Question 73·Easy·Central Ideas and Details
Marine biologist Dr. Amara Chen spent several years documenting humpback whale songs with bulky tape recorders that could store only a few hours of audio before needing retrieval. In 2010, she switched to compact digital recorders capable of remaining submerged for weeks and capturing hundreds of hours of sound. The longer, continuous recordings enabled Chen to detect subtle seasonal changes in the whales’ songs, a discovery that brought her international acclaim.
Based on the passage, what would most likely have happened if Chen had not replaced the tape recorders with digital recorders?
For SAT Reading questions that ask what would most likely have happened if something in the passage had not occurred, first locate the sentence(s) that explain what that event or change allowed or caused (look for words like “enabled,” “led to,” or “resulted in”). Then logically reverse the situation: if that enabling cause were removed, which specific result mentioned in the passage would be harder or impossible? Finally, eliminate choices that bring in new, unmentioned benefits or consequences, and keep only the option that directly removes the effect the passage tied to the original change.
Hints
Locate the key sentence
Reread the sentence that starts with “In 2010, she switched to compact digital recorders…” and pay special attention to what the longer recordings allowed Chen to do.
Focus on cause and effect
Ask yourself: What specific discovery did she make because of the new digital recorders? Then think about what would happen to that discovery if she had never used the new devices.
Watch for ideas not in the passage
Check each answer choice and ask: Does the passage actually mention this outcome (like multiple regions, higher audio quality, or new species), or is it just speculation?
Step-by-step Explanation
Restate what the question is asking
The question is a hypothetical: what would most likely have happened if Chen had not replaced tape recorders with digital recorders? You must infer the result by looking at what the digital recorders allowed her to do in the passage, then imagine that benefit is gone.
Find what changed when she switched recorders
Focus on the part beginning with “In 2010, she switched to compact digital recorders…”. The passage explains two key differences:
- The digital recorders could stay submerged for weeks and capture hundreds of hours of sound.
- “The longer, continuous recordings enabled Chen to detect subtle seasonal changes in the whales’ songs.”
So, the longer, continuous recordings directly caused her discovery of seasonal changes in whale songs.
Infer the most likely consequence of not switching
If she had not switched to digital recorders, she would still be using older tape recorders that held only a few hours of audio and could not record for weeks at a time. That means she would not have those long, continuous recordings that “enabled” her to detect seasonal changes. So, she would most likely have had trouble detecting those seasonal variations in whale vocalizations. This matches answer B) She would have had difficulty detecting seasonal variations in whale vocalizations.