Question 79·Hard·Cross-Text Connections

0 / 166

Text 1

Ecologist Laila Moravec analyzed thirty years of records for an alpine bellflower. As average spring temperatures rose, the plant's first flowering date advanced by eleven days, but the emergence date of its primary bee pollinator did not change. Moravec also found that flowers received fewer bee visits during their first five days in recent years. She therefore predicts that continued earlier flowering will reduce the plant's lifetime seed production because more flowers will open before the bees become active.

Text 2

Jia Chen and Samuel Okafor experimentally altered flowering dates in the same bellflower species. Delayed pollinator arrival reduced visits to early-opening flowers at first. Under cool, moist conditions, however, those flowers remained receptive longer and ultimately received as much pollen and produced as many seeds as flowers in the control group. Under warm, dry conditions, floral receptivity did not lengthen, and seed production declined. Chen and Okafor conclude that a timing gap affects reproduction through its interaction with floral longevity and weather, rather than through the gap alone.

Based on the texts, how would Chen and Okafor most likely evaluate Moravec's prediction?

For cross-text questions, state the first author's claim and then identify any condition, limitation, or distinction introduced by the second text. Pay particular attention to whether the second text challenges the claim entirely or merely shows that the predicted outcome occurs only under certain circumstances.

Hints

Hint 1
Separate early effects from lifetime effects
Consider whether receiving fewer visits during the first several days necessarily determines a flower's total pollen receipt.
Hint 2
Track the experimental conditions
Compare what happens under cool, moist conditions with what happens under warm, dry conditions.
Hint 3
Check the scope of each choice
Look for an evaluation that acknowledges the possible decline without treating it as inevitable under every condition.

Step-by-step

Step 1
Identify Moravec's reasoning
Moravec observes earlier flowering, unchanged bee emergence, and fewer visits during the flowers' first five days. She infers that this timing mismatch will reduce lifetime seed production.
Step 2
Identify the condition introduced by Text 2
Chen and Okafor find that early-opening flowers can compensate for delayed pollinator arrival by remaining receptive longer. This compensation preserves pollen receipt and seed production under cool, moist conditions but does not occur under warm, dry conditions.
Step 3
Evaluate the prediction's scope
The timing mismatch can reduce seed production, so Moravec's prediction is possible. However, the mismatch and reduced early visits do not establish that outcome without information about weather and floral receptivity, making the first option the best-supported evaluation.

Lessons that teach this

SAT Reading: Craft and StructureAdvancedCoreText 1 and Text 2: how would one author respond?

Question 79·Hard·Cross-Text Connections

Text 1

Text 2

Strategy

Hints

Step-by-step

Lessons that teach this

Study Hints

Strategy

Hints

Step-by-step

Lessons that teach this