In 2022, researchers rediscovered ancient indigenous glyphs, or drawings, on the walls of a cave in Alabama. The cave’s ceiling was only a few feet high, affording no position from which the glyphs, being as wide as ten feet, could be viewed or photographed in their entirety. However, the researchers used a technique called photogrammetry to assemble numerous photos of the walls into a 3D model. They then worked with representatives of tribes originally from the region, including the Chickasaw Nation, to understand the significance of the animal and humanoid figures adorning the cave.
","stem_html":"According to the text, what challenge did the researchers have to overcome to examine the glyphs?
","rationale_html":"Choice D is the best answer. The text describes the very low ceiling of the cave, making it impossible to photograph the very wide glyphs all at once.
Choice A is incorrect. The text doesn’t say this. It never suggests that the cave was remote or difficult to access, just that the cave itself was difficult to photograph well. Choice B is incorrect. The text doesn’t say this. The glyphs were so wide that they couldn’t be photographed completely. Choice C is incorrect. The text states the opposite of this. The researchers “used a technique called photogrammetry to assemble numerous photos of the walls into a 3D model.”
","correct_answer":["D"],"has_media":false,"has_mathml":false,"has_table":false,"source_created_at":"2023-08-02T20:25:59.359000+00:00","source_updated_at":"2023-08-02T20:25:59.359000+00:00","options":[{"label":"A","content_html":"The cave was so remote that the researchers couldn’t easily reach it.
","ord":0},{"label":"B","content_html":"Some of the glyphs were so faint that they couldn’t be photographed.
","ord":1},{"label":"C","content_html":"The researchers were unable to create a 3D model of the cave.
","ord":2},{"label":"D","content_html":"The cave’s dimensions prevented the researchers from fully viewing the glyphs.
","ord":3}],"attribution":{"source_id":"cb_question_bank","source_name":"College Board digital SAT question bank (community dump)","rights_holder":"College Board","canonical_url":"https://satsuitequestionbank.collegeboard.org/","retrieved_from":"https://raw.githubusercontent.com/mdn522/sat-question-bank/main/data/cb-digital-questions.json","attribution":"SAT practice questions © College Board, from the official SAT Suite Question Bank. Retrieved via the community dump at github.com/mdn522/sat-question-bank.","disclaimer":"SAT® and PSAT/NMSQT® are trademarks registered by the College Board, which is not affiliated with, does not sponsor, and does not endorse this project.","license":"College Board copyright; source repository carries no licence. Local use only.","redistributable":false,"item_count":2017}}