PARCC Reading Comprehension Practice Test story 3

15. Herculaneum and its harbor were buried under _________ lava.

Correct! Wrong!

15. B: "Coagulated" means solidified. Liquid (A) is an opposite of solid. Flowing (C) assumes a liquid, not solid, state. Gas (D) is another opposite of solid. (Three states of matter, like volcanic material, are liquid, solid, and gaseous.)

16. The poisonous gases were not _________ in the air.

Correct! Wrong!

16. A: "Buoyant" means able to float. The passage indicates this by indicating that the gases therefore, sank toward earth and suffocated people. Buoyant does not mean visible (B) or possible to see. Able to float/buoyant does not mean able to evaporate (C). Evaporation means turning to vapor, which only liquids can do. Gases are already vapors. Buoyant does not mean invisible (D) or unseen. Able to float does not mean able to condense (E), i.e. turn from vapor to liquid.

17. Scientists analyzed data about Vesuvius in the same way that a zoologist _________ a specimen.

Correct! Wrong!

17. B: "Dissect" means to cut apart for study. It does not mean to describe in detail (A), to photograph (C), or to chart (D) a specimen.

18. _________ have concluded that the volcanic eruption caused a tidal wave.

Correct! Wrong!

18. B: Meteorologists are scientists who study atmospheric conditions, particularly weather. Scientists who study oceans (A) are oceanographers, i.e. marine scientists. Scientists who study ash (C) do not exist as members of a separate discipline. Climate scientists and many others concerned with its effects study volcanic ash. Scientists who study animal behavior (D) are ethologists or animal behaviorists and do not study ash.

19. Scientists have used _________ water to wash away volcanic ash from the skeletons of victims.

Correct! Wrong!

19. C: Distilled water is purified water. Distilled water is not equivalent to bottled (A), volcanic (B), sea (D), or fountain (E) water.