Free printable PSAT practice test for Grade 10

Reading and Writing

Circle the letter of the best answer. About 12 minutes.

1. Jazz improvisation

   In many jazz performances, musicians do not simply play a written score. Instead, they ______ new melodies on the spot, responding to one another and to the mood of the audience.

   1.

   Which choice gives the most logical and precise word or phrase for the blank?

   1. Ainvent
   2. Bmemorize
   3. Cpurchase
   4. Dsilence

2. Finding exoplanets

   Most planets outside our solar system are far too dim to see directly. Astronomers instead ______ their presence indirectly, watching for the tiny dip in a star's brightness that occurs when a planet passes in front of it.

   2.

   Which choice gives the most logical and precise word or phrase for the blank?

   1. Adeny
   2. Bprevent
   3. Cinfer
   4. Dphotograph

3. Sea otter fur

   Sea otters spend most of their lives in cold ocean water, yet they have almost no body fat. Instead, they rely on the thickest fur of any animal, with up to a million hairs in a single square inch. Air trapped between the hairs keeps the otter's skin dry and warm.

   3.

   What is the main purpose of the text?

   1. ATo describe the diet that keeps sea otters healthy in the ocean
   2. BTo explain how sea otters stay warm without much body fat
   3. CTo argue that sea otters need protection from cold water
   4. DTo compare sea otters with other ocean mammals

4. The Pony Express

   Launched in April 1860, the Pony Express carried mail between Missouri and California using a relay of riders who changed horses at stations along the route. A letter could cross the distance in about ten days, far faster than by stagecoach. The service was costly to run, however, and in October 1861 a telegraph line was completed across the continent, allowing messages to travel in minutes. The Pony Express closed only two days later.

   4.

   According to the text, what led to the end of the Pony Express?

   1. ALetters sent by riders often took longer than ten days to arrive.
   2. BThe stations along the route ran short of fresh horses.
   3. CA telegraph line that crossed the continent was finished.
   4. DStagecoaches began delivering mail more quickly than riders could.

5. Garden pollinators

   Students at one middle school planted purple and white flowers side by side in their garden. For one week, they recorded every time a bee, butterfly, or fly landed on a flower of each color. The students concluded that the bees in their garden favored purple flowers. The graph supports this conclusion, since it shows that ______

   5.

   Which choice most effectively uses data from the graph to complete the statement?

   1. Aflies made more visits to white flowers than to purple flowers.
   2. Bbees made fewer visits to purple flowers than flies made to white ones.
   3. Cbutterflies visited purple and white flowers almost equally often.
   4. Dbees made 24 visits to purple flowers and only 9 to white ones.

6. Library windows

   In our text, an architect designing a new public library placed most of its windows high on the walls, just below the ceiling. She explained that direct sunlight slowly fades book covers and creates harsh glare on pages, while light entering near the ceiling bounces off the pale ceiling and spreads softly through the room. The architect most likely chose high windows because they ______

   6.

   Which choice most logically completes the text?

   1. Alet readers look out at the street more easily.
   2. Bkeep the library darker than most buildings.
   3. Ccost less to build than ordinary windows do.
   4. Dgive light without shining straight onto books.

7. Roman harbor walls

   Some Roman harbor walls have survived two thousand years of crashing waves, and researchers credit one surprising ingredient for their ______ which reacted with volcanic ash to form new minerals inside the concrete.

   7.

   Which choice completes the text so that it follows the conventions of Standard English?

   1. Astrength; seawater,
   2. Bstrength: seawater,
   3. Cstrength seawater,
   4. Dstrength. Seawater,

8. Glacial lakes

   Scientists closely monitor the lakes that form at the edges of melting mountain glaciers. Because ______ walls are often made of loose rock and ice, they can give way suddenly and send floods into the valleys below.

   8.

   Which choice completes the text so that it follows the conventions of Standard English?

   1. Aits
   2. Bit's
   3. Cthere
   4. Dtheir

9. Learning guitar

   Ana wanted to learn the guitar before her cousin's birthday party. First, she practiced simple chords for twenty minutes each evening. ______, she learned to switch between them smoothly while strumming. Finally, she played the whole song for her family.

   9.

   Which choice gives the most logical transition for the blank?

   1. AInstead
   2. BIn contrast
   3. CFor instance
   4. DAfterward

10. Mantis shrimp eyes

    While researching a topic, a student has taken the following notes:
    • Humans have three types of color receptors in their eyes.
    • Mantis shrimp have between 12 and 16 types.
    • In experiments, mantis shrimp were worse than humans at telling apart very similar colors.
    • Researchers think mantis shrimp may recognize colors quickly rather than finely.

    10.

    The student wants to present a surprising finding about mantis shrimp. Which choice most effectively uses relevant information from the notes to accomplish this goal?

    1. AResearchers think that mantis shrimp may recognize colors quickly rather than finely.
    2. BDespite having 12 to 16 types of color receptors to our three, mantis shrimp were worse than humans at telling apart similar colors.
    3. CMantis shrimp have between 12 and 16 types of color receptors in their eyes.
    4. DHumans have only three types of color receptors in their eyes.