Kaplan PSAT NMSQT Practice Test Reading Writing Math AMBIPi

Hi PSAT/NMSQT aspirants, welcome to AKVTutorials. PSAT (Preliminary SAT) or NMSQT (National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test) is a standardized test conducted by College Board and sponsored by National Merit Scholarship Corporation (NMSC) in United States. PSAT score is used to determine the qualification for NMSP (National Merit Scholarship Program) for US citizen only. In this article of you will get Kaplan PSAT NMSQT Practice Test | Reading | Writing | Math | AMBIPi.

Table of Contents

PSAT Exam Level

There are three different PSAT exams

PSAT 8/9 (only for Grade 8 and 9 students)

PSAT 10 (only for Grade 10 students)

PSAT/NMSQT (student after Grade 10 students)

PSAT Paper Pattern

Like SAT, the PSAT exam paper contains three sections:

PSAT Critical Reading section with 47 questions in 60 minutes
PSAT Writing & Language section with 44 questions in 35 minutes,
PSAT Math section (No calculator) with 17 questions in 25 minutes.
PSAT Math section (With calculator) with 31 questions in 45 minutes.

Hence, total time duration for PSAT exam is 2 hours and 45 minutes.

The total PSAT scores is 1520, (total score of SAT is 1600).

PSAT Syllabus

Now, each section has following distributions.

PSAT Reading Section:

Information & Ideas:

Close Reading, Citing Textual Evidence, Global Inference and Command of Evidence Questions.

Summary:

Understanding Relationship, Interpreting words & phrase in context, Detail, connection & vocab. In context questions

Rhetoric:

Analyzing Word Choice, Text Structure Point of View

Synthesis:

Analyzing Multiple Texts and Quantitative Info

PSAT Writing & Language Section:

Expression of Ideas:

Development Organization & Effective Language Usage, Analyzing Graphs

Standard English Convention:

Sentence Structure, Convention of Usage, Punctuation, Verb Tense, Subject Verb Agreement, Common Usage.

PSAT Math (No Calculator):

Heart of Algebra:

Linear Equation and Inequalities, Polynomials & Factoring, Linear Functions and Function Notation, Midpoint, Distance in Slope in x-y plane

Additional Topics:

Area and Volumes, Geometrical relationship, Lines, Angles & Triangles, Polygons and Circles, Circle Equations and Graphs, Complex Numbers, Trigonometric Functions and Graphs

Advanced Topics:

Zeros, Factors of and Graph of Polynomials, Radical, Exponential and Fractional Equations, Quadratic Equations and Parabola, Vertex form, Nonlinear System of Equations, Transformations of Functions and their graphs.

PSAT Math (With Calculator):

Heart of Algebra:

Liner Equation and Inequalities, Polynomials & Factoring, Linear Functions and Functions Notation, Midpoint, Distance in Slope in x-y Plane,

Additional Topics:

Area and Volumes, Geometrical relationship, Lines, Angles & Triangles, Polygons and Circles, Circle Equations and Graphs, Complex Numbers, Trigonometric Functions and Graphs

Problem Solving & Data Analysis

Ratio, Proportions, Percentages, Rates Analyzing Data using graphs and Scatterplots, Two-way tables, Statistical Measures, Linear and Exponential Modelling.

Passport of Advanced Math:

Zeros, Factors and Graph of Polynomials, Radical, Exponential and Fractional Equations, Quadratic Equations and Parabola, Vertex form, Nonlinear System of Equations, Transformations of Functions and their graphs.

PSAT Reading Tips for Improvement in PSAT Exam:

Understanding main ideas in a reading passage
Understanding tone
Recognizing the purpose of various writing strategies
Understanding the use of examples
Applying ideas presented in a reading passage
Determining an author’s purpose or perspective
Making connections between information in different parts of a passage
Comparing and contrasting ideas presented in two passages
Distinguishing conflicting viewpoints
Being thorough
Understanding difficult vocabulary
Understanding how negative words, suffixes, and prefixes affect sentences
Recognizing a definition when it is presented in a sentence
Understanding and using a word in an unusual context
Understanding complex sentences
Recognizing connections between ideas in a sentence
Recognizing words that signal contrasting ideas in a sentence
Understanding sentences that deal with abstract ideas

Now, for PSAT practice test and for more details about the PSAT tips and tricks for PSAT Reading, PSAT Writing & PSAT Math, you must read the book of Kaplan publishing company as below.

Kaplan PSAT Practice Test Book

Check Price On Amazon

PSAT Reading Practice Test

The passages below are followed by questions based on their content or the relationship between the passages. Answer the questions on the basis of what is stated or implied in the passages or the introductory material preceding them.

PSAT Reading Practice Passage 1

Passage 1:

Line 1: Pavlov discovered that dogs would salivate not
only when food was placed in their mouths, but
also when they simply saw the person who was
to feed them. His student, Anton Snarsky,
Line 5: sought to attribute this fact to the higher
mental abilities of the dogs, namely their
thoughts, feelings and desires. Pavlov rejected
completely any such “mentalistic”
interpretation. He believed that physiology
Line 10: alone, without the help of psychology
or an appeal to “consciousness,” could explain this
Pavlovian conditioning. In Pavlov’s view, the
temporary association between the visual
stimulus of the feeder and the salivary response
Line 15: was simply a modification of a low-level reflex.

Passage 2:

Pavlov realized that the actions of the dog’s
salivary glands and the actions of the dog’s
stomach were both under the control of the
autonomic nervous system, and hence probably
Line 20: linked by reflexes. In his investigations of this
link, he discovered that the dogs did not need to
taste, see, or even smell their food in order to
begin salivating. They could be made to salivate
by the sound of a metronome, which had
Line 25: previously only sounded when the food was
about to be presented. In addition to showing
that dogs could be taught, or “conditioned,” to
salivate in the presence of almost any
associated stimulus, Pavlov also showed that
Line 30: this association is pliable, and can be repressed
if the conditioned stimulus fails over an
extended period. If the food stops coming
when the metronome sounds, the salivation
eventually stops also.

PSAT Practice Test Question No 1

The two passages differ in emphasis primarily in that Passage 1 focuses on

Option A: a theoretical dispute, while Passage 2 focuses on the nature of an investigation

Option B: a broad historical setting, while Passage 2 focuses on a single person

Option C: the positive aspects of a theory, while Passage 2 focuses on the negative aspects of the same theory

Option D: the analysis of the scientific method in general, while Passage 2 focuses on a specific theory

Option E: experimental equipment, while Passage 2 focuses on an experimental method

PSAT Practice Test Answer No 1

Show/Hide Answer

Option A : a theoretical dispute, while Passage 2 focuses on the nature of an investigation

Passage 1 focuses on a disagreement between Pavlov and his student regarding how to interpret the results of his experiment. Passage 2, on the other hand, simply provides details of the investigations (line 20) undertaken by Pavlov and what he discovered, without mention of any “theoretical” explanation.

PSAT Practice Test Question No 2

The quotation marks around the word “consciousness” (line 11) suggest that this term

Option A: is usually stressed when spoken aloud

Option B: is being adapted from another language

Option C: is being used to mean the opposite of what it originally meant

Option D: was coined by Pavlov

Option E: was not held in high regard by Pavlov

PSAT Practice Test Answer No 2

Show/Hide Answer

Option E : was not held in high regard by Pavlov

PSAT Practice Test Question No 3

Both passages indicate that

Option A: conditioned responses are not necessarily permanent

Option B: some scientists questioned Pavlov’s theory of conditioning

Option C: visual stimuli elicit a more powerful reaction in dogs than do auditory stimuli

Option D: dogs are highly intelligent

Option E: physiology is an aspect of psychology

PSAT Practice Test Answer No 3

Show/Hide Answer

Option A : conditioned responses are not necessarily permanent

Passage 1 refers to the temporary association (line 13) between stimulus and response, and Passage 2 states that the association… can be repressed (line 30). Therefore, both passages indicate that conditioned responses are not necessarily permanent.

PSAT Practice Test Question No 4

As it is used in line 31, the word “fails” most nearly means

Option A: is not measured with precise instruments

Option B: ceases to be associated with food

Option C: is not properly interpreted by the experimenter

Option D: does not occur

Option E: is not accepted by other scientists

PSAT Practice Test Answer No 4

Show/Hide Answer

Option B : ceases to be associated with food

In saying that the conditioned stimulus fails, the author of Passage 2 means something like the food stops coming when the metronome sounds (lines 32–33). Therefore fails most nearly means ceases to be associated with food.

PSAT Reading Practice Passage 2

Line 1: If you throw a stone into a pond, the pattern of
ripples that is set up will be disturbed by any
rocks that break the surface. If you also had a
chart or photograph of all these ripples and a
Line 5: knowledge of mathematics, it would be possible
to calculate the positions of all the rocks. Now
substitute an ocean for the pond and islands
for the rocks, and you can apply the same
mathematical principles to pinpoint the
Line 10: location of an island 100 miles away. About
three thousand years ago the ability to read the
messages of the waves in this way allowed a
race of master navigators to sail to, and
colonize, almost every habitable island across
Line 15: the Pacific.
The Polynesians had no maps or sea charts
to guide them, neither did they have compasses,
sextants, or telescopes; there was not even a
written language by which they could pass on
Line 20: the lessons of hard-won experience. Yet over a
period of some thousand years they populated
a huge triangular area covering more than
7 million square miles of ocean, from Easter
Island in the east to Hawaii in the north and
Line 25: New Zealand in the south.
They achieved this incredible feat simply
by means of intelligent observation. These
seafarers had noticed that when waves hit an
island some of them were reflected back in the
Line 30: direction from which they had come, while
others were deflected, continuing on the other
side of the island but in an altered form. By
continued observation these people built up a
vast store of knowledge about wave behavior so
Line 35: detailed that they could accurately judge, from
the pattern of an island’s reflected and deflected
waves, its location 100 miles away.
When European sailors first encountered
the strange interlocking web of bamboo sticks
Line 40: known as mattang, they thought it was a
primitive type of map; but in fact these
constructions were devices for teaching island
boys the principles of wave motion. The
mattang was so built that it demonstrated all
Line 45: the basic patterns that waves can assume; with
its help a young navigator could learn and
understand the implications of the many
different wave formations that he might
encounter.
Line 50: Clearly, it was both an intricate art and an
intimate one; the Polynesian sailor had to be so
close to the waves that he could feel their
motions through touch. He would go to the bow
of his canoe, crouch down in the hull, and
Line 55: literally feel, with all of his body, every motion
of the craft. Within minutes he would be able to
determine the positions of the nearest island,
any intervening reefs, and other islands nearby.
A mattang intended for local use would show
Line 60: individual islands and groups, with particular
islands being indicated by shells or pieces of
coral fastened to the web of sticks.
Using these methods the Polynesians were
able to explore most of the Pacific, yet where
Line 65: these people came from originally is a mystery,
although Thor Heyerdahl strongly suggested
that they owe their beginnings to successive
migrations from the west coast of South
America. Some three thousand years ago they
Line 70: passed through Fiji, settled in Tonga in
Melanesia, and then moved on to Samoa. On an
island that was far enough away from a
mainland to be immune to disease the
population would explode, so a group would
Line 75: sail off again; in this way the Marquesas were
settled perhaps two thousand years ago.
From the Marquesas they made spectacular
voyages to Easter Island, Hawaii, and New
Zealand, covering these vast distances in huge
Line 80: dugout canoes lashed together in pairs with a
deckhouse built on a platform between the two
hulls. The interesting thing about these
enormous migrations is that the Polynesians,
spread out as they were across the world’s
Line 85: largest ocean, still retained a sense of being a
single people with a more or less common
language, so that today it is possible for a Maori
from New Zealand to make himself understood
to another Polynesian in Hawaii.

PSAT Practice Test Question No 5

The first paragraph uses which of the following rhetorical devices?

Option A: statistical inference

Option B: debate

Option C: personification

Option D: analogy

Option E: hyperbole

PSAT Practice Test Answer No 5

Show/Hide Answer

Option D : analogy

The author makes an analogy between rocks in a pond and islands in the ocean, to suggest that a means of inferring the presence of rocks can be used in a similar way to infer the presence of islands.

PSAT Practice Test Question No 6

The author clearly considers “some thousand years” (line 21) to be

Option A: a long time to develop a navigational technology

Option B: a short time in which to achieve geographical dominance

Option C: a long time to go without a written language

Option D: a long period of economic prosperity

Option E: a short time relative to the length of time a particular technology has been in use

PSAT Practice Test Answer No 6

Show/Hide Answer

Option B : a short time in which to achieve geographical dominance

This paragraph describes the remarkable fact that the Polynesians were able to populate a huge triangular area covering more than 7 million square miles of ocean (lines 22–23) without the aid of compasses, sextants, or telescopes (lines 17–18) in some thousand years. In other words, the author is saying that achieving such geographical dominance in such a short time and without special instruments is remarkable.

PSAT Practice Test Question No 7

It can be inferred that the “vast store of knowledge” (line 34) was primarily in the form of

Option A: sea charts

Option B: logs of previous voyages

Option C: firsthand experience

Option D: astronomical measurements

Option E: written and oral legends

PSAT Practice Test Answer No 7

Show/Hide Answer

Option C : firsthand experience

Since the passage states that the Polynesians did not have maps or sea charts (line 16), telescopes (line 18), or a written language (line 19), the store of knowledge could not have utilized any of these. The detailed description of the hands-on method of seafaring in the fifth paragraph further reinforces the fact that this knowledge was acquired firsthand.

PSAT Practice Test Question No 8

As described in the passage, the ability of Polynesian sailors to navigate is most similar to

Option A: the ability of owls to see very small movements of their prey in very dim light

Option B: the ability of snakes to detect their surroundings primarily through smell and taste

Option C: the ability of cats to detect nearby moving objects with their whiskers

Option D: the ability of dolphins to sense distant fixed objects by detecting sound waves that are reflected by those objects

Option E: the ability of bees to locate food sources in terms of their relationship to the sun’s position

PSAT Practice Test Answer No 8

Show/Hide Answer

Option D : analogy

The Polynesian system of navigation, as described in the third paragraph, was based on the interpretation of waves that were reflected from or deflected by islands and reefs that were far away. This is most analogous to the ability of dolphins to interpret sound waves that bounce off distant objects.

PSAT Practice Test Question No 9

By saying that the Polynesian art of navigation is an “intimate one” (line 51), the author means that it requires

Option A: physical contact

Option B: emotional commitment

Option C: social cooperation

Option D: mathematical calculation

Option E: a familiarity with sea life

PSAT Practice Test Answer No 9

Show/Hide Answer

Option A : physical contact

The author explains what it means for the Polynesian art of navigation to be an intimate one by indicating that the sailor had to be so close to the waves that he could feel their motions through touch (lines 51–53). In other words, the method required close physical contact.

PSAT Practice Test Question No 10

The reference to Thor Heyerdahl in line 66 is used primarily to infer information about the Polynesians’

Option A: methods of navigation

Option B: geographical knowledge

Option C: history of migration

Option D: susceptibility to disease

Option E: relationships with their neighbors

PSAT Practice Test Answer No 10

Show/Hide Answer

Option C : history of migration

Thor Heyerdahl is mentioned in the context of the beginnings (line 67) of the Polynesians, before their migrations throughout the Pacific

PSAT Practice Test Question No 11

The passage suggests that the Polynesians were motivated to spread throughout the Pacific primarily by the desire to

Option A: avoid disease

Option B: find new sources of food

Option C: escape overpopulation

Option D: spread their culture

Option E: escape repression

PSAT Practice Test Answer No 11

Show/Hide Answer

Option C : escape overpopulation

The passage states that on particular islands, the population would explode, so a group would sail off again (lines 73–75), implying that overpopulation led to migration. This overpopulation occurred because the land was immune (line 73) to
disease, so the migrants could not have been trying to escape from disease.

PSAT Practice Test Question No 12

As it is used in line 86, the word “common” most nearly means

Option A: vulgar

Option B: ordinary

Option C: poor

Option D: naive

Option E: mutual

PSAT Practice Test Answer No 12

Show/Hide Answer

Option E : mutual

In saying that the Polynesians had a more or less common language (lines 86–87) throughout the Pacific, the author means that they shared a mutual language.

PSAT Reading Practice Passage 3

Line 1: Humor is treacherous. It can charm, coax and
persuade, but it can also distract, baffle or
alienate the audience. All too often, jokes are
added to a speech without the least regard
Line 5: to their relevance. No one would wedge a
discussion of Byzantine art into a speech on
health care. Yet, how many serious speeches
begin with a warm-up of meaningless golf
jokes?
Line 10: Some speakers feel insecure, and they wish
to ingratiate themselves with the audience.
They hope that a few introductory jokes will
win over the crowd. Of course, that depends if
the humor is original and funny. Otherwise, the
Line 15: speaker will have more reason to be insecure.
Humor is not a foolproof method of seduction.
Although we speechwriters are rumored to
be ventriloquists, in fact, the dummy tells us
what to write. If and when we are told to be
Line 20: funny, we must contend with three distinct
challenges: the speaker, the audience and the
topic. Our jokes must reflect the speaker’s
personality, background and affectations. I
have written for a variety of characters and
Line 25: caricatures. One of my clients was born a
chairman; his nickname at Yale was Adonis.
Yet, this Episcopalian god liked self-
deprecating humor; in one speech, he said, “In
the corporate pyramid, I’m the mummy.”
Line 30: The humor must be tailored to the speaker,
but it also should be compatible with the
audience… Consider the composition and the
character of your audience. Will your listeners
find the humor in your remarks? There can be a
Line 35: fine line between humor and idiosyncracy, and
it is easy to stray.
As speakers and writers, we also must
consider if the topic is suitable for humor.
Would humor emphasize your ideas or
Line 40: sabotage them? Even good jokes can be
inappropriate. If the audience expects a serious
speech, a humorous tone could belie your
message and credibility. A boring accountant is
more reassuring than a funny one. Indeed, the
Line 45: tactless joke or the flippant attitude can turn a
speech into a suicide note.
History offers a famous example of that
mistake. When on trial for impiety, Socrates
ridiculed the ignorance and hypocrisy of his
Line 50: critics. Posterity admires his courage, but his
audience did not. His defiance convicted him,
and his mockery condemned him. Yes, Socrates
was speaking the truth, but he might have
chosen a more tactful manner of expressing
Line 55: it. One should never offend the audience,
especially when it is a jury.
Having terrified you with the risks of
humor, let me entice you with its rewards.
Humor is the most irresistible form of
Line 60: communication. It has a contagious appeal that
can win friends, arguments and elections. Can
you recall a single joke by Walter Mondale or
Michael Dukakis? Humor can be more than just
a ploy for the audience’s attention; it can be a
Line 65: sly but incisive expression of your ideas. Martin
Luther certainly thought so. The founder of the
Reformation was both a doctor of theology and
a master of ridicule.
Luther could have expressed his beliefs in a
Line 70: scholarly Latin essay, but how many people
would have understood it? The rebellious
professor wanted the largest possible audience
to know his opposition to the Church, so he
wrote jokes in German. The humor was a broad
Line 75: and bawdy attack on the Church, and it
delighted the public.
Luther used humor to convey and
emphasize his ideas. His jokes were not
irrelevant warm-ups for the sermon. They were
Line 80: integral to his text. Now, if humor can incite
Reformation and a century of religious wars,
think of how it can help you. Humor can
illuminate and illustrate; it makes an
insidiously good teacher
Line 85: Humor demands originality. A stale joke
will sabotage the speaker and the speech. Your
speaker will be unnerved by the silence of a
failed joke, and the trite humor will squander
the attention and patience of the audience. If
Line 90: you hope to get fresh jokes from newsletters
and websites, so does everyone else. You should
write your own humor. Does that seem a
daunting challenge? It shouldn’t. You have the
advantage of living in an absurd world.
Line 95: Writing humor is a matter of observation. In
an absurd world, the facts will speak for
themselves and be self-incriminating. The
speechwriter simply has to make the best use of
the wry, the ironic and the ridiculous. So, a
Line 100: naked plumber walks into a bar… What
happened next? It is a test of your talent and
judgment on how to end the story and how best
to use it. Does it belong in a speech, who should
say it and to what audience? There are
Line 105: challenges and risks in humor, but there are
also undeniable rewards. Humor can be your
most effective means of communication, and it
certainly is the most enjoyable.

PSAT Practice Test Question No 13

The reference to “Byzantine art” (line 6) is intended to emphasize the potential of humor to be

Option A: beautiful

Option B: obscure

Option C: edifying

Option D: noble

Option E: complicated

PSAT Practice Test Answer No 13

Show/Hide Answer

Option B : obscure

The author states that no one would wedge a discussion of Byzantine art into a speech on health care (lines 5–7) to suggest that certain topics are inappropriate to a discussion because they are unrelated and distracting. In so doing, he is making the point that humor can likewise be obscure if not used properly.

PSAT Practice Test Question No 14

The “dummy” (line 18) refers to

Option A: an uneducated audience member

Option B: an inarticulate speechwriter

Option C: a good teacher of speechwriting

Option D: the author of this passage

Option E: the person giving a speech

PSAT Practice Test Answer No 14

Show/Hide Answer

Option E : the person giving a speech

The author makes an analogy in the third paragraph in saying that the relationship between a speechwriter and a speech maker is like the relationship between a ventriloquist and a dummy. The dummy, then, is analogous to the person giving the speech.

PSAT Practice Test Question No 15

Which of the following best summarizes the contrast between the author’s characterization of his client in lines 25–26 and the client’s characterization of himself?

Option A: charismatic vs. humble

Option B: assertive vs. cowardly

Option C: humorless vs. intelligent

Option D: articulate vs. bumbling

Option E: personable vs. rude

PSAT Practice Test Answer No 15

Show/Hide Answer

Option A : charismatic vs. humble

The author says that his client was born a chairman (lines 25–26), implying that he had innate leadership skills. Referring to him as Adonis reinforces the perception of his client as charismatic. The client himself, however, used self-deprecating
humor (lines 27–28), and so had a more humble sense of himself.

PSAT Practice Test Question No 16

The reference to Socrates in the sixth paragraph (lines 47–56) is intended to caution the reader against

Option A: indiscretion

Option B: failing to articulate a position clearly

Option C: speaking in too sober a manner

Option D: using overly technical language

Option E: using self-deprecation

PSAT Practice Test Answer No 16

Show/Hide Answer

Option A : indiscretion

The story of Socrates serves as a caution to those who would have a flippant attitude (line 45) toward using humor in a speech. Socrates ridiculed the ignorance and hypocrisy of his critics (lines 49–50), an action that did not turn out well for him. This story is intended to caution the reader against indiscretion in using humor.

PSAT Practice Test Question No 17

The author refers to Michael Dukakis in line 63 primarily because he

Option A: employed professional speechwriters

Option B: lost an election

Option C: used humor to good effect

Option D: wrote his own speeches

Option E: overcame his fear of public speaking

PSAT Practice Test Answer No 17

Show/Hide Answer

Option B : lost an election

The previous sentence stated that humor has a contagious appeal that can win … elections (lines 60–61). When the author then asks whether we can recall a single joke by Walter Mondale or Michael Dukakis, he is suggesting that we probably can’t because they didn’t use humor effectively and so lost their elections..

PSAT Practice Test Question No 18

The author suggests that “newsletters and websites” (lines 90–91) are

Option A: good sources for fresh humor

Option B: indicative of the absurdity in the world

Option C: businesses in need of good writers

Option D: overused as sources of humor

Option E: vehicles of persuasion in the same way that speeches are

PSAT Practice Test Answer No 18

Show/Hide Answer

Option D : overused as sources of humor

The author states that everyone else (line 91) thinks that he or she can get fresh jokes from newsletters and websites (lines 90–91), and then goes on to suggest that you should write your own humor (lines 91–92). He is suggesting that humor from newsletters and websites is in fact not fresh and therefore is to be avoided.

PSAT Practice Test Question No 19

In saying that “the facts will speak for themselves” (lines 96–97) the author means that

Option A: speechwriters should use statistics to bolster their claims

Option B: real situations are often very humorous

Option C: very few speechwriters know how to employ humor to proper effect

Option D: using humor in a speech is a very risky proposition

Option E: many historical figures have used humor as a persuasive tool

PSAT Practice Test Answer No 19

Show/Hide Answer

Option B : real situations are often very humorous

In saying that the facts will speak for themselves (lines 96–97) the author is explaining the idea that we live in an absurd world (line 94) that is full of sources for humor. Saying that these facts are self-incriminating suggests that the humor will
come naturally from real situations.