the desertification of the Sahara region