Free ACCUPLACER Reading placement test Practice Questions

Sample Practice Questions

Try these 10 sample questions from the ACCUPLACER Reading placement test practice bank. Each includes the answer and explanation. Continue with the interactive practice above to review the full question set.

1. 1NASA explains that global sea level rise is caused mainly by added fresh water from melting ice sheets and glaciers and by the expansion of seawater as it warms. It estimates that melting land ice currently accounts for about two-thirds of the rise, while ocean warming accounts for about one-third. According to the passage, what effect of ocean warming contributes to sea level rise?

   1. A.It increases seawater's volume.Correct answer: A
   2. B.It transfers water into glaciers.
   3. C.It reduces the volume of the ocean.
   4. D.It melts ice sheets on land.

   Explanation: NASA identifies "the expansion of seawater as it warms" as a principal contributor. This means the warming seawater occupies more volume; contraction, freezing, and evaporation do not express the stated mechanism.

   Reference: Sea Level — Earth Indicator — Sea Level, first explanatory paragraph

2. 2A NASA article describes energy and chemicals moving continually between the ocean and the atmosphere. It says the two are locked in an "intricate embrace" and explains that a change in one is accompanied by a change in the other. What effect does the phrase "intricate embrace" have in this context?

   1. A.It emphasizes that one system dominates the other.
   2. B.It portrays the two systems as separate despite similar changes.
   3. C.It suggests their interaction involves few complex relationships.
   4. D.It emphasizes how closely the two systems are connected.Correct answer: D

   Explanation: The article calls the ocean and atmosphere an "intricate embrace" and says changes in one accompany changes in the other. The figurative phrase stresses close, complex interaction, not separation or simplicity.

   Reference: Ocean and Climate — Air and sea embrace

3. 3Text 1: NASA explains that warming seawater expands and that melting land ice adds fresh water to the ocean; these are principal contributors to global sea level rise. Text 2: The U.S. Geological Survey describes several effects of climate change on water, including rising ocean levels that lead to coastal flooding. Which statement combines the two texts?

   1. A.Rising seas can cause coastal flooding even though warming seawater contracts.
   2. B.Melting land ice lowers sea level while rising seas can cause coastal flooding.
   3. C.Warming-related ocean changes contribute to rising seas, which can increase coastal flooding.Correct answer: C
   4. D.Warming-related changes raise seas, which can reduce coastal flooding.

   Explanation: NASA identifies "the expansion of seawater as it warms" as a contributor, while USGS states that "Ocean sea levels are rising, leading to coastal flooding." Together the texts connect mechanisms of sea-level rise with a coastal consequence.

   Reference: Sea Level — Earth Indicator — Sea Level, first explanatory paragraph

4. 4A National Park Service article defines preservation as applying measures necessary to sustain an existing historic property's form and materials. It says work generally focuses on ongoing maintenance and repair rather than extensive replacement. As used in the passage, what does "sustain" most nearly mean?

   1. A.Replace
   2. B.Examine
   3. C.Alter
   4. D.MaintainCorrect answer: D

   Explanation: The article refers to measures "necessary to sustain the existing form, integrity, and materials" and then describes maintenance and repair. In context, sustain means maintain.

   Reference: The Secretary of the Interior's Standards for the Treatment of Historic Properties: Preservation as a Treatment and Standards for Preservation — Preservation as a Treatment

5. 5NASA describes a seasonal cycle in global sea level. Wind carries moisture from the ocean to land, where it falls as rain or snow. Because the water takes time to return to the ocean, sea level falls temporarily, then rises as water returns through rivers. What does the passage indicate about the timing of this cycle?

   1. A.Sea level rises while water first accumulates on land.
   2. B.A delay occurs between water reaching land and returning.Correct answer: B
   3. C.Water returns to the ocean before it falls as precipitation.
   4. D.River water returns before moisture reaches land.

   Explanation: NASA says "It takes time for this water to run back off into the oceans"; the delay permits a temporary drop before returning water raises the level. The alternatives reverse or contradict that sequence.

   Reference: Sea Level — Earth Indicator — Sea Level, water-cycle paragraph

6. 6An article describes an early Audubon society that attracted nearly 39,000 members in its first year. The magazine managing the new club could not handle the extra work generated by its rapid growth, and the society disbanded within two years. The author calls it "a victim of its popularity." What does this phrase emphasize?

   1. A.The club's popularity created pressures that contributed to its end.Correct answer: A
   2. B.The club's popularity brought resources that enabled it to keep growing.
   3. C.Rapid growth overloaded the magazine but led the club to expand further.
   4. D.The club's unpopularity left too little demand to justify continuing it.

   Explanation: The phrase "a victim of its popularity" points to the irony that the society's rapid success overwhelmed the magazine's capacity. The passage attributes its end to the extra work, not lack of interest.

   Reference: Nineteenth Century Trends in American Conservation — Wildlife Protection in the Late 19th Century, first Audubon society paragraph

7. 7Text 1: The U.S. Geological Survey says rising ocean levels can lead to coastal flooding as the climate changes. Text 2: The National Park Service says coastal wetlands, including mangrove forests and salt marshes, help reduce flooding and erosion during major storms. Which conclusion is supported by both texts?

   1. A.Wetlands reduce coastal storm erosion but increase storm flooding.
   2. B.Rising seas increase coastal flooding, while wetlands can increase storm erosion.
   3. C.Wetlands can blunt storm impacts, but rising sea levels reduce coastal flooding.
   4. D.Coastal wetlands can lessen some storm impacts in places facing coastal flooding.Correct answer: D

   Explanation: USGS links rising seas with "coastal flooding," and NPS says coastal wetlands "help to blunt the force of major storms." Together they support a limited protective role during storms, not elimination of all flooding or sea-level rise.

   Reference: Water cycle — The water cycle and climate change

8. 8A NASA article considers whether water from melting land ice might have raised sea level even while cooling ocean water contracted. Later studies made it less likely that the melting was large enough to offset the drop in sea level associated with cooling. As used in the passage, what does "offset" most nearly mean?

   1. A.Compensate forCorrect answer: A
   2. B.Contribute to
   3. C.Postpone
   4. D.Accelerate

   Explanation: NASA discusses whether melting was "large enough to offset a sea level drop." In context, the added water would counterbalance the decrease associated with cooling.

   Reference: Correcting Ocean Cooling — Maybe Melt Water Explains It

9. 9NASA reports an overall rise in global sea level in satellite measurements since 1993. It adds that more limited coastal tide-gauge measurements show seas rising for at least a century at most locations across the planet. What do the tide-gauge measurements add to the satellite record?

   1. A.They show that satellites measured sea level a century ago.
   2. B.They show that sea level fell during the satellite era.
   3. C.They extend evidence of rising seas to a longer period.Correct answer: C
   4. D.They show that every coastal location rose at the same rate.

   Explanation: NASA says tide gauges have "shown seas rising for at least a hundred years at most locations across the planet." This supplies a longer, geographically limited historical record; it neither establishes identical rates nor extends satellite measurements back a century.

   Reference: Sea Level — Earth Indicator — Sea Level, long-term trend paragraph

10. 10A historian contrasts two expectations about women's suffrage: supporters anticipated a sweeping wave of reform, while opponents feared disruption of family life. She asks where the promised "Progressive juggernaut" and the predicted "chaos" were after ratification. What does the contrast between these phrases emphasize?

    1. A.The historian argues that neither group made any prediction about suffrage.
    2. B.Opposing groups anticipated dramatic changes that did not occur as expected.Correct answer: B
    3. C.Supporters and opponents predicted the same modest change in politics.
    4. D.The historian believes that both extreme predictions were fully realized.

    Explanation: The historian asks about the promised "Progressive juggernaut" and predicted "chaos" to contrast exaggerated hopes with fears and to question why neither produced the dramatic change expected.

    Reference: Beyond 1920: The Legacies of Woman Suffrage — Paragraph beginning In these ways the Nineteenth Amendment