Question 127·Easy·Words in Context
Marine biologists like Dr. Sofia Reyes spend much of their fieldwork _____ subtle changes in coral coloration: by logging these shifts, they can detect early signs of reef stress.
Which choice completes the text with the most logical and precise word or phrase?
For SAT Words in Context questions, always read the entire sentence (and surrounding sentences if provided) to understand the situation and the logical relationship between clauses, especially around punctuation like colons or semicolons. Briefly paraphrase what kind of word should fill the blank (for example, a careful scientific action versus a careless one), then test each option by plugging it into the sentence. Eliminate choices whose basic dictionary meaning clashes with the logic, purpose, or tone of the sentence—especially words that suggest the opposite of what scientists or professionals would reasonably do in that context. This targeted elimination is faster and more reliable than trying to “feel” which word sounds best.
Hints
Use the clause after the colon
Focus on the part after the colon: “by logging these shifts, they can detect early signs of reef stress.” Ask yourself: what kind of action with the subtle changes would naturally lead to logging them and then detecting early signs of stress?
Check the tone and purpose of scientific fieldwork
Think about what marine biologists actually do in the field when they want to understand reef health. Would they ignore data, throw it away, or act without evidence—or would they do something deliberate and systematic?
Plug in each option and see if it makes sense
Read the sentence with each choice in the blank and ask: Does this verb logically go with “subtle changes in coral coloration” and “logging these shifts”? Does it help them detect early signs of reef stress, or does it work against that goal?
Step-by-step Explanation
Understand the sentence and its purpose
Read the full sentence:
"Marine biologists like Dr. Sofia Reyes spend much of their fieldwork _____ subtle changes in coral coloration: by logging these shifts, they can detect early signs of reef stress."
The part after the colon explains why they do the action in the blank: by logging these shifts, they can detect early signs of reef stress. So whatever goes in the blank must describe an action that fits with logging (recording) small color changes in order to find early warning signs.
Paraphrase what should go in the blank
Put the sentence in your own words without the choices:
Marine biologists spend a lot of their time in the field doing something with subtle changes in coral color, and by recording those changes, they can spot early signs of trouble in the reef.
So the missing verb should describe a careful, ongoing, scientific activity that matches observing and recording subtle changes, not something careless or random.
Test and eliminate incorrect choices
Now plug in each option and see if it fits both logic and tone:
- overlooking: “spend much of their fieldwork overlooking subtle changes…” means they fail to notice those changes. That clashes with “by logging these shifts”; you cannot log changes you overlook.
- discarding: “discarding subtle changes” suggests throwing them away, which again conflicts with logging and using them as evidence.
- guessing: “guessing subtle changes” is awkward and illogical; scientists are not randomly guessing about changes they are actually recording.
All three of these contradict the idea of careful data collection to detect early stress, so they must be wrong.
Choose the word that matches careful data tracking
The remaining option, C) monitoring, fits perfectly: “spend much of their fieldwork monitoring subtle changes in coral coloration” matches the idea of carefully tracking and recording those changes so they can detect early signs of reef stress. So the correct answer is C) monitoring.