Question 90·200 Super-Hard SAT Reading Questions·Information and Ideas
Insect Visits to Evening Primrose Plots under Three Lighting Conditions
| Lighting condition | Total insect visits | Moth share of visits |
|---|---|---|
| No added light | 180 | 30% |
| Amber light | 150 | 40% |
| White light | 240 | 25% |
Researchers studying evening primroses recorded insect visits to experimental plots during equal observation periods. Because an insect visit does not necessarily result in pollination, the researchers also reviewed video recordings to determine how often visiting moths deposited pollen on a flower's stigma. Pollen deposition occurred during 50% of moth visits to plots with no added light, 60% of moth visits to amber-light plots, and 40% of moth visits to white-light plots.
Taken together, the information in the text and table best supports which statement?
When a command-of-evidence question combines a table with a passage, translate both sources into the same measurable quantities before evaluating the choices. Here, first use the table to estimate moth visits and then use the rates in the passage to estimate pollen-deposition visits. Finally, test every clause of each option, since a statement is unsupported if even one comparison is incorrect.
Hints
Use both table columns
For each lighting condition, multiply the total number of insect visits by the moth share to estimate the number of moth visits.
Incorporate the text
Apply each pollen-deposition rate to the corresponding estimated number of moth visits.
Check every clause
For each answer choice, verify both the comparison of moth visits and the comparison of visits involving pollen deposition.
Step-by-step Explanation
Estimate moth visits
Multiply each total visit count by the corresponding moth share:
- No added light:
- Amber light:
- White light:
Estimate visits involving pollen deposition
Apply the deposition rate from the text to each estimated moth-visit count:
- No added light:
- Amber light:
- White light:
Compare the evidence with the choices
Amber-light and white-light plots had the same estimated number of moth visits, 60, but the amber-light plots had more estimated visits involving pollen deposition, 36 compared with 24.