iv.

Graph Questions

Graph questions can be very time consuming, unless you know exactly where to look. There
are ways you can cut corners to save time and still get the correct answers.

Strategy #1: Read the question first to know what to look for
This is especially helpful on graph questions where you aren’t completing the sentence by
filling in the blank.

Strategy #2: Go directly to the last sentence or two of the paragraph

This is where you will get the claim/argument.

Strategy #3: Don’t look at the graph at all

In some instances, multiple answer choices will cite accurate information from the graphic;
however, only one option will correspond to the specific focus in the question.

Thus, it is entirely possible to interpret a graph or chart perfectly and still end up with the
wrong answer.

In such cases, ignoring the chart and focusing on the phrasing in the text portion of the
question may, paradoxically, give you a much better chance of getting the question right.

Strategy #4: Look for inconsistencies in the graph

Be proactive not reactive.
Look at the graph before reading the answers.
Is there a data point that stands out/is different from the rest?

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Example #1 - A Straightforward Example

As part of a unit on pollination, a biology student is researching Colony Collapse Disorder, the
mysterious disappearance of millions of honeybee (Apismellifera) colonies in the early 2000s.
Although many wild bee populations have continued to decline, the number of honeybees has
actually increased on every continent. The student wants to emphasize that in some regions,
honeybee populations had not only rebounded by 2020 but also reached their highest level in
60 years.

Underline the claim in the text. What two things does the student want to emphasize?

(1)

(2)

Make sure to pick an answer that supports both of these things.

Which region included in the graph should the student cite to support this claim?

A) Africa
B) Americas
C) Europe
D) Asia

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Example #2 - Another Straightforward Example

A student studying the presence of white-nose syndrome, a disease that has

decimated bat populations across North America since 2007, examined data about the
number of bats in a protected area. Because bats live in the dark and their cries are
inaudible to people, biologists must use acoustic detectors to record their sounds and
then analyze them to identify the species present in a given location. Observing that
the highest number of cries came from big brown bats(Eptesicus fuscus), the student
concluded that brown bat species were not affected by the disease.

Which statement best describes data from the graph that would undermine the
student's conclusion?

A) No bat species emitted more than 10 cries on average per night

B) The number of cries from little brown bats was among the lowest of any species.

C) More cries were recorded for tri-colored bats than for hoary bats.

D) Eastern red bats were more vocally active than big brown bats.

……..Did you even need the graph for this?

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Example #3 - No Graph Needed

Despite steady gains in readership and overall popularity, e-books are hardly
positioned to replace print books. Rather, the two types of media complement each
other, providing the same content in different forms. Print books and e-books each
have unique attributes and serve distinct purposes, which vary by demographic and
situational factors. Researchers Yin Zhang and Sunali Kudva used data from the
National Reading Habits Survey to examine book-format preferences in a variety of
situations. Although the pair found that e-books are firmly established as an option
due to ease of accessibility, they also concluded that print books offer greater appeal to
most readers in certain situations.

Wait, where is the graph? The length of the answer choices suggests that
the graph may not be important.

Let’s see if we can answer the question. If we cannot, then we will look at the graph.

Which choice best describes data from the chart that supports Zhang and Kudva's
finding?

A) A large majority of readers seeking immediate access to a book preferred the

electronic option, with less than 25% of readers opting for print.

B) The percentage of readers who choose a format based on the variety of titles
available was about 50% for both print books and e-books.

C) More than 75% of readers preferred print books for reading to a child, and more
than 60% preferred print books for sharing with other readers.

D) When concerned about quick access or reading during travel, most readers
preferred books in the same format.

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Now, to be safe, just spot check your answer with the graph to make sure that it is the
right one.

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Example #4 - No Graph Needed

MRSA- Methicillen-resistant Staphylococcus aureus- is a type of bacteria that is

frequently responsible for hospital-acquired infections and is known for being
exceptionally resistant to common antibiotics. When a group of these medications
were compared in terms of their ability to cure MRSA infections versus a variety of
other infections, researchers found that an antibiotic could demonstrate a high level of
general effectiveness but that the same medication could be significantly less effective
in combating MRSA. For example, ____.

According to the claim, these two conditions must be fulfilled:

(1)

(2)

Now, use the process of elimination to weed out answers that don’t fulfill those two
requirements.

Which choice most effectively uses data from the table to logically complete the
text?

A) Erithromycin had a general effectiveness of nearly 32%, whereas its MRSA

effectiveness was only about five points lower.

B) Whereas Mupirocin was around 17% less effective against MRSA than against
general infections, the gap for Clindamicin was only about 14%.

C) Only Vancomycin was fully effective in combatting both general and MRSA bacteria.

D) Rifampicin showed a general effectiveness rate of more than 85%, whereas it was
just over 60% effective against MRSA

Now, just double check your answer with the graph just to be safe (optional):

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Answers to Graph Examples

1. A

The only line that fits both those criteria is the line for Africa: there is a dip between 2000 and
2010, and the highest point (20 million) corresponds to 2020.

2. B

What is the student's conclusion? That brown bat species were not affected by [white-nose
syndrome] because the highest average number of cries recorded came from big brown bats.
Note that answer choice B is the only answer that talks about brown bats! The other answers
are irrelevant.

3. C

The wording of the last sentence is key because it tells us what the researchers
concluded: most readers- that is, more than 50%- prefer print books (dark gray bar)
sometimes. Any answer that contradicts this idea or that has a different focus can be
eliminated.

(A) can be eliminated because the focus is on a situation in which readers prefer
e-books.
(B) doesn't fit because the focus is on a situation in which the numbers are roughly
equal.
(D) doesn't provide enough information to judge, although it is reasonable to assume
that most readers who were traveling or seeking quick access to a book would want
the electronic version.

(C) is a match, citing situations in which a clear majority of readers (75% and 60%
respectively) prefer print books.

4. D

The correct answer must fulfill two conditions:

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 1) It must mention just one antibiotic.
2) It must include a statistic indicating a significant difference between general
effectiveness and effectiveness against MRSA.

On that basis:

● We can eliminate (A) because 5% indicates a small gap.

● We can eliminate (B) because it compares two different medications.
● We can eliminate (C) because the effectiveness rates of Vancomycin were the
same.
That leaves (D), which correctly cites an example of a single drug with a large
difference (>25%) in effectiveness.

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Graph Questions Extra Practice

1.

El Nino is a climate pattern in which water in the Pacific Ocean near the equator
becomes hotter than usual, affecting the atmosphere and weather around the world.
Although El Nino climate conditions are unpredictable, they typically occur every few
years and can change the weather in the United States, particularly in the southern
states and in California. Climatologists have found that although El Nino years do not
bring heavy rains every month, the difference in rainfall during the winter in El Nino
years can be much greater than the difference during other seasons. Los Angeles, for
example, receives around 15mm of rain on in May on average and during El Nifio years,
whereas _ _

Which choice uses data from the graph to logically complete the text?

A) 5mm more rain than average falls in October when El Nifio is present.
B) over 100 mm of rain falls in January during El Nifio years.
C) the amount of rainfall in August and September is lower than average during
El Nifio years.
D) the amount of rainfall in February during El Nifio years is 100 mm higher than
average.

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2.

Plants use photosynthesis to create energy from visible light from the sun. In addition to visible
light, however, sunlight contains ultraviolet (UV) light. Researchers at the University of
Hokkaido wondered whether it would be possible to provide plants with additional visible light
by employing a wavelength converting material (WCM) capable of transforming UV light into
red light. They created a thin-film WCM coating and applied it to clear plastic sheets, which
were placed next to Swiss chard plants. A control group used sheets without the coating. In
the summer, when sun irradiation was strong, no significant difference was observed between
the two groups. In winter, however, the plants with the WCM films were significantly taller
and contained more biomass after 63 days as compared to the control group. The researchers
concluded that this accelerated growth was caused by the increased supply of red light
provided by the WCM films.

Which choice uses data from the graph to support the researchers' conclusion?

A) Light that is less than 400 nanometers long had a much lower level of intensity than light
that is more than 450 nanometers long.

B) Light ranging from 500 to 550 nanometers had the highest level of intensity.

C) The intensity of light waves more than 600 nanometers long that passed through the films
increased to nearly peak levels.

D) UV absorption declined steeply in light waves that are less than 450 nanometers.

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3.

Despite the sensationalist claims about the effects of video games on children's development
that regularly appear in the media, a growing body of research purports to demonstrate that
game players outperform non-gamers on a range of cognitive measures, and some studies
suggest that the skills acquired through gaming can be transferred to real-world situations.
However, these studies employ a variety of methodologies, criteria, and types of participants.
Marc Palaus and colleagues at Oberta University in Spain conducted a review of 116 studies,
aiming to better understand the relationship between gaming and cognitive development.
While they concluded that it is possible to establish links between video games and skills
involving attention, cognitive control, and visuospatial processing, they also observed that the
lack of standardization could contribute to inconsistencies in the findings of similar studies.

Which choice most effectively uses data from the graph to support the researchers'
observation?

A) The studies run by Takeushi relied on larger sample sizes and involved younger participants
than any of the other studies.
B) Few of the studies included participants under the age of 18.
C) Each study focused on participants in a particular age range and did not include members
that were much older or younger.
D) The participants in the studies conducted by Erickson, Vo, and Kiihn and Gallinat were all
under the age of 30.

4.

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Seals are among the few mammals other than humans that are capable of learning new types
of vocalizations. Whereas it is well established that adult harbor seals can acquire new vocal
patterns, until recently this phenomenon had never been studied in pups. In 2021, researchers
at the Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics and a group of colleagues conducted a study
in which they played a series of pre-recorded sounds for a group of harbor seal pups ranging
from one to three weeks old. They found that the baby seals were able to modify their
vocalization patterns: overall, the pups lowered the fundamental frequency (FO) of their calls in
response to increased noise. In some cases, the response with highly pronounced, with the
same animal emitting vocalizations at much lower frequencies in high noise than in low noise.

Which choice most effectively uses data from the table to support the researchers' finding?

A) Seal B emitted vocalizations of 330 Hz in low noise and 300 Hz in high noise.

B) The fundamental frequency of Seal A's vocalizations in high noise was 100 Hz lower than in
low noise.

C) Whereas the fundamental frequency of Seal A's call was 125 Hz lower in high noise than in
no noise, the frequency of Seal B's call dropped by less than 50 Hz.

D) In both low and high noise, the fundamental frequency of Seal E's call was around 150 Hz
than it was without noise.

**Go to https://satsuitequestionbank.collegeboard.org/ for additional graph practice.

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Answers to Graph Extra Practice

1.D

Although the passage is fairly long, the key information - as usual - appears at the end. You
cannot just read the last sentence, however: it includes the transition for example, which
means that you need to back up and find the idea that the sentence is illustrating. You'll find it
in the previous sentence, which states that although El Nino does not result in consistently
heavy rains throughout the year, the difference in rainfall during the winter in El Nino years can
be much greater than the difference during other seasons. Los Angeles is then cited as an
example of a city where this is the case. The last sentence indicates that average and El Nino
rainfall are the same in May (in a season other than winter), and the word whereas before the
blank indicates that the remainder of the sentence must describe the opposite - a winter month
in which the difference between average and El Nino rainfall is large. The correct answer must
therefore include a comparison between El Niiio rainfall and average rainfall.

(B) does not include a comparison, so this answer can be eliminated immediately. Be careful
with (A): this answer does mention a month in which El Nino is associated with more rain than
average, but 5mm is a very small amount, and the correct answer must involve an amount that
is much greater. (C) does not fit because the correct answer must involve months in which El
Nino rainfall is higher, and there is also no information about the size of the differences. (D)
correctly cites an example of a winter month (February) in which El Nino is associated with
rainfall that is much higher than the average (150 mm).

2. C

Don't be intimidated by the seeming complexity of the graph- this question is much easier than
it looks. What is the researchers' conclusion? You'll find it in the last sentence: the accelerated
growth of the plants with WCM films was caused by the increased supply ofred light. The
correct answer must support the idea that the films increased the red-light supply.

Shortcut: (D) is the only answer that mentions the films, so start by checking it. Indeed, the
fact that the light that passed through the films increased to "peak levels" of intensity in the
"red" area of the graph directly illustrates the idea that the films caused the plants to receive
more red light. (D) is thus correct. The other answers include information about light
wavelength, intensity, and absorption but do not explicitly mention the effect of the films.

3. A

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What is the researchers' observation? That the lack of standardization [among studies] could
contribute to inconsistencies in the findings of similar studies. The correct answer must
therefore mention a factor that varies from study to study and include a comparison of some
type. The words Each study in (C) and all in (D) indicate that these answers are discussing
factors that remain the same across studies, so both choices can be eliminated. (B) is off-topic:
even though the studies involve video games, the relative lack of children among the
participants is not the issue indicated by the passage. Only (A) mentions an inconsistency that
illustrates the researchers' observation: the studies run by one of the participants differed
noticeably from the other studies in that they involved far more participants. In other words, it
shows that the studies were not standardized.

4. B

What is the researchers' finding? It appears in the last sentence: the seal pups changed their
vocalizations in response to the sounds, and in some cases, the same animal might produce
vocalizations with much lower fundamental frequencies in high noise than in low noise. The
correct answer must therefore focus on one animal only and indicate a large gap in
fundamental frequency between low and high noise. (C) makes a comparison between two
seals, so it can be eliminated automatically. Be careful with (A): it does compare the
frequencies in low and high noise, but the gap is fairly small (30 Hz). (D) is likewise incorrect
because the correct answer must cite a large difference in the responses to the two noise
levels, and here it is very similar. Only (B) offers an example of a seal whose vocalizations
showed a large gap (100 Hz) between low and high noise.

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