Digital SAT® Practice Test 1: Reading and Writing Module 1: Question 3 Explanation

Digital SAT Reading and Writing Test 1 Question 3

Which choice best describes the function of the second sentence in the overall structure of the text?

It describes how well received the work of Romano and her team was within the geology community.
It presents the main finding of the investigation conducted by Romano and her team.
It indicates the problem that Romano's team aimed to address but didn't succeed in doing so.
It points out a significant limitation of the method employed by Romano and her team.

Answer:

Explanation

Geologists are confident that Mount Vesuvius, due to its active volcanic nature, will inevitably undergo another major eruption. Determining the intensity and potential impact of this future eruption, however, proves challenging due to insufficient understanding of the internal dynamics of the volcano. Recently, geophysicist Elena Romano and her team trialed a method involving the study of past lava flow patterns to predict the volcano's potential destructive pathway, but they concluded that this method could not sufficiently characterize the internal pressures of Vesuvius to accurately predict the destructive potential of its future eruptions.

Choice C is the best answer. The text starts with the geologists’ claim about the inevitable eruption of Mount Vesuvius. Then, the second sentence introduces the problem of determining the intensity and potential impact of the eruption. Lastly, the rest of the text discusses an attempt to address the problem and its failure.

Choice A: The second sentence does not include how well their work was received by others.

Choice B: The finding of Romano and her team is discussed in the last part of the text, not in the second sentence.

Choice D: The work and the method of Romano and her team is not at all discussed in the second sentence.

✨ Expert's Tip ✨

Identify the problem introduced in the second sentence; then, identify the relationship between the second sentence and the rest of the text.