Find the Signal in the Noise
Master SAT® Command of Evidence Questions by looking past the distractions to spot common patterns.
In a world overflowing with information, the ability to identify meaningful patterns amidst chaos is an essential skill. Much like a radio operator adjusting frequencies to capture a clear signal transmission, successful SAT® test-takers must learn to filter out the “noise” and tune into the clues embedded within passages.
Some SAT® Command of Evidence Questions (as well as Inference and even Details Questions) contain causal chains – sequences of cause-and-effect relationships that build upon each other. The key to success is noticing these chains, jotting down a simplified version, and understanding that the correct answer will typically focus on a specific link in the chain or connect the first cause with the final effect.
Don’t panic if you don’t fully comprehend all the technical mechanisms connecting each link in the chain. Recognizing the basic chain structure is often sufficient.
Today’s SAT® Practice Question
Under standard temperature conditions, silicon crystals in computer chips form a regular lattice structure maintained by covalent bonds between adjacent atoms. Extreme high temperatures, such as those generated during intensive processing tasks, weaken these bonds and distort the crystal structure, allowing electrons to escape their normal pathways and create signal interference. To address this problem, chip designers developed advanced processors known as thermostable chips that remain functional at high temperatures. During development, engineers found that chips with higher concentrations of vanadium oxide in their substrate layers could operate at higher temperatures, leading them to hypothesize that vanadium oxide prevents the weakening of silicon's crystal structure.
Which finding, if true, would most directly support the researchers' hypothesis?
A) Electrons are found to be unaffected by vanadium oxide even when the silicon crystal lattice has been disrupted by high temperatures.
B) Analysis of vanadium oxide's molecular structure shows that it maintains its crystalline form even as temperature increases.
C) A positive correlation is found between concentrations of vanadium oxide and the rate at which silicon's crystal structure distorts as temperature rises.
D) Examination of silicon's crystal structure under high temperature reveals that covalent bonds are more stable when vanadium oxide is present than when it is not.
(Answer Explanations and Strategy Guide Below.)
🔍 Quick Tip: As always with Command of Evidence questions, start by clearly identifying the claim (in this case, the “hypothesis”). Since I’ve tipped you off that this passage is centered on a causal chain, try to find it and create a simplified diagram (I like to use arrows between each link but you do you).
Hint: Focus on finding the answer choice that directly addresses how vanadium oxide might operate on a specific link in the chain to make the hypothesis more likely to be true. For an example diagram, strategy walk-through, and more, become a premium subscriber.