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ACT Reading study materials
ACT Reading study resources

ACT Reading practice questions

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Question 1Key Ideas and Details

A passage states that a researcher's team tested a new soil treatment on three plots and found that plant growth increased by an average of 22 percent compared with untreated plots. Which statement best expresses the main idea of this finding?

  1. The soil treatment was associated with greater plant growth across the tested plots. Correct answer.
  2. Three plots are enough to draw conclusions about all farm soil.
  3. The treated plots produced taller plants than the untreated plots did.
  4. Plant growth depends mainly on the amount of sunlight available.

Explanation

A main-idea statement captures the central point the details support: the treatment coincided with increased growth. Specific figures and single details are supporting evidence rather than the main idea.

Question 2Key Ideas and Details

In a passage, a narrator describes spending summers at a grandmother's house and lists the smells of bread, the sound of a screen door, and the feel of a worn porch rail. What is the primary purpose of these details?

  1. To convey the sensory richness of the narrator's memories Correct answer.
  2. To explain how the house was built
  3. To describe the grandmother's daily schedule
  4. To argue that summers were better in the past

Explanation

Details about smells, sounds, and textures work together to create a vivid sensory impression of remembered summers. Purpose questions ask what the details accomplish, not what literal facts they list.

Question 3Key Ideas and Details

A passage says: "By 1900, the city's horse-drawn streetcars had been almost entirely replaced by electric trolleys." Which conclusion is best supported by this sentence?

  1. Horses were no longer used anywhere in the city by 1900.
  2. The city built its first electric trolley line after 1900.
  3. Electric trolleys had become the dominant form of streetcar in the city by 1900. Correct answer.
  4. Horse-drawn streetcars were faster than electric trolleys.

Explanation

"Almost entirely replaced" supports the conclusion that electric trolleys had become dominant for streetcar service. Supported conclusions must stay within what the sentence actually states.

Question 4Key Ideas and Details

A passage describes a scientist who repeated an experiment many times and reported only the results that matched her original hypothesis. Which statement best characterizes her method?

  1. She followed standard practice for confirming a hypothesis.
  2. She tested her hypothesis more thoroughly than most researchers do.
  3. She improved the reliability of her findings by repeating trials.
  4. She selected results in a way that could bias her conclusions. Correct answer.

Explanation

Reporting only confirming results is selective reporting, which can distort conclusions because contradicting evidence is suppressed. Repeating trials helps only when all results are considered.

Question 5Key Ideas and Details

A passage notes that a character keeps a box of letters she never opens. Which inference about the character is best supported?

  1. The letters carry a significance she avoids confronting. Correct answer.
  2. The letters were written by a stranger.
  3. She plans to publish the letters someday.
  4. She has forgotten who wrote the letters.

Explanation

Keeping something while never opening it suggests emotional weight combined with avoidance. The inference must follow from the detail rather than add new facts.

Question 6Key Ideas and Details

A passage explains that a certain bird population declined after a wetland was drained. Which statement identifies the cause-and-effect relationship in the passage?

  1. The wetland was drained, which led to a decline in the bird population. Correct answer.
  2. The birds left the area, which caused the wetland to dry out.
  3. The bird population declined, which caused the wetland to be drained.
  4. Both the draining and the decline happened at the same time by coincidence.

Explanation

The passage presents draining as the event followed by the population decline, so draining is the stated cause. Cause-and-effect questions require matching the order and logic given in the text.

Question 7Key Ideas and Details

A passage states that a novelist wrote under a pen name because publishers in her era were reluctant to accept work from women. What does this detail most directly reveal?

  1. The novelist preferred anonymity for personal reasons.
  2. The novelist wrote in a genre publishers disliked.
  3. The novelist faced a social barrier in publishing. Correct answer.
  4. The novelist's books were unpopular with readers.

Explanation

The detail identifies a barrier tied to the writer's gender, which is a social obstacle in publishing. The correct answer stays tied to the reason the passage gives.

Question 8Key Ideas and Details

A passage reports that a city added bike lanes and that bike commuting rose over the next two years. Which statement most accurately describes what the passage supports?

  1. Bike commuting would have risen without the new lanes.
  2. Adding bike lanes was followed by an increase in bike commuting. Correct answer.
  3. Bike lanes were the only cause of the increase in commuting.
  4. Drivers stopped using the roads entirely after the lanes were added.

Explanation

The passage supports only an association between the new lanes and a later rise in commuting. Claims of sole causation or complete behavior change go beyond the evidence.

Question 9Key Ideas and Details

A passage describes two explorers who took different routes to the same mountain peak: one followed a river valley, the other climbed a ridge. Both reached the summit on the same day. What does this detail emphasize?

  1. Different approaches can lead to the same result. Correct answer.
  2. The explorers competed to reach the peak first.
  3. One route was clearly safer than the other.
  4. The river valley route was longer.

Explanation

The parallel outcome despite different routes points to the idea that varied methods can achieve the same goal. The passage gives no basis for comparing safety, speed, or distance.

Question 10Key Ideas and Details

A passage says a factory owner installed brighter lights because workers had been making errors on small parts. After the change, errors decreased. Which statement best evaluates the owner's reasoning?

  1. The reasoning assumes workers disliked the old lights.
  2. The reasoning connects a proposed cause of errors to a change that addressed it. Correct answer.
  3. The reasoning is flawed because brighter lights cannot affect accuracy.
  4. The reasoning is flawed because worker errors are always random.

Explanation

The owner identified poor visibility as a plausible cause of errors and changed the lighting accordingly, a coherent cause-and-effect response. Evaluating reasoning means checking whether the proposed cause matches the action taken.

Question 11Key Ideas and Details

A passage states: "Although the bridge was praised for its beauty, engineers worried about its narrow supports." Which idea does the sentence mainly convey?

  1. The bridge's supports were wider than required.
  2. The bridge was admired aesthetically but had a structural concern. Correct answer.
  3. Engineers wanted the bridge to be more decorative.
  4. The bridge was ugly and poorly built.

Explanation

The contrast structure sets praise for beauty against worry about narrow supports, combining admiration with a structural concern. Recognizing contrast signals like "although" clarifies the main point.

Question 12Key Ideas and Details

A passage describes a study in which participants who slept fewer than six hours recalled fewer words than those who slept eight hours. Which conclusion is most consistent with the passage?

  1. Eight hours of sleep guarantees perfect recall.
  2. Sleep duration is unrelated to memory in this study.
  3. Word recall causes people to sleep longer.
  4. Participants who slept more performed better on the recall task. Correct answer.

Explanation

The comparison shows the longer-sleeping group recalled more words, which is the pattern the passage supports. Conclusions must not overstate the results as guarantees or reverse the direction.

Question 13Key Ideas and Details

A passage notes that a town's annual festival began as a small harvest gathering and now draws visitors from several states. What is the main point of this description?

  1. The festival has grown significantly over time. Correct answer.
  2. The festival no longer celebrates the harvest.
  3. The festival is held more than once a year.
  4. Visitors come mainly from nearby towns.

Explanation

The contrast between a small beginning and a wide current draw emphasizes growth. Main-point questions look for the idea that organizes the details.

Question 14Key Ideas and Details

A passage reports that a company's sales rose after it redesigned its packaging, but also notes that a major competitor went out of business that same year. Why might the passage include the second detail?

  1. To show that packaging design is unimportant
  2. To prove the redesign caused the sales increase
  3. To suggest an alternative explanation for the sales increase Correct answer.
  4. To criticize the competitor's business decisions

Explanation

A competing event in the same period offers another possible reason for the sales rise, so including it cautions against a simple causal claim. Details are often included to qualify or complicate an inference.

Question 15Key Ideas and Details

A passage states that a character moved to a new city and "kept to himself for the first month." Which inference is best supported?

  1. He was slow to engage with his new surroundings. Correct answer.
  2. He planned to move back home soon.
  3. He was unfriendly by nature.
  4. He had no interest in ever meeting anyone.

Explanation

Keeping to himself for a month suggests a gradual adjustment to the new setting. The inference should describe the behavior without making permanent claims about character.

Question 16Key Ideas and Details

A passage explains that a species of frog secretes a substance that discourages predators. Which statement best describes the function of this detail in the passage?

  1. It proves the frog is the most common species in its habitat.
  2. It shows that the frog is harmful to humans.
  3. It argues that predators are unnecessary in the ecosystem.
  4. It explains how the frog survives despite being vulnerable. Correct answer.

Explanation

The detail explains a defense mechanism that helps the frog avoid being eaten, which supports its survival. Function questions connect a detail to the larger point it serves.

Question 17Key Ideas and Details

A passage says a mayor's policy was popular when announced but faced criticism after its costs became known. Which statement best captures the passage's point about the policy?

  1. The policy was unpopular from the start.
  2. The policy's costs were lower than expected.
  3. Public opinion of the policy shifted as new information emerged. Correct answer.
  4. The mayor abandoned the policy after criticism.

Explanation

The sequence from popularity to criticism once costs were known shows opinion changing with new information. The answer tracks the timeline the passage provides.

Question 18Key Ideas and Details

A passage describes a chef who insists on tasting every dish before it leaves the kitchen. Which inference about the chef is best supported?

  1. The chef values consistency in the food served. Correct answer.
  2. The chef distrusts all of the kitchen staff.
  3. The chef believes recipes are unnecessary.
  4. The chef prefers cooking to managing others.

Explanation

Tasting every dish before service suggests a commitment to consistent quality. The inference should reflect the behavior's purpose without assuming negative attitudes toward staff.

Question 19Key Ideas and Details

A passage reports that a library extended its hours and saw a rise in visits, then adds that the extension coincided with the start of the school year. What is the passage's likely purpose in adding the second detail?

  1. To confirm that longer hours caused more visits
  2. To show that students rarely use the library
  3. To suggest the library should close earlier
  4. To note a factor that complicates the explanation Correct answer.

Explanation

The start of the school year is another possible reason for more visits, so the detail complicates a simple causal reading. Such qualifications help readers weigh evidence carefully.

Question 20Key Ideas and Details

A passage states that a mountain town's economy once relied on mining but now depends on tourism. Which statement best expresses the significance of this change?

  1. The town has stopped earning any income.
  2. Tourists have begun working in the mines.
  3. The town's economic base has shifted from extraction to visitor services. Correct answer.
  4. Mining was more profitable than tourism is.

Explanation

The sentence contrasts an old reliance on mining with a new reliance on tourism, a shift in the economic base. Significance answers should restate the change without adding unsupported comparisons.

Question 21Key Ideas and Details

A passage presents a historian's claim that a treaty prevented war, then notes that tensions eased for reasons unrelated to the treaty. How does the second point affect the historian's claim?

  1. It provides strong support for the claim.
  2. It shows the treaty was never signed.
  3. It offers a reason to doubt the claim's causal explanation. Correct answer.
  4. It confirms that war was inevitable.

Explanation

If tensions eased for other reasons, the treaty may not deserve credit for preventing war, which weakens the causal claim. Evaluating an argument means testing whether the stated cause is the real one.

Question 22Key Ideas and Details

A passage describes a researcher who found that a plant extract killed bacteria in a dish but cautions that the result may not apply to living animals. Which statement best explains the caution?

  1. Living animals cannot become infected by bacteria.
  2. Laboratory conditions differ from conditions inside a living organism. Correct answer.
  3. Bacteria in dishes are always harmless.
  4. The extract was not actually tested on bacteria.

Explanation

A dish experiment occurs in a controlled setting that differs from the complex environment of a living body, so results may not transfer. The caution rests on the difference between laboratory and living conditions.

Question 23Key Ideas and Details

A passage notes that a novel's narrator praises a character in one chapter and condemns the same character later, without explaining the change. Which interpretation is best supported?

  1. The author made an error in the text.
  2. The narrator is describing two different characters.
  3. The character must have committed a crime between the chapters.
  4. The narrator's judgments are inconsistent, which may reflect shifting perspective or limited knowledge. Correct answer.

Explanation

An unexplained reversal in a narrator's judgments suggests unreliability, shifting perspective, or incomplete knowledge. The best interpretation accounts for the discrepancy without inventing events.

Question 24Key Ideas and Details

A passage argues that a city's new recycling program reduced landfill waste, citing a drop in tonnage collected. A critic responds that the drop began before the program launched. How does the critic's response affect the argument?

  1. It shows that landfill waste cannot be measured.
  2. It challenges the argument by questioning the timing of the cause. Correct answer.
  3. It proves the recycling program was harmful.
  4. It strengthens the argument by adding data.

Explanation

If the decline predates the program, the program may not be responsible, which challenges the causal claim. The critic attacks the timing that links cause to effect.

Question 25Key Ideas and Details

A passage describes a scientist whose early hypothesis was overturned by her own later experiments, which she then published. Which statement best captures the significance of this account?

  1. The scientist's later experiments were less reliable.
  2. The scientist avoided publishing controversial results.
  3. The scientist's early work was worthless.
  4. The scientist valued evidence over defending her original idea. Correct answer.

Explanation

Publishing results that overturn one's own hypothesis shows a commitment to evidence over personal attachment to an idea. The significance lies in the scientist's intellectual honesty.

Question 26Key Ideas and Details

A passage states that a coastal village's fishing fleet switched from wooden boats to fiberglass boats over a decade, and that the number of boats lost in storms fell sharply during the same period. Which statement best expresses the main idea of the passage?

  1. Fiberglass boats require more maintenance than wooden ones.
  2. Storms in the region grew less frequent over the decade.
  3. The shift to fiberglass boats was accompanied by a decline in storm losses. Correct answer.
  4. Wooden boats were cheaper to build than fiberglass boats.

Explanation

The main idea links the two facts the passage presents: the fleet's change of material and the drop in losses. A main idea must account for both details rather than introduce new claims.

Question 27Key Ideas and Details

A passage explains that a bakery began labeling each loaf with its baking time so that customers could choose the freshest bread. Within weeks, the bakery noticed that loaves baked earliest in the day sold out first. Which conclusion is best supported by the passage?

  1. The bakery baked too few loaves each day.
  2. Customers used the labels to select the freshest loaves. Correct answer.
  3. Customers preferred the taste of early-morning bread.
  4. The labels made customers suspicious of the bread.

Explanation

The passage ties the new labels to the pattern of early-baked loaves selling first, which supports the conclusion that customers acted on the labels. Taste preference and supply levels are not mentioned, so they cannot be concluded.

Question 28Key Ideas and Details

A passage states that a museum moved its sculpture collection to a new wing with softer lighting and that visitor complaints about glare dropped to nearly zero. Which statement best describes the relationship between the two facts?

  1. Glare complaints came mostly from museum staff.
  2. The complaints caused the museum to build a new wing.
  3. The sculpture collection was unpopular before the move.
  4. The lighting change plausibly caused the drop in complaints. Correct answer.

Explanation

The passage presents a change (softer lighting) followed by a result (fewer glare complaints), which supports a causal link. The other options either reverse the order or add information absent from the passage.

Question 29Key Ideas and Details

A passage reports that a school started a morning reading period and that library book checkouts rose by a third that year. Which statement most accurately characterizes the passage's evidence?

  1. It shows that the library bought more books that year.
  2. It proves that the reading period alone caused the increase.
  3. It shows a correlation between the reading period and more checkouts. Correct answer.
  4. It demonstrates that students read less outside school.

Explanation

Two events occurring together establish a correlation, not proof of cause. The passage offers no controlled comparison that would rule out other explanations for the rise in checkouts.

Question 30Key Ideas and Details

A passage says that a cyclist trained on flat roads for months and then struggled badly on a mountain stage of a race. Which inference is best supported by the passage?

  1. The mountain stage was shorter than the flat stages.
  2. Training on flat terrain left the cyclist unprepared for steep climbs. Correct answer.
  3. The cyclist had never ridden a bicycle before that year.
  4. The cyclist's equipment failed during the race.

Explanation

The passage contrasts flat-road training with difficulty on a mountain stage, supporting the inference that the training did not match the demands of climbing. The other options add facts the passage does not provide.

Question 31Key Ideas and Details

A passage states that a town replaced its paper water bills with emailed bills and that the cost of processing payments fell by half. Which statement best summarizes the outcome described?

  1. Emailed bills caused residents to pay late.
  2. Paper bills were more popular with residents than emailed bills.
  3. The town raised water rates to cover new software.
  4. Switching to emailed bills reduced the town's processing costs. Correct answer.

Explanation

The summary should restate the passage's central outcome: the change to emailed bills and the resulting drop in processing costs. The other options introduce reactions or consequences not stated.

Question 32Key Ideas and Details

A passage describes a gardener who plants marigolds beside tomato plants and reports that the tomatoes that season had fewer insect pests than in previous years. Which statement best identifies the claim the gardener is making?

  1. Marigolds need more water than tomato plants.
  2. Tomatoes grow larger when planted with flowers.
  3. Insects avoid all flowers in a vegetable garden.
  4. Marigolds help protect nearby tomato plants from pests. Correct answer.

Explanation

The gardener's observation links marigolds to fewer pests on tomatoes, which is the claim being made. Size, water needs, and general insect behavior are outside what the passage asserts.

Question 33Key Ideas and Details

A passage explains that a company allowed employees to work from home two days a week and that voluntary staff turnover dropped over the following year. Which statement best captures the passage's central point?

  1. A flexible schedule coincided with lower staff turnover. Correct answer.
  2. New hires replaced most of the departing staff.
  3. The company closed its office to save money.
  4. Employees working from home were less productive.

Explanation

The central point connects the new scheduling policy with the decline in turnover. Productivity, office closures, and hiring are not part of the passage.

Question 34Key Ideas and Details

A passage states that an archaeologist found pottery shards at a site and dated them to roughly 1200 CE, then notes that similar shards had been found at a settlement 200 kilometers away. Which inference is best supported?

  1. The pottery was made by a single family.
  2. The distant settlement was abandoned before 1200 CE.
  3. The shards were imported from another continent.
  4. People at the two sites may have had contact or shared a common source. Correct answer.

Explanation

Similar objects at distant sites support a cautious inference of contact or a shared origin. The passage gives no evidence for family-level production, abandonment dates, or intercontinental trade.

Question 35Key Ideas and Details

A passage reports that a study found people who drank coffee before a memory task scored higher than those who drank water, but the passage also notes that the coffee drinkers had been given extra time to study the material. Which statement best evaluates the study's conclusion?

  1. The study proves that coffee improves memory.
  2. The water drinkers were probably distracted.
  3. The extra study time is an alternative explanation for the higher scores. Correct answer.
  4. The memory task was too easy for both groups.

Explanation

A second difference between the groups (study time) could account for the score gap, weakening the claim that coffee caused the improvement. A sound evaluation identifies such confounds.

Question 36Key Ideas and Details

A passage describes a mayor who promised to fix potholes within a week of a complaint, and it notes that residents began reporting far more potholes than before. Which statement best explains the rise in reports?

  1. The roads deteriorated sharply during that period.
  2. The mayor's office stopped accepting complaints.
  3. Potholes had never been reported before.
  4. Residents expected their reports to lead to quick repairs. Correct answer.

Explanation

A promise of fast action gives residents a reason to report problems they might otherwise have ignored. The passage offers no evidence of sudden road decay or a change in reporting access.

Question 37Key Ideas and Details

A passage states that a novelist set her book in a city she had visited only once, and that reviewers praised the novel's detailed depiction of the city's neighborhoods. Which statement best resolves the apparent tension in the passage?

  1. The reviewers were mistaken about the novel's setting.
  2. Detailed research or imagination can compensate for limited firsthand experience. Correct answer.
  3. The novel's plot mattered more than its setting.
  4. The novelist actually lived in the city for years.

Explanation

The tension is between a single visit and praised detail; the best resolution is that other sources of knowledge can supply what experience does not. The passage gives no sign that reviewers erred or that the author secretly lived there.

Question 38Key Ideas and Details

A passage explains that a farmer planted a cover crop in winter and that the following summer's corn yield was higher than usual. The passage adds that rainfall that summer was also well above average. Which statement best describes what the passage supports?

  1. The cover crop's effect on yield cannot be isolated from the rainfall. Correct answer.
  2. Cover crops always raise corn yields.
  3. Rainfall has no effect on corn yields.
  4. The farmer should stop planting cover crops.

Explanation

Because two factors changed at once, the passage cannot attribute the higher yield to the cover crop alone. Recognizing competing explanations is central to evaluating evidence.

Question 39Key Ideas and Details

A passage describes a character who borrows a neighbor's ladder, returns it polished, and later refuses to lend his own tools to anyone. Which inference about the character is best supported?

  1. He is careless with other people's property.
  2. He wants to become a professional carpenter.
  3. He values his possessions but does not extend the same generosity to others. Correct answer.
  4. He has forgotten that he borrowed the ladder.

Explanation

Polishing the borrowed ladder shows care for others' property, while refusing to lend his own tools shows a lack of reciprocity. The contrast supports the inference about his attitude toward his own possessions.

Question 40Key Ideas and Details

A passage states that a city's air quality improved after a factory closed, and it notes that the same year several old buses were retired from service. Which statement best characterizes the passage's explanation?

  1. It proves that the factory was the sole source of pollution.
  2. It is incomplete because more than one change could have improved air quality. Correct answer.
  3. It demonstrates that air quality cannot be measured.
  4. It shows that buses pollute more than factories.

Explanation

Two changes occurred at once, so the passage cannot credit the factory closure alone. An explanation that ignores a second plausible cause is incomplete.

Question 41Key Ideas and Details

A passage says a hiker ignored a trail sign warning of loose rocks, continued up the path, and turned back an hour later. Which inference is best supported about the hiker's decision to turn back?

  1. The hiker reached the summit and then descended.
  2. The hiker disliked the view from the path.
  3. The hiker ran out of water on the trail.
  4. The hiker likely encountered the hazard the sign warned about. Correct answer.

Explanation

The passage pairs the ignored warning with a later retreat, supporting the inference that the warned hazard materialized. Supplies, summiting, and scenery are not mentioned.

Question 42Key Ideas and Details

A passage presents a researcher's claim that a new fertilizer doubled crop growth, then notes that the treated field was also the only one with a new irrigation system. Which statement best describes the weakness in the researcher's claim?

  1. The fertilizer was applied too late in the season.
  2. The irrigation system offers a competing explanation for the growth. Correct answer.
  3. Doubling growth is impossible to measure.
  4. The untreated fields were never planted.

Explanation

When a treated field differs from others in two ways, the effect cannot be credited to one of them. The irrigation system is a rival cause that undermines the claim about fertilizer.

Question 43Key Ideas and Details

A passage describes a town that installed a public piano in its square and reports that strangers began striking up conversations nearby. Which statement best describes what the passage suggests about the piano?

  1. It served as a focal point that encouraged social interaction. Correct answer.
  2. It replaced a statue that residents disliked.
  3. It was played only by professional musicians.
  4. It was purchased to attract tourists to the town.

Explanation

The passage links the piano's presence to conversations among strangers, suggesting it drew people together. Motives for purchase, prior objects, and players' skill are not stated.

Question 44Key Ideas and Details

A passage explains that a language has separate words for two shades of blue that another language treats as one color. Which inference is best supported?

  1. Speakers of the second language cannot see the difference.
  2. The first language has more words for all colors.
  3. Languages may divide the color spectrum differently. Correct answer.
  4. Color terms are identical across all languages.

Explanation

Different vocabularies for the same spectrum support the inference that languages categorize color differently. The passage does not address perception, overall vocabulary size, or universal color terms.

Question 45Key Ideas and Details

A passage reports that a city's bike-share program had few riders in its first year but that ridership tripled after docking stations were added near train stations. Which statement best explains the change in ridership?

  1. The first year's riders told others to avoid the program.
  2. Convenient access to bikes at transit hubs likely drew more riders. Correct answer.
  3. The city raised the price of riding the train.
  4. The bikes themselves were replaced with faster models.

Explanation

The passage links the growth to new stations near train stations, which supports easier access as the explanation. The other options introduce changes the passage does not describe.

Question 46Key Ideas and Details

A passage states that a scientist's early paper was cited thousands of times, but that later work showed its central method was flawed. Which statement best describes the significance of the passage's two facts taken together?

  1. The later work must also be flawed.
  2. Frequent citation does not by itself establish that a study was sound. Correct answer.
  3. Citations measure a paper's length rather than its influence.
  4. The early paper was never actually published.

Explanation

High citation counts reflect attention and influence, not necessarily correctness. Combining the two facts shows that popularity can coexist with methodological error.

Question 47Key Ideas and Details

A passage describes a philanthropist who donated generously to a hospital but insisted the building bear his name. Which statement best captures the passage's implicit characterization of the donor?

  1. His generosity appears mixed with a desire for recognition. Correct answer.
  2. He donated only to institutions that were failing.
  3. He secretly opposed the hospital's mission.
  4. He preferred to give anonymously.

Explanation

The insistence on naming rights suggests a wish for public credit alongside the gift. The passage offers no evidence of opposition to the hospital, its finances, or a preference for anonymity.

Question 48Key Ideas and Details

A passage notes that a historian relied on letters written by a general's aides to describe a battle, and that no letters from ordinary soldiers survive. Which statement best describes a limitation of the historian's account?

  1. It may reflect the perspective of officers rather than of the ranks. Correct answer.
  2. It relies on documents written decades afterward.
  3. It ignores the general's own written orders.
  4. It cannot describe what happened during the battle.

Explanation

A source base limited to officers' aides is likely to carry an officer's viewpoint and omit the experience of ordinary soldiers. That is a limitation on perspective, not on the account's ability to describe events at all.

Question 49Key Ideas and Details

A passage explains that a species of moth is active only at night and that a new streetlight near its habitat draws many moths to their deaths. Which statement best describes the long-term concern the passage implies?

  1. The moths will adapt to become day-active.
  2. The moths will move to a brighter area.
  3. The light may reduce the local moth population over time. Correct answer.
  4. The streetlight will attract fewer insects each year.

Explanation

If moths are drawn to the light and die, repeated losses could shrink the population. The passage provides no basis for adaptation, declining attraction, or relocation to brighter areas.

Question 50Key Ideas and Details

A passage states that a company's profits rose after it cut employee benefits, and it adds that profits across the industry rose at the same rate that year. Which statement best evaluates the company's decision as the cause of the profit increase?

  1. The industry-wide trend weakens the case that the benefit cuts caused the rise. Correct answer.
  2. The company's profits actually fell that year.
  3. Industry trends have no bearing on a single company.
  4. The benefit cuts clearly caused the profit increase.

Explanation

If profits rose everywhere at the same rate, the company's gain may reflect broader conditions rather than its own policy. A shared trend is a competing explanation that weakens the causal claim.