Free printable PSAT practice test for Grade 9

Reading and Writing

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

1. Free public libraries

   In the late 1800s, many towns in the United States opened free public libraries. For workers who could not afford to buy books, these libraries ______ access to newspapers, novels, and textbooks that had once been available mostly to wealthy families.

   1.

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

   1. Aprovided
   2. Bprevented
   3. Cdelayed
   4. Dlimited

2. 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.

   2.

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

   1. Amemorize
   2. Bpurchase
   3. Cinvent
   4. Dsilence

3. The red kite

   The wind tore the string from Sam's fingers, and the red kite rose over the rooftops. Sam ran three blocks, then four, but the kite grew smaller and smaller. Finally, he stopped and watched it disappear into the clouds.

   3.

   Which choice best describes the function of the underlined sentence?

   1. AIt reveals that Sam has found the kite again.
   2. BIt describes Sam's plan for getting a new kite.
   3. CIt shows that Sam has given up trying to catch the kite.
   4. DIt explains why the wind was so strong that day.

4. Tardigrades

   Tardigrades are animals less than a millimeter long that live in moss, soil, and ocean sediment. When their surroundings dry out, many species pull in their legs, lose nearly all the water in their bodies, and enter a state called a tun. In this state their metabolism almost stops, and some produce proteins that appear to shield their cells from damage. Tuns have survived freezing, intense radiation, and even exposure to the vacuum of space, then revived when given water.

   4.

   Which choice best states the main idea of the text?

   1. ATardigrades survive harsh conditions by entering a dried, nearly inactive state.
   2. BTardigrades grow larger when they are exposed to radiation.
   3. CTardigrades live mainly in places that never dry out.
   4. DTardigrades depend on larger animals to carry them from dry places to wetter ones.

5. Melting ice

   Substances dissolved in water lower the temperature at which it freezes. A student placed identical ice cubes on three plates, sprinkled one with salt, one with sugar, and left one bare, and timed how long each took to melt completely. She found that salt sped melting more than sugar did: ______

   5.

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

   1. Athe cube with salt melted in 22 minutes, compared with 41 for sugar.
   2. Bthe bare cube took 48 minutes to melt, the longest time of all three cubes.
   3. Cthe cube with sugar melted 7 minutes sooner than the bare cube.
   4. Dthe cube with sugar melted faster than the cube with salt did.

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. Cadjusted her cooking to suit June's tastes.
   4. Dcopied the recipes from cards that June had written.

7. Octopus camouflage

   An octopus can change both the color and the texture of ______ skin in less than a second. This allows the animal to blend into rocks, sand, or coral and hide from predators.

   7.

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

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

8. A new reading room

   The town library's new reading room was designed with its youngest visitors in mind. The ______ section has low shelves, floor cushions, and a wide window seat that looks out over the duck pond in the park.

   8.

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

   1. Achilds'
   2. Bchildrens
   3. Cchildrens'
   4. Dchildren's

9. Origami engineering

   Origami, the art of folding paper into shapes, has found uses far beyond decoration. ______, engineers have borrowed origami folding patterns to design solar panels that fold up small enough to be launched into space.

   9.

   Which choice gives the most logical transition for the blank?

   1. ASimilarly
   2. BHowever
   3. CIn other words
   4. DFor example

10. Monarch migration

    While researching a topic, a student has taken the following notes:
    • Monarch butterflies in eastern North America migrate south each fall.
    • Many travel more than 2,000 miles.
    • They spend the winter in fir forests in the mountains of central Mexico.
    • No single butterfly makes the full round trip.
    • The great-grandchildren of the fall migrants return north the next spring.

    10.

    The student wants to emphasize how far monarchs travel. Which choice most effectively uses relevant information from the notes to accomplish this goal?

    1. AThe great-grandchildren of fall migrants return north the following spring.
    2. BMonarchs spend the winter in fir forests in the mountains of central Mexico.
    3. CNo single monarch butterfly makes the full round trip between the north and Mexico.
    4. DMany monarchs travel more than 2,000 miles to reach their winter home in Mexico.