25 hard SAT Boundaries (Punctuation) questions

The physicist Marie Curie made groundbreaking contributions to the study of ______ blank received the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1903 and the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1911, she remains the only person to have won Nobel Prizes in two different scientific fields.

• Aradioactivity. Having
• Bradioactivity, having
• Cradioactivity; since having
• Dradioactivity having

The philosopher Simone de Beauvoir argued that gender is not a biological essence but a social ______ one is not born a woman but rather becomes one through cultural conditioning and lived experience.

• Aconstruction:
• Bconstruction,
• Cconstruction; and
• Dconstruction—and

Astrophysicist Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar calculated the maximum mass a white dwarf star could ______ stars exceeding this limit, now known as the Chandrasekhar limit, must collapse into neutron stars or black holes.

• Asustain. Stars
• Bsustain, stars
• Csustain; although stars
• Dsustain— since stars

Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English? The architect Frank Lloyd Wright designed buildings that integrated with their natural ______ his famous home Fallingwater, for example, was built directly over a waterfall in rural Pennsylvania.

• Asurroundings:
• Bsurroundings,
• Csurroundings; because
• Dsurroundings

The Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius is remembered not only for his military campaigns but also for his philosophical ______ his Meditations, written in Greek, remains one of the most influential works of Stoic philosophy.

• Awritings.
• Bwritings,
• Cwritings; and
• Dwritings—and

The poet Emily Dickinson wrote nearly 1800 poems during her lifetime, yet only a handful were published before her ______ her sister Lavinia discovered the vast collection after Emily's death and worked to bring the poems to public attention.

• Adeath.
• Bdeath,
• Cdeath; and
• Ddeath

Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English? Economist Esther Duflo has pioneered the use of randomized controlled trials to evaluate poverty alleviation ______ her research examines which interventions most effectively improve outcomes in education, health, and economic opportunity.

• Aprograms;
• Bprograms: although
• Cprograms,
• Dprograms— since

Linguist Deborah Tannen has studied how conversational styles differ across cultures and ______ her research suggests that misunderstandings often arise not from what is said but from differing expectations about how conversations should proceed.

• Agenders—
• Bgenders,
• Cgenders: and
• Dgenders; and

During the Renaissance, European artists developed new techniques for creating the illusion of depth on flat ______ linear perspective, chiaroscuro, and atmospheric perspective all contributed to more realistic representations of three-dimensional space.

• Asurfaces;
• Bsurfaces,
• Csurfaces: and
• Dsurfaces—and

Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English? The historian traced the origins of the conflict to a seemingly minor diplomatic ______ a trade agreement signed in 1847 had inadvertently left unclear which nation controlled access to the northern shipping routes.

• Aincident—
• Bincident,
• Cincident: although
• Dincident; since

Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English? The archaeological expedition uncovered a trove of artifacts from the Bronze Age ______ pottery shards, bronze tools, and decorative jewelry that provided crucial insights into ancient trade networks.

• Asettlement:
• Bsettlement,
• Csettlement;
• Dsettlement— namely that

Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English? The archaeological site at Pompeii offers an extraordinary window into daily life in ancient ______ the volcanic eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 CE preserved buildings, artifacts, and even organic materials in remarkable detail.

• ARome:
• BRome; although
• CRome,
• DRome— since

The ancient Mayan city of Tikal was abandoned around 900 CE for reasons that remain ______ archaeologists have proposed several theories, including prolonged drought, warfare, and environmental degradation.

• Aunclear:
• Bunclear; and
• Cunclear,
• Dunclear—and

Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English? The urban planner examined three case studies of successful transit ______ Copenhagen's bicycle infrastructure, Singapore's integrated subway system, and Portland's light rail network.

• Asystems:
• Bsystems,
• Csystems;
• Dsystems— namely that

The architect Zaha Hadid pioneered a design philosophy she called ______ characterized by flowing curves, dynamic angles, and the illusion of movement frozen in concrete and steel.

• Aparametricism:
• Bparametricism—and
• Cparametricism,
• Dparametricism;

In her study of Renaissance painting techniques, art historian Rona Goffen analyzed works by three Venetian ______ Titian, whose use of color transformed portraiture; Tintoretto, whose dynamic compositions broke with convention; and Veronese, whose monumental canvases depicted elaborate narratives.

• Amasters:
• Bmasters,
• Cmasters;
• Dmasters— namely that

Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?

• Amyth, the
• Bmyth: the
• Cmyth; although the
• Dmyth the

In her analysis of nineteenth-century British literature, scholar Elaine Showalter identified a three-phase evolution in women's ______ the feminine phase, characterized by imitation of male traditions; the feminist phase, marked by protest against male standards; and the female phase, focused on self-discovery.

• Awriting:
• Bwriting,
• Cwriting;
• Dwriting—and

In medieval Europe, illuminated manuscripts were painstakingly created by scribes who spent months or even years on a single ______ these ornate books featured elaborate decorations, vivid pigments, and gold leaf applications that demonstrated both artistic skill and religious devotion.

• Avolume:
• Bvolume; because
• Cvolume,
• Dvolume

The Rosetta Stone, discovered in 1799 near the town of Rosetta in Egypt, provided the key to deciphering ancient Egyptian ______ the stone's inscriptions in three scripts—hieroglyphic, Demotic, and Greek—allowed scholars to unlock a writing system that had been unreadable for centuries.

• Ahieroglyphs; since
• Bhieroglyphs:
• Chieroglyphs,
• Dhieroglyphs

The Harlem Renaissance of the 1920s produced a remarkable flourishing of African American ______ poets like Langston Hughes captured the rhythms of jazz and urban life in verse.

• Aliterature: although
• Bliterature;
• Cliterature,
• Dliterature— since

The ancient city of Petra in Jordan was carved directly into rose-colored sandstone cliffs by the Nabataeans, a nomadic Arab people who controlled important trade ______ the city's elaborate facades, temples, and tombs reveal the wealth and sophistication of this once-thriving civilization.

• Aroutes;
• Broutes,
• Croutes: although
• Droutes

The archaeologists discovered that the ancient city had been divided into distinct districts: a residential quarter for common citizens, a marketplace for trade, and a ceremonial center reserved for religious ______ blank they also found evidence of sophisticated water management systems connecting these areas.

• Arituals,
• Brituals;
• Crituals: although
• Drituals

Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English? Archaeologists excavating a site in Jordan discovered evidence of ancient bread production ______ charred breadcrumbs dating back 14400 years, predating the advent of agriculture by several millennia.

• A:
• B, this is
• C;
• D— and

The molecular biologist Barbara McClintock discovered that certain genetic elements could change their position within the genome, a phenomenon she termed ______ blank work, initially met with skepticism, eventually earned her the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1983.

• Atransposition, her
• Btransposition. Her
• Ctransposition; because her
• Dtransposition her