Practice

You have seen the ways in which the SAT presents Reading passages and the way an SAT expert approaches these types of questions.

You will use the Kaplan Method for Reading Comprehension to complete this section. Part of the test-like passage has been mapped already. Your first step is to complete the Passage Map. Then, you will continue to use the Kaplan Method for Reading Comprehension and the strategies discussed in this chapter to answer the questions. Strategic thinking questions have been included to guide you—some of the answers have been filled in, but you will have to fill in the answers to others.

Use your answers to the strategic thinking questions to select the correct answer, just as you will on Test Day.

Strategic Thinking

Step 1: Read actively

The passage below is partially mapped. Read the passage and the first part of the Passage Map. Then, complete the Passage Map on your own. Remember to focus on the central ideas of each paragraph as well as the central idea of the overall passage. Use your Passage Map as a reference when you’re answering questions.

  1. Questions 7-8 are based on the following passage.

  2. The following passage explains the forces of flight.

    What do paper airplanes and large commercial airliners such as the Boeing 747 have in common? Plenty. Despite differences in size and weight, both must make use of the same physical forces in order to fly. The flight of any airplane results from the
    interaction of four different forces: thrust, drag, gravity, and lift. All of the forces acting on the airplane must balance each other in order for the plane to travel along in steady horizontal flight. Thrust supplied by ¶1: 4 forces of flight (central idea)
    jet engines or propellers (or by a person’s hand for a paper airplane) is the force that drives the airplane forward. The airplane cannot actually move any distance forward, however, unless the amount of thrust is enough to overcome the force of drag. Drag is the air resistance that the plane encounters ¶2: #1 - thrust 
    in flight. Just as the name indicates, air resistance has the effect of dragging the airplane backward as it moves through the air. Jet engines are designed so that the airplane has the necessary thrust to overcome air resistance. Drag can be reduced if the airplane is streamlined—that is, constructed in such a way that air flows smoothly around it so that there is little friction at the airplane’s surface.     To rise into the air, an airplane has to overcome the force of gravity, the downward pull that the Earth exerts on everything on or near its surface. The airplane accomplishes this feat with lift force, which acts in an upward direction opposite to gravity. Lift is provided by the airplane’s wings. The wings and wing flaps are shaped and angled so that air will flow more rapidly over them than under them. When air flows more rapidly over the wing tops, air pressure above the wings drops in comparison with the air pressure below the wings. (This phenomenon is known to engineers as Bernoulli’s principle.) When an airplane taxis down the runway (or when a paper airplane is released from a person’s hand), the greater air pressure below the wings pushes the wings upward, allowing the airplane to rise despite the pull of gravity. Once the plane is safely in the air, all four of the basic aerodynamic forces figure into the flight as well, whether it is the flight of a big jet or a paper airplane. ¶2, cont.: #2 - drag, impact on aircraft design
  3. Questions Strategic Thinking

    1. As used in line 29, “acts” most nearly means

      1. behaves.
      2. works.
      3. portrays.
      4. pretends.


    Step 2: Examine the question stem

    What are the keywords in the question stem?

    The line reference, cited word, and “most nearly means.”

    Step 3: Predict and answer

    Read around the cited word. What synonym can you predict to replace “acts” in this context?

    “Functions” or “works.”

    What answer choice matches this prediction?

    1. Which of the following does the passage imply about drag force?

      1. Drag is the most important physical force needed for flight.
      2. Drag increases when surface friction increases.
      3. Drag decreases as a function of increased thrust.
      4. Drag reduces wind speed and direction.

    Step 2: Examine the question stem

    What are the keywords in the question stem?

    “Drag force.”

    What parts of the passage are relevant?

    Paragraph 2, which is where drag force is introduced.

    Step 3: Predict and answer

    What does the second paragraph state about drag and drag force?

    Which answer choice correctly reflects the passage’s discussion of drag force?