ACT Practice Test 4 doc

Although the sources for their philosophy can be traced to the Scientific Revolution in general, the philosophes were most influenced by their understanding of The philosophes saw Newton

ACT Practice Test 4 READING

Passage XIII

HUMANITIES: The following passage is

excerpted from A Short History of Western

Civilization by John Harrison, Richard

Sulli-van, and Dennis Sherman (©1990 by

McGraw-Hill Reprinted by permission.)

Enlightenment ideas were put forth by

a variety of intellectuals who in France came

to be known as the philosophes Philosophes

is French for philosophers, and in a sense

philosophers, for the questions they dealt

with were philosophical: How do we

discov-er truth? How should life be lived? What is

the nature of God? But on the whole the

term has a meaning different from the usual [10]

meaning of “philosopher.” The philosophes

were intellectuals, often not formally trained

or associated with a university They were

usually more literary than scientific They

generally extended, applied, popularized, or [15]

propagandized ideas of others rather than

originating those ideas themselves The

philosophes were more likely to write plays,

satires, pamphlets or simply participate in

verbal exchanges at select gatherings than to [20]

write formal philosophical books

It was the philosophes who developed

the philosophy of the Enlightenment and

spread it to much of the educated elite in

colonies) Although the sources for their

philosophy can be traced to the Scientific

Revolution in general, the philosophes were

most influenced by their understanding of

The philosophes saw Newton as the

great synthesizer of the Scientific Revolution

who rightly described the universe as

ordered, mechanical, material, and only

then has remained relatively inactive

New-ton’s synthesis showed to the philosophes

that reason and nature were compatible:

Nature functioned logically and discernibly,

Newton exemplified the value of reasoning

based on concrete experience The

philosophes felt that his empirical

method-ology was the correct path to discovering

John Locke (1632-1704) agreed with

Newton but went further This English

thinker would not exempt even the mind

from the mechanical laws of the material

Understanding (1691), Locke pictured the

human brain at birth as a blank sheet of

paper on which nothing would ever be

writ-ten except sense perception and reason

their experiences—on the information

received through the senses Schools and

social institutions could therefore play a

great role in molding the individual from

were thus by nature far more malleable

than had been assumed This empirical

psychology of Locke rejected the notion

that human beings were born with innate

source of truth Locke also enunciated

lib-eral and reformist political ideas in his

Sec-ond Treatise of Civil Government (1690),

which influenced the philosophes On the

politics were appealing to the philosophes

England, not coincidentally the

coun-try of Newton and Locke, became the

admired model for many of the

philosophes They tended to idealize it, but [75]

England did seem to allow greater

individ-ual freedom, tolerate religious differences,

and evidence greater political reform than

other countries, especially France England

itself from traditional institutions and

accepting the new science of the

seven-teenth century Moreover, England’s

approach seemed to work, for England was

experiencing relative political stability and [85]

prosperity The philosophes wanted to see

in their own countries much of what

Eng-land already seemed to have

Many philosophes reflected the

tutions, but perhaps the most

representa-tive in his views was Voltaire (1778) Of all

leading figures of the Enlightenment, he

was the most influential Voltaire, the son

French intelligentsia while still in his early

twenties His versatile mind was sparkling;

his wit was mordant An outspoken critic,

he soon ran afoul of both church and state

Bastille; later he was exiled to England

There he encountered the ideas of Newton

and Locke and came to admire English

par-liamentary government and tolerance In

Letters on the English (1732), Elements of [105]

the Philosophy of Newton (1738), and other

writings, he popularized the ideas of

New-ton and Locke, extolled the virtues of

Eng-lish society, and indirectly criticized French

hidden for a time and protected by a

wealthy woman who became his mistress

Voltaire’s facile mind and pen were never

idle He wrote poetry, drama, history,

ninety volumes in all Few people in history

have dominated their age intellectually as

did Voltaire

99 According to the passage, the philosophes can best be described as:

A writers swept up by their mutual admiration of John Locke

B professors who lectured in philosophy at French universities

C intellectuals responsible for popularizing Enlightenment ideas

D scientists who furthered the work of the Scientific Revolution

100 Based on information provided in the passage, which of the following would mostlikely have been written by Voltaire?

F A treatise criticizing basic concepts of the Scientific Revolution

G A play satirizing society in France

H A collection of letters mocking the English Parliament

J A sentimental poem expounding the virtues of courtly love

101 According to the passage, Locke felt that schools and social institutions could “play

a great role in molding the individual” (lines 58-59) because:

A human beings were born with certain innate ideas

B human nature becomes more malleable with age

C society owes each individual the right to an education

D the human mind is chiefly influenced by experience

102 Based on the information in the passage, which of the following best describesNewton’s view of the universe?

I -The universe was initially set in motion by God

II -Human reason is insufficient to understand the laws of nature

III -The universe operates in a mechanical and orderly fashion

F I only

G I and II only

H I and III only

J II and III only

103 According to the passage, which of the following works questioned the idea thatrevelation was a reliable source of truth?

A Letters on the English

B Second Treatise of Civil Government

C Elements of the Philosophy of Newton

D Essay Concerning Human Understanding

104 The passage supports which of the following statements concerning the relationshipbetween Newton and Locke?

F Locke’s psychology contradicted Newton’s belief in an orderly universe

G Locke maintained that Newton’s laws of the material universe also applied tothe human mind

H Newton eventually came to accept Locke’s revolutionary ideas about thehuman mind.

J Newton’s political ideas were the basis of Locke’s liberal and reformistpolitics

105 According to the passage, the philosophes believed that society should:

I -allow individuals greater freedom

II -free itself from traditional institutions

III -tolerate religious differences

A I only

B I and II only

C II and III only

D I, II, and III

106 It can be inferred from the passage that the authors regard England’s politicalstability and economic prosperity as:

F the reason that the philosophes did not idealize England’s achievement

G evidence that political reforms could bring about a better way of life

H the result of Voltaire’s activities after he was exiled to England

J an indication that the Scientific Revolution had not yet started there

107 The passage suggests that the French political and religious authorities during thetime of Voltaire:

A allowed little in the way of free speech

B overreacted to Voltaire’s mild satires

C regarded the philosophes with indifference

D accepted the model of English parliamentary government

108 As it is used in the passage, treatises (line 115) most nearly means:

F formal agreements about trade or peace made between two or more countries

G extensive written discussions or examinations of specific topics

H documents detailing agreements on specific issues

J narratives designed to teach moral lessons

Passage XIV

NATURAL SCIENCE: This passage is taken

from “The Quasar 3C 273” by Thierry

Cour-voisier and E Ian Robinson It originally

appeared in Scientific American, June 1991,

Volume 264 Reprinted by permission.

The quasar 3C 273 lies about one-fifth

of the way from the Earth to the edge of the

known universe Of all the objects in the

cosmos, only a few other quasars surpass the

day, it is more luminous than 1,000 galaxies,

each containing 100 billion stars During

one remarkable day in February, 1988, the

quasar erupted with a burst of radiation

equivalent to lighting up stars the size of our [10]

sun at the rate of 10 million per second

By monitoring 3C 273 in all domains of

the electromagnetic spectrum and by

observing variations in its luminosity,

quasars and the physical processes that

power them

Since quasars were first identified some

28 years ago, astronomers have come to

real-ize that quasars are the cores of extremely [20]

active galaxies Quasars are unmatched in

luminosity and hence are the most distant

objects that can be detected in the universe

One of the most important discoveries

vary greatly over periods of less than a year

This variability led investigators to the

con-clusion that the tremendous energy of

quasars is radiated from a region many

galaxies

Quasars are powered by the

gravitation-al energy that is released as gas and dust fgravitation-all

toward their massive, dense centers Some of

blasting material out into the host galaxy at

speeds close to that of light Most of the

energy is converted into radiation by a wide

range of physical processes, probably

quasars exhibit many phenomena that

can-not be explained, and they remain one of

the most puzzling objects in the universe

On the whole, we know more about 3C

very wide range of properties, not all of

which are shared by all quasars The wealth

of activity displayed by 3C 273, however, is a

key in helping astronomers understand the

The task of observing 3C 273 is as

chal-lenging as it is rewarding After traveling

through space for more than a billion years,

only a tiny fraction of the radiation from 3C

273 reaches the Earth Capturing this radia- [55]

tion requires frequent observations using a

battery of ground-based telescopes and

satellite-borne instruments

The effort began more than a century

first recorded on photographic plates as

astronomers surveyed the stars in the

con-stellation Virgo It looked like nothing more

than an ordinary, moderately bright star

leagues at Sydney University discovered that

the starlike object occupied the same

posi-tion in the sky as a strong source of radio

waves The radio emitter had been

number 273 in the Third Cambridge

Cata-logue of Radio Sources Objects such as 3C

273 were subsequently described as

quasi-stellar radio sources, or quasars

Mount Wilson and Palomar Observatories

deduced that the quasar 3C 273 was about

three billion light-years away from the

Earth The implications of this discovery

the most luminous and distant object ever

observed Soon a few other quasars were

identified that seemed to be even farther

and brighter than 3C 273 At the time, many

question these results Yet as modern

astronomers review the evidence collected

during the past 28 years, we find little room

to doubt that Schmidt was right

109 According to the passage, astronomers study quasars and the physical processes thatpower them by:

A observing 3C 273 through ground-based telescopes

B monitoring the electromagnetic spectrum of 3C 273

C enlarging satellite photographs of distant galaxies

D investigating phenomena that cannot be easily explained

110 According to the passage, what characteristic of quasars makes them the mostdistant objects that can be detected in the universe?

F Their density

G Their size

H Their luminosity

J Their puzzling behavior

111 According to the passage, which of the following describes a characteristic ofquasars?

I.-They blast material out into host galaxies

II.-They convert gravitational energy into radiation

III -They possess cores the size of ordinary galaxies

A I only

B I and II only

C II and III only

D I, II, and III

112 The passage suggests that observing 3C 273 is as “challenging as it is rewarding”(lines 51-52) because:

F there are many unexplained phenomena related to quasars

G very little radiation from 3C 273 actually reaches the Earth

H scientists have been attempting to study 3C 273 for over a century

J the technology required to observe 3C 273 is still being developed

113 As it is used in line 46, the word properties most likely means:

F Despite some early skepticism, scientists today still believe that Schmidt’sconclusions are accurate.

G While Hazard’s discovery was immediately accepted, Schmidt’s deductionswere ridiculed by his colleagues

H Although Hazard’s discovery has proved significant, much remains

questionable regarding Schmidt’s deductions from that data

J While Hazard’s discovery was an accident, Schmidt’s discovery was the result

of careful analysis

115 From the passage, it is most reasonable to conclude that observers originally

thought that quasar 3C 273 was:

A a radio emitter

B a nearby galaxy

C an ordinary star

D a typical quasar

116 In the passage, which of the following is NOT a fact provided about quasar 3C 237?

F It is typically more luminous than 1,000 galaxies

G Its luminosity can vary, with some extreme peaks of radiation production

H All quasars have the same properties as 3C 237

J Radiation from 3C 237 takes more than a billion years to reach Earth

Passage XV

NATURAL SCIENCE: The following passage

is excerpted from “The Transformer” by John

W Coltman (©1988 by Scientific American.)

The transformer is an essential

compo-nent of modern electric power systems

Simply put, it can convert electricity with a

low current and a high voltage into

electric-ity with a high current and low voltage (and [5]

vice versa) with almost no loss of energy

The conversion is important because

elec-tric power is transmitted most efficiently at

high voltages but is best generated and used

at low voltages Were it not for transformers, [10]

the distance separating generators from

consumers would have to be minimized,

many households and industries would

require their own power stations, and

elec-tricity would be a much less practical form [15]

of energy

In addition to its role in electric power

systems, the transformer is an integral

com-ponent of many things that run on

electrici-ty Desk lamps, battery chargers, toy trains, [20]

and television sets all rely on transformers to

cut or boost voltage In all its multiplicity of

applications, the transformer can range from

tiny assemblies the size of a pea to

cle will focus on the transformers in power

systems, but the principles that govern the

function of electrical transformers are the

same regardless of form or application

The English physicist Michael Faraday [30]

discovered the basic action of the

trans-former during his pioneering investigations

of electricity in 1831 Some fifty years later,

the advent of a practical transformer,

modern instrument, revolutionized the

infant electric lighting industry By the turn

of the century, alternating-current power

systems had been universally adopted and