Free SAT® Practice Question: Inference

Also great practice for ACT® Reading

Today’s free SAT® practice question is a mock Inference Question. It follows the digital SAT® format but is also great preparation ACT® Reading.

For effective time management on test day, you should aim to answer this question correctly in a maximum of 80 seconds.

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Free SAT® Practice Question

By analyzing data from ocean temperature records, Dr. Chen and colleagues created computer models to study the formation of coral reef ecosystems. Their research concluded that three distinct water temperature zones likely influenced coral reef development during the past millennium. The researchers suggest that organisms in the warmest zone became the species found in shallow tropical reefs, organisms in the middle temperature zone evolved into the species found in mid-depth reefs, and organisms in the coolest zone developed into deep-water coral species. In one simulation, the researchers cooled the warmest temperature zone, causing unusually diverse species to begin flourishing in the shallow tropical reefs. The researchers therefore hypothesize that ______

Which choice most logically completes the text?

A) the warmest temperature zone actually cooled more rapidly than their initial models had predicted.

B) the temperature level of the warmest zone played a significant role in determining the biodiversity of shallow reefs.

C) if the warming of the coolest temperature zone had occurred in a simulation, all coral zones would have shown increased biodiversity.

D) the middle temperature zone was actually responsible for all coral reef biodiversity, not just species in mid-depth waters.

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Answer Explanations and Strategy Guide