Free printable PSAT practice test for Grade 9

Reading and Writing

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

1. Mangrove roots

   Mangrove forests grow along tropical coastlines where few other trees can survive. Their tangled roots ______ waves during storms, slowing the water before it reaches the shore and reducing damage to nearby towns.

   1.

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

   1. Asummon
   2. Bimitate
   3. Cbuffer
   4. Damplify

2. Continental drift

   When the idea that continents move was first proposed in the early 1900s, many geologists were ______. They accepted that the coastlines of Africa and South America seemed to fit together, but they could not imagine a force strong enough to push entire continents across the globe.

   2.

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

   1. Askeptical
   2. Brelieved
   3. Centhusiastic
   4. Dindifferent

3. The pottery wheel

   Potters working by hand once built every bowl by coiling ropes of clay. The pottery wheel changed this process. By spinning the clay quickly, a potter could shape a round, even bowl in minutes, and workshops could produce far more pieces each day.

   3.

   What is the text mainly trying to do?

   1. ATo argue that handmade coiled bowls are more beautiful
   2. BTo describe the materials potters use to make clay
   3. CTo explain how the pottery wheel changed the way bowls were made
   4. DTo show that pottery workshops were often crowded and difficult places

4. The Erie Canal

   Completed in 1825, the Erie Canal linked the Hudson River in New York with Lake Erie, creating a water route from the Atlantic coast to the Great Lakes. Before the canal, hauling goods overland by wagon was slow and costly. Afterward, barges pulled by mules could carry heavy loads cheaply, and the price of shipping goods between the two regions fell sharply. New York City soon grew into the busiest port in the country.

   4.

   According to the text, what was one result of the Erie Canal?

   1. APorts along the Great Lakes soon grew busier and larger than New York City.
   2. BShipping goods between the Great Lakes and the coast became much cheaper.
   3. CMules were no longer needed for moving heavy loads.
   4. DWagons became faster at carrying goods over land.

5. Bean sprouting

   A student tested whether temperature affects how many bean seeds sprout. She placed 20 seeds in each of three containers, kept each container at a different temperature, and counted the sprouted seeds after five days. She concluded that, within the range she tested, warmer conditions helped the seeds sprout. As evidence, she pointed out that ______

   5.

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

   1. A18 seeds sprouted at 80°F, compared with only 6 at 60°F.
   2. B6 seeds sprouted at 60°F, the coolest of the three containers.
   3. Cthe same number of seeds sprouted in each of the three containers.
   4. D13 seeds sprouted at 70°F, which was more than sprouted at 80°F.

6. Recipe cards

   Cleaning out her grandmother's kitchen, June found a box of recipe cards. The printed recipes were tidy, but almost every card had notes squeezed into the margins: "June likes extra cinnamon," "half sugar for June," "no nuts, June hates them." The newest notes were dated the year June turned eight, the summer she had stayed at the farmhouse. Reading them, June realized that her grandmother had ______

   6.

   Which choice most logically completes the text?

   1. Adisliked the recipes that June later asked her to make.
   2. Bstopped cooking once June left the farmhouse.
   3. Ccopied the recipes from cards that June had written.
   4. Dadjusted her cooking to suit June's tastes.

7. Emperor penguin fathers

   In the Antarctic winter, emperor penguin fathers balance ______ eggs on their feet for about two months. A fold of warm skin covers each egg while the mothers travel to the sea to feed.

   7.

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

   1. Athey're
   2. Btheir
   3. Cits
   4. Dthere

8. Honeybee dances

   When a honeybee finds a rich patch of flowers, it returns to the hive and performs a waggle dance for the other workers. The angle of the dance shows the direction of the food ______ length of each waggle run shows how far away the flowers are.

   8.

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

   1. Asource; the
   2. Bsource; and the
   3. Csource, the
   4. Dsource the

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. BAfterward
   3. CIn contrast
   4. DFor instance

10. Erie Canal

    While researching a topic, a student has taken the following notes:
    • The Erie Canal opened in 1825.
    • It linked the Hudson River at Albany to Lake Erie at Buffalo.
    • It was about 363 miles long.
    • The cost of shipping goods from Buffalo to New York City fell by about 90 percent.
    • New York City grew into the nation's leading port.

    10.

    The student wants to emphasize the canal's effect on shipping costs. Which choice most effectively uses relevant information from the notes to accomplish this goal?

    1. AThe Erie Canal linked the Hudson River at Albany to Lake Erie at Buffalo.
    2. BIn the years after the Erie Canal opened in 1825, New York City grew into the leading port in the nation.
    3. CAfter the Erie Canal opened, shipping goods from Buffalo to New York City cost about 90 percent less.
    4. DThe Erie Canal, which was about 363 miles long, opened to boats in 1825.