Free printable SAT practice test for Grade 11

Reading and Writing

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

1. Recycling cans

   Making a can from recycled aluminum uses far less energy than making one from raw ore. For this reason, many cities ______ residents to separate cans from other trash, offering curbside bins for the purpose.

   1.

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

   1. Aforbid
   2. Bencourage
   3. Cdare
   4. Ddiscourage

2. Superconductors

   Superconductors carry electric current with no resistance at all, but only when cooled to extremely low temperatures. This requirement has ______ their use in everyday devices, since keeping a material that cold is costly and difficult.

   2.

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

   1. Asimplified
   2. Bconstrained
   3. Caccelerated
   4. Djustified

3. Island body size

   On islands with limited food, some large mammals have evolved to become much smaller than their mainland relatives. Fossils show that elephants once living on several Mediterranean islands stood barely a meter tall. Small rodents, by contrast, sometimes grow larger on islands, possibly because the predators that kept them small on the mainland are absent.

   3.

   Which choice best states the main purpose of the text?

   1. ATo explain how scientists measure the height of fossil elephants
   2. BTo show that rodents on islands face more predators than those on the mainland
   3. CTo argue that island elephants went extinct because they became too small
   4. DTo describe how island conditions can push animal body size in opposite directions

4. Adobe walls

   Adobe bricks are made from clay, sand, water, and straw, then dried in the sun. In hot, dry regions, builders have long used them to make thick walls. During the day, these walls slowly soak up heat, so the rooms inside stay cool. At night, when desert air turns cold, the walls release that stored heat back into the rooms. The result is a home that stays comfortable without much fuel.

   4.

   What is the main idea of the text?

   1. AAdobe bricks are stronger than bricks baked in a kiln.
   2. BDesert nights are colder than most people expect.
   3. CThick adobe walls keep indoor temperatures steady in dry places.
   4. DBuilders in dry regions prefer straw to any other building material.

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. A6 seeds sprouted at 60°F, the coolest of the three containers.
   2. B18 seeds sprouted at 80°F, compared with only 6 at 60°F.
   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. The recital

   Leo told everyone that the spring piano recital was no big deal. Still, his little sister heard him practicing the same piece every night for a month, sometimes until their mother called lights out. On the morning of the recital, he ironed his best shirt twice and checked his sheet music three times before leaving. Taken together, these details suggest that Leo ______

   6.

   Which choice most logically completes the text?

   1. Awanted his sister to perform in his place.
   2. Bcared about the recital more than he admitted.
   3. Chad decided not to attend the recital at all.
   4. Dhad forgotten the piece he was supposed to play.

7. 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.

   7.

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

   1. Achildrens'
   2. Bchildrens
   3. Cchildren's
   4. Dchilds'

8. Tracking asteroids

   Small asteroids that pass close to Earth are hard to spot. Since 2015, astronomers at a mountaintop observatory ______ more than two hundred of these objects, adding each one to a public catalog.

   8.

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

   1. Awill track
   2. Bhad tracked
   3. Chave tracked
   4. Dtrack

9. Unseen matter

   Astronomers measuring how fast stars orbit the centers of galaxies found something puzzling. Stars far from the center moved about as fast as stars closer in, even though the visible matter in each galaxy should not have produced enough gravity to hold such fast stars in orbit. ______, many astronomers concluded that galaxies must contain large amounts of unseen "dark matter."

   9.

   Which choice gives the most logical transition for the blank?

   1. ALikewise
   2. BConsequently
   3. CFor instance
   4. DNevertheless

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. CHumans have only three types of color receptors in their eyes.
    4. DMantis shrimp have between 12 and 16 types of color receptors in their eyes.