SOL Study Guide 2026

Remote sensing equipment, such as satellites and aerial drones, captures images and data about the Earth's surface and atmosphere. While highly effective for monitoring physical phenomena like weather, traffic, and pollution, it cannot directly calculate abstract demographic statistics such as death rates, which require human-collected data like census records.

Dr. Jonas Salk is most recognized for developing a vaccine for polio. In the 1950s, polio was a devastating disease causing paralysis and death, particularly in children. Salk's inactivated polio vaccine (IPV) was introduced in 1955 and proved highly effective, leading to a dramatic reduction in polio cases worldwide and becoming a monumental achievement in public health.

Virginia's General Assembly is the bicameral state legislature consisting of the 40-member Senate and the 100-member House of Delegates.

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) was established in 1949 as a collective defense alliance primarily between North American and European countries. The United States is a founding and leading member, playing a crucial role in its political and military structure alongside its Western European allies.

The Tidewater, or Coastal Plain, is Virginia's easternmost region, characterized by flat land and tidal rivers near the Atlantic Ocean.

This question asks how the *environment affects people*. Farming on fertile soil is a direct example of how a natural environmental feature (fertile soil) provides a beneficial resource that enables human activity (agriculture) and supports human populations. The other options describe human impact on the environment or environmental problems, not the environment's direct positive effect on people.