SAT Practice Questions

Magoosh SAT
presents:
SAT Practice
Questions

Table of Contents
Click on a link to jump to a section:
Introduction
What is Magoosh?
The Magoosh Team
Why Our Students Love Us
Math:
Practice Questions
Answers
Reading:
Practice Questions
Answers
Writing:
Practice Questions
Answers
Additional Resources
sat.magoosh.com
1

Introduction:
How to Use This PDF
If you’re taking the SAT test, then this is a resource that can help you prepare!
You’ll find a set of sample SAT practice questions--questions that are very close to
what you’d actually see on the test--drawn from the math, reading and writing section
of the test. After each set of practice questions, you’ll find an “Answers” section with
the correct answer as well as a text explanations for the problems in that set.
The best way to use this PDF is to first answer the questions in a set, and then check
those answers with the answer key at the end. Be sure to read the detailed
explanations as well--that is the best way to learn! :)
These practice questions came from the Magoosh SAT product. If you like what you
see here, be sure to sign up for a free trial.
Happy studying!
The Magoosh Team
sat.magoosh.com Table of Contents
2

What is Magoosh?
Magoosh is an online SAT prep course that offers:
● over 140 video lessons on all concepts on the SAT
● 700 math, reading and writing practice questions
● e-mail support from expert tutors
● personalized statistics based on performance
● access anytime, anywhere from an internet-connected device
You can visit us at sat.magoosh.com to learn more about what we have to offer!
Featured in:
3

The Magoosh Team
We are a group of passionate educators in Berkeley, California.
Email us at help@magoosh.com if you have any questions, comments, or suggestions!
4

Why Our Students Love Us
These are survey responses sent to us by students after they took the SAT. All of these
students and many more have used the Magoosh SAT prep course to improve their
scores!
5

6

MATHBelow, you will find a set of 5 SAT math practice questions followed by answers and
explanations of each question.
7

Questions:
Choose the option that best answers the question.
1. Each circle has center O. The radius of the smaller circle is 2 and the radius of the larger
circle is 6. If a point is selected at random from the larger circular region, what is the
probability that the point will lie in the shaded region?
a. 1/9
b. 1/6
c. 2/3
d. 5/6
e. 8/9
2. If the average (arithmetic mean) of seven consecutive integers is k + 2, then the product
of the greatest and least integer is:
a. k2
- 9
b. k2
- 2k + 1
c. k2
+ 4k - 12
d. k2
+ 6k + 9
e. k2
+ 4k - 5
3. The nth term (tn) of a certain sequence is defined as tn = tn-1 + 4. If t1= -7 then t71 =
a. 273
b. 277
c. 281
d. 283
e. 287
8

4. The length and width of a rectangular yard are 11 meters and 5 meters respectively. If
each dimension were reduced by x meters to make the ratio of length to width 8 to 3,
what would be the value of x?
a. 1.4
b. 1.6
c. 1.8
d. 2.0
e. 2.2
5. If four numbers are randomly selected without replacement from set {1, 2, 3, 4}, what is
the probability that the four numbers are selected in ascending order?
a. 1/256
b. 1/64
c. 1/48
d. 1/24
e. 1/12
9

Answers:
1.
2.
10

3.
4.
11

5.
12

READINGBelow, you will find a set of 10 SAT reading practice questions followed by answers and
13

Questions:
Passage 1
I will grant Fitzgerald this much: Somehow, in the five years between his literary debut and
The Great Gatsby, he taught himself to write. This Side of Paradise is intermittently brilliant
but terrifically uncontrolled. Gatsby, by contrast, is focused and deliberate: a single crystal,
scrupulously polished. It is an impressive accomplishment. And yet, apart from the
restrained, intelligent, beautifully constructed opening pages and a few stray passages
thereafter, Gatsby as a literary creation leaves me cold. Like one of those manicured
European parks patrolled on all sides by officious gendarmes, it is pleasant to look at, but
you will not find any people inside.
Passage 2
One of the main charges that has been leveled against The Great Gatsby is that the
characters are either one-dimensional stereotypes or as ethereal as one of Jay Gatsby’s
many soirees. While this assertion carries some truth, it both misses much of what
Fitzgerald set out to do in The Great Gatsby, and the literary aesthetic necessary to pull it
off. The 1920’s flappers were themselves playing a part, a role that did not allow for much
introspection. Even Jay Gatsby at his most confessional inhabits a role he has artfully
crafted. Perforce, Fitzgerald must create characters who are not wrestling with existential
doubts, and who must somehow rise above them, but who serve as a backdrop for a time
and a place.
For questions 1-4, choose the option that best answers the question.
1. Both authors would agree on which of the following?
a. Fitzgerald’s earlier work was not nearly as controlled as The Great Gatsby.
b. Fitzgerald was unable to sustain the reader’s interest after the opening chapters.
c. The Great Gatsby tends not to focus on the inner lives of characters.
d. Jay Gatsby was more fully developed than the other characters in the novel.
e. Fitzgerald focuses less on character development and more on setting in his
major novels.
2. With which of the following would the author of Passage 1 most likely agree?
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a. In terms of its prose style, The Great Gatsby is a meticulously written work.
b. Had Fitzgerald focused less on plot structure and more on characters, The Great
Gatsby would have been a more satisfying work.
c. Gatsby is somewhat more complicated than the other characters in The Great
Gatsby.
d. This Side of Paradise is a more accomplished work than The Great Gatsby.
e. The Great Gatsby represents the pinnacle of Fitzgerald’s style.
3. How would the author of Passage 2 most likely respond to the assertion in the last line
of Passage 1 that “you will not find any people inside”?
a. Not all characters in The Great Gatsby lacked emotional depth.
b. Many of the characters in The Great Gatsby are caricatures of actual living
people.
c. The Great Gatsby focused more on prose style than on character development.
d. Jay Gatsby was a fully formed character who evolved throughout the course of
the novel.
e. In aiming to depict a certain type of person, Fitzgerald was forced to sacrifice
character depth.
4. In Passage 1, the author mentions (“manicured European parks…”) in order to highlight
which aspect of the Great Gatsby?
a. Its reliance on an outdated narrative technique
b. The use of settings that are inappropriate to the plot
c. The way it exudes expert craftsmanship but ultimately leaves the reader
emotionally unsatisfied
d. Its tendency of leaving multiple narrative arcs unresolved
e. The lack of substantial dialogue amongst the novel’s characters
5. Passage 2 implies which of the following about Jay Gatsby?
a. He is the one of the more straightforward characters in The Great Gatsby.
b. He is being misleading even during his seemingly most candid moments.
c. He is unable to separate himself from events that happened in his past.
d. He does not accurately capture the time and place of Fitzgerald’s novel.
e. He reveals his true self only to those who are closest to him.
15

Choose the word or set of words that, when inserted in the sentence, best fits the meaning
of the sentence as a whole.
6. For those not versed in the niceties of superstring theory, Pearson’s writing can seem
________, or very difficult to understand.
a. vacuous
b. collegial
c. recondite
d. sanguine
e. unadorned
7. Avoiding the caustic tone used in his previous reviews of Kingley’s works, Clarke was
far more ________ in his latest article, balancing the critical with the laudatory.
a. fastidious
b. susceptible
c. parochial
d. artless
e. equitable
8. Only a hundred years ago, most doctors were ________, sometimes traveling as many
as a hundred miles to deliver a baby.
a. prototypical
b. extroverted
c. itinerant
d. miserly
e. reckless
9. The mayor’s self-serving excuses proved to have a(n) ________ effect on her career:
she even ________ some of her staunchest advocates.
a. restorative . . heartened
b. negative . . misaligned
c. palliative . . sidelined
d. deleterious . . alienated
e. tangential . . silenced
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10. The fashion designer’s creations reflect his ________ outlook: he aims to blend the
clothing styles of many different nations.
a. provincial
b. uninspired
c. cosmopolitan
d. abridged
e. compromised
17

Answers:
1. (A) is only mentioned in Passage 1.
(B) Passage 1 implies that the opening of The Great Gatsby is better than the rest of the
book, but Passage 2 mentions nothing of this.
(C) is best supported by most of Passage 2, which says that Fitzgerald used characters
that did not have much depth. Passage 1 is more subtle, referencing the lack of people
in the park, and Fitzgerald’s novel. The novel is nice to read but there are no real
characters inside.
(D) is only mentioned in Passage 2.
(E) is only partially correct. However, neither author really talks about settings. Sure,
Passage 2 talks about a “time and place”, but more in the context of the characters
themselves forming the setting.
2. According to the passage, The Great Gatsby is like a scrupulously polished crystal. In
other words, Fitzgerald has worked really hard at making sure the book has “beautifully
constructed opening pages”. This matches up best with (A). “Meticulously” is a positive
word indicating that someone has been very careful at something.
(A) The answer.
(B) is wrong because of the words “plot structure”, which is never mentioned in the
passage.
(C) refers to Passage 2.
(D) is wrong because Passage 1 says that The Great Gatsby is more accomplished.
(E) is making too much of a logical jump. Just because The Great Gatsby is more
controlled and polished than This Side of Paradise does not mean it is Fitzgerald’s
best work. And don’t rely on outside knowledge—meaning if your English teacher
said The Great Gatsby is Fitzgerald’s best work does not mean the author of
Passage 1 agrees with your English teacher.
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3. Passage 2 doesn’t disagree with the idea that the characters in Passage 1 aren’t real
people, but one-dimensional stereotypes (…this assertion carries some truth…). His
focus is that Fitzgerald was forced to portray the characters in this way because that is
how the 1920’s flappers tended to be. This matches up best with (E).
(A) is tempting but the author of Passage 2 implies that the characters lack depth.
Remember not to bring in your outside knowledge and think of the Nick Carroway, the
main character, who is mentioned in neither of these passages.
(B) is incorrect because the word caricatures is too negative. Passage 2 never says that
Fitzgerald was making fun of (which is what caricature loosely means) the 1920’s
flappers.
(C) is wrong because the author of Passage 2 never mentions prose style.
(D) is wrong because Passage 2 never talks about the evolution of Jay Gatsby.
4. The author of Passage 1 implies that The Great Gatsby is an artificial creation by
comparing it to a manicured park, which is something that is very pretty. In other words,
it is beautifully written but it leaves the author of Passage 1 “feeling cold”, or emotionally
unmoved. Craftsmanship, a word found in (C), describes the way it was written. The first
part of Passage 1 tells us how well Fitzgerald writes, comparing his prose to a
scrupulously polished crystal. The word “exudes” means to show a particular trait or
quality. Thus (C) is the best answer.
(A) is wrong because there is no mention of an outdated narrative technique.
(B) is wrong because plot is not mentioned in Passage 1.
(C) The answer.
(D) is wrong. Though narrative relates to story telling, there is no mention of either.
(E) is wrong because dialogue is not mentioned.
5. The passage says that even when Gatsby is trying to be confessional (that is he is
coming across as telling the truth), Gatsby is still playing a role. Another way of saying
19

this is answer (B), a complex, more formal way of expressing the same idea (something
you often see in the correct answer to the more difficult questions).
(A) is the opposite, because Gatsby apparently is always playing a role (he is being
anything but straightforward).
(B) The answer.
(C) is a tempting answer because it takes plot elements that many students are familiar
with—though these elements are not mentioned in either passage. Typically, the SAT
will choose passages that students are totally unfamiliar with. Every so often a passage
will creep in in which students are either familiar with or have even read before (there
has been a Charles Dickens’ passage and one from The Joy Luck Club). Be careful
always to base your answer only on information contained in the passage.
(D) is wrong since the passage does not mention how Gatsby relates to the 1920’s and
the flappers.
(E) is a trap answer because it plays off of the word confessional. However, the passage
never says who he is being confessional to, and it also implies that he is still holding
back on his true self even when he is being confessional.
6. Focus on the easy part of the sentence, “difficult to understand.” Therefore, the answer
is (C), which means difficult to understand. (A) means lacking content. (B) means relating
to one’s colleagues. (D) means cheerful.
7. “Avoiding the caustic <or nasty> tone” means that Clarke will be nicer in his latest
article. More specifically, he will be both critical and laudatory, or praising. (E) means
balanced and fair, which nicely matches the meaning of “both critical and praising”.
8. The clue “sometimes traveling” point to (C), which means traveling on foot. (B) just
means social, and doesn’t relate to traveling around. A doctor could be antisocial and
still travel hundreds of miles to deliver a baby.
9. “Self-serving”, meaning the mayor is only out for herself, shows that the blanks are both
negative. That leaves us with (B) and (D). “Misaligned” means put in the wrong position.
20

That does not match the context. “Deleterious” means harmful, making (D) the best
answer.
10. We need a word that means drawing from many different influences/nations. Eclectic
would work pretty well, but it is not amongst the answer choices. (C) is even better
though, since it means international. (A) is the opposite, and means limited in outlook.
(E) is too negative.
21

WRITINGBelow, you will find a set of 14 SAT writing practice questions followed by answers and
22

Questions:
Select the option that best completes the underlined part of the sentence. The first choice
repeats the original phrasing.
1. Recent malfunctions in interstellar exploration have not resulted from lapses in high
technology but commonplace deficiencies in plumbing and wiring.
a. not resulted from lapses in technology but
b. resulted not from lapses in high technology but from
c. resulted from lapses not in high technology but
d. resulted from lapses not in high technology but have stemmed from
e. resulted not from lapses in high technology but have stemmed from
Select the one underlined part of the sentence which contains an error. If the sentence is
correct, select no error.
2. Simon Bolivar is remembered in leading the independence revolutions in several South
American countries, including Venezuela and Bolivia. No error
a. is
b. in leading
c. in several
d. including
e. No error
The passage below is an early draft of an essay. Read the passage and select the best
answer for the question that follows.
(1) Many composers are household names. (2) They are known by many people. (3) Mozart,
Bach, and Beethoven come to mind. (4) There are, however, many other great composers who
are not as well known but deserve the same recognition as others. (5) Antonin Dvorak comes
to mind. (6) He was a Czech composer from the late 19th century.
(7) He wrote great pieces such as his 9th symphony, which is nicknamed the New World
Symphony. (8) Dvorak is known for taking folk melodies of his homeland and incorporating
them into his music. (9) In some of his popular pieces, including the middle movement of the
23

Piano Trio in E minor, incorporating a dumka, which is a form of music which is based on the
harmonic patterns of Slavic folk music. (10) It changes suddenly from gloomy to upbeat.
(11) Classical music is becoming less popular. (12) It means that the music of Dvorak will become
even less well known. (13) People should learn who wrote the music in movies. (14) Some of this
music may be Dvorak, like the 9th symphony, or the New World Symphony, which is featured in
movies. (15) By looking for Dvorak’s music online people will learn to appreciate and love a
composer who should become a household name.
3. The words “as others” in sentence 4 should be changed to
a. Leave it as is.
b. “as do the previously mentioned composers”
c. “as that of the others”
d. “as these other composers”
e. “as composers”
4. In context, which is the best way to revise and combine sentences 5 and 6 (reproduced
below)?
Antonin Dvorak comes to mind. He was a Czech composer from the late 19th
century.
a. One composer who comes to mind is Antonin Dvorak, a composer who was
from the late 19th century.
b. Antonin Dvorak, a Czech composer from the late 19th century, he comes to
mind.
c. From the late 19th century is a Czech composer, Antonin Dvorak, who comes to
mind.
d. One of these composers is Antonin Dvorak, a Czech one from the late 19th
century.
e. One such composer is the Czech Antonin Dvorak, who was from the late 19th
century.
5. In context, which of the following would be the most logical place for sentence 7?
a. Move it to the third paragraph.
b. Combine it with sentence 9.
c. Eliminate it altogether.
24

d. Move it to the end of the second paragraph.
e. Place it after sentence 13
6. In context, which of the following is the best way to combine and revise sentences 9
and 10 (reproduced below)?
In some of his popular pieces, including the middle movement of the Piano Trio in E
minor, incorporating a dumka, which is a form of music which is based on the
harmonic patterns of Slavic folk music. It changes suddenly from gloomy to upbeat.
a. For instance, in the middle movement of the Piano Trio in E minor, Dvorak
incorporates a dumka, which is a musical form based on the harmonic patterns
of Slavic folk music and is known for sudden changes in mood, from gloomy to
upbeat.
b. In some of his popular pieces, including the middle movement of the Piano Trio
in E minor, Dvorak incorporates a dumka, basing it on the harmonic patterns of
Slavic folk music, which suddenly changes from gloomy to upbeat.
c. Dvorak, in some of his popular pieces, including the middle movement of the
Piano Trio in E minor incorporated a dumka, this is based on harmonic patterns
of Slavic folk music, known for its sudden changes in a gloomy to an upbeat
mood.
d. For example, Dvorak includes a dumka, in some of his popular pieces, including
the middle movement of the Piano Trio in E minor, which is based on harmonic
patterns of Slavic folk music and changes in mood from gloomy to upbeat.
e. Dvorak includes in some of his popular pieces a dumka, including the Piano Trio
in E minor, in which harmonic patterns of Slavic folk music and changes in mood
from gloomy to upbeat are included.
7. In context, the third paragraph represents a shift from the other two paragraphs in that it
a. does not mention Dvorak’s music
b. focuses more on the composer’s life
c. broadens the discussion to include other composers
d. urges the reader to take a certain course of action
e. elaborates on information provided in the second paragraph
25

8. The following sentence makes the most sense if placed at which point in the passage?
There is, however, one way to reverse this unfortunate trend.
a. Before sentence 11
b. Between sentence 12 and 13
c. Between sentence 14 and 15
d. After sentence 15
e. Nowhere in the passage.
9. In context, sentences 11 and 12 (reproduced below) can best be combined and revised
in which of the following ways?
Classical music is becoming less popular. It means that the music of Dvorak will
become even less well known.
a. Given that Dvorak’s music will become less well known, classical music is
becoming less popular.
b. Due to the decreasing popularity of classical music, lesser known will Dvorak’s
music become.
c. Because classical music is becoming less popular, the music of Dvorak will likely
become even less well known.
d. Dvorak’s music becoming even less well known, because of the decreasing
popularity in classical music.
e. Classical music will become even less popular, Dvorak will become less well
known as a result.
10. Mayor Frank Pierce’s son told reporters that he had decided not to run for reelection
even though there were many restoration projects in the downtown area that remained
unfinished.
a. he had decided not to run for reelection
b. it had been decided upon that he would not run for reelection
c. his father had decided not to run for reelection
26

d. he would decide not to run for reelection
e. his decision was not running for reelection
11. The committee awarded both Carlos and me the first place title, since during our
respective performances we both played flawless and with emotional depth. No error
a. me
b. respective
c. flawless
d. with
e. No error
12. Though considered an amateur with no scientific credentials, Guglielmo Marconi was
the first to send a discernable Trans-Atlantic message via radio signal.
a. with no scientific credentials, Guglielmo Marconi was
b. Guglielmo Marconi, who had been lacking scientific credentials, had been
c. Guglielmo’s lack of scientific credentials were
d. and one with no scientific credentials, Guglielmo Marconi
e. who had a lack of scientific credentials, Guglielmo Marconi
13. The recent finding that the shoreline is receding collaborates the research team’s
hypothesis that the water level throughout the basin is increasing and will continue to
do so. No error
a. that
b. collaborates
c. is increasing
27

d. do so
e. No error
14. It is essential that an aspiring concert pianist practice scales each day, master difficult
fingering technique, and be able to convey the emotional depth of a piece.
a. be able to convey
b. is able to convey
c. conveys
d. should be conveying
e. have the ability to convey
28

Answers:
1. The correct idiomatic phrase here is “resulted not from X but from Y”. Notice the
parallelism in the “from” parts. (A) and (C) drop the second “from.” (D) and (E) are both
wordy “have stemmed”.
2. The idiom is “for leading”. Therefore, (B).
3. “As others” is vague. Do we mean other people? Of course not. The passage is about
different composers. So therefore, “as these other composers” makes it clear that we
are referring to the composers mentioned in the previous sentence.
4. The doubling of the word “composer” in (A) is unnecessary. (B) is not a grammatical
sentence since we double up the subject (Dvorak, he). (C) is awkward. (D) is wrong
because a “Czech one” is awkward. (E) is more succinct than (A) and is therefore the
best answer.
5. Sentence 7 mentions a great piece by Dvorak but it does not fit in with the rest of the
paragraph, which focuses on how Dvorak took folk tunes of his native land (we don’t
necessarily know if folk tunes were even part of the New World Symphony. It doesn’t
belong in this paragraph at all. Eliminate (A), (B), and (D). Since the last paragraph talks
about the New World Symphony it might make sense to place sentence 7 after
sentence 13. But sentence 7 introduces the New World Symphony, which sentence 14
does. Also putting sentence 7 after sentence 13 breaks the logical flow between
sentence 13 and 14, which is focused on Dvorak’s music in movies.
6. (B) implies that Dvorak is basing the dumka on harmonic patterns and that “harmonic
patterns” suddenly change from gloomy to upbeat. (C) is a comma splice (notice the
comma before the “this”.) The double “include” in (D) is awkward. Also, the “which”
should modify “dumka”. In (E) the last part is awkwardly worded.
7. (A) is clearly wrong since the third paragraph mentions Dvorak’s music. (B) is wrong
because the focus is on Dvorak in movies, and classical music and pop culture in
general. While the third paragraph broadens the scope of discussion, it doesn’t do so
29

by including other composers. (C) is out. Paragraph 3 does urge readers to listen to
Dvorak’s music. Answer (D).
8. This unfortunate trend can refer to classical music becoming less popular as well as
Dvorak’s music becoming less popular. However, we wouldn’t put the sentence
between sentence 11 and 12 (which is not even an option), since it breaks the flow
between the two sentences. Therefore, the unfortunate trend is referring to Dvorak’s
music becoming even less well known, and thus the italicized sentence should be put
after sentence 12.
9. (A) reverses the causality. In other words, it is implying that because Dvorak’s music is
becoming less well known, classical music is becoming less popular. (B) is awkward
(“lesser known” should go at the end”). (D) is awkward because of “becoming even”; it
should be “IS becoming even”. (E) is wrong because “as a result” should come in the
middle of the sentence. Also, the sentence requires a comma since the AND is joining
together two independent clauses.
10. The “he” IS ambiguous because Mayor Frank Pierce’s son could run for reelection,
maybe he is in the Senate. (C) successfully gets rid of the ambiguity.
11. “Me” is correct since the committee is the subject and the recipients are objects in the
sentence. “Flawless” is anything but, since it is an adverb, which, on the SAT at least,
always require an “-ly”.
12. Watch out for (B) and (C), which both need a comma (the SAT has never had an
Improving the Sentence question in which a comma leads off an answer choice). The
original sentence, which has the comma and the correct noun after the comma
(Marconi). Therefore (A).
13. The word should be “corroborates”, which means to confirm, not “collaborate”, which
means to work together. “Do so” is a stand in for “increase”.
14. Notice the entire sentence uses words that do not have an ‘s’ after them
(“practice…master”), even though the subject is singular (“pianist”). The reason is
“essential” uses the subjunctive tense. The SAT doesn’t typically test this explicitly in
terms of verb tense. In this case, you just have to pay attention to the parallel verbs
(each verb does not have an ‘-s’ at the end. With the subjunctive you want to use the
30

infinitive form of the verb (to master, to practice, to be) but without the ‘to’. Therefore,
(A).
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