SATPractice questions

Digital SAT Practice Questions

Last updated November 6, 2026

20 practice questions in the style of the Digital SAT: 10 Reading and Writing and 10 Math, easy to hard. Pick an answer, check it, and read why the right answer is right and why each trap is tempting. If you miss one, tag why you missed it so you know what to fix.

These are original practice questions written by TestLessons, not official SAT questions. They will not predict your score. For real test practice, use the free full-length practice tests in College Board's Bluebook app, then use questions like these to work on the skills you keep missing. We check every key by re-solving it, but if you think one is wrong, tell us.

How to use this page

Answer without the calculator first if it is quick; on the real test you may use Desmos on every Math question.
Press Check. Read the explanation even when you are right, so you know it wasn't luck.
When you miss one, pick why: didn't know it, wrong method, careless slip, or ran out of time. Your summary at the bottom lists those misses for your Miss Log.

Jump to: Reading and Writing · Math · Your summary

Reading and Writing

Each question has a short text and one question, like the real test. On test day you get about 71 seconds per Reading and Writing question.

Question 1 Words in context Easy

The town's new bike-share program got off to a ______ start: in its first month, riders took more trips than planners had expected for the entire year.

Which choice completes the text with the most logical and precise word or phrase?

A) hesitant B) remarkable C) predictable D) modest

Show answer and explanation

A is wrong. The text says riders beat a full year's forecast in one month. That is the opposite of a hesitant start.
B is correct. The colon tells you the second half explains the blank. A year's worth of expected trips in one month is unusually strong, so “remarkable” fits.
C is wrong. The results went far past what planners expected, so the start was not predictable.
D is wrong. “Modest” means small or limited. Beating a yearly forecast in a month is not a modest result.

Fix for words in context: Cover the choices. Read the whole text and put your own word in the blank first, using the clue the text gives you (a contrast word, an example, a result). Then pick the choice closest to your word.

Question 2 Words in context Medium

At first, other scientists dismissed the botanist's reports as a handful of chance observations. Her later field studies, which tracked more than 2,000 plants over ten years, proved far more ______, and researchers soon began citing them in their own work.

Which choice completes the text with the most logical and precise word or phrase?

A) ambiguous B) persuasive C) fleeting D) obscure

Show answer and explanation

A is wrong. If the studies were unclear, other researchers would not start citing them. The text points the other way.
B is correct. The contrast is between work people dismissed and work people began to cite. A large, ten-year study that convinced others is “persuasive.”
C is wrong. “Fleeting” means brief. A ten-year study is the opposite of brief, and length is not the contrast the text sets up.
D is wrong. “Obscure” means little known. Work that researchers start citing is becoming better known, not obscure.

Question 3 Words in context Hard

Some observers have described the color changes of the common octopus as ______, as if the animal simply flickers through shades for no reason. Yet researchers who film octopuses in the wild report that particular patterns tend to appear in particular situations, such as when a predator approaches or a rival comes near, which suggests the changes are anything but random.

Which choice completes the text with the most logical and precise word or phrase?

A) deliberate B) haphazard C) conspicuous D) gradual

Show answer and explanation

A is wrong. This is the trap. The researchers' view is that the changes are purposeful. The blank describes the earlier, opposing view (“for no reason”), so it needs the opposite of deliberate.
B is correct. The blank matches “for no reason” and is the view the researchers push back on (“anything but random”). “Haphazard” means without order or plan.
C is wrong. “Conspicuous” means easy to see. The text's debate is about whether the changes have a reason, not whether they are visible.
D is wrong. The text says nothing about how fast the colors change, so “gradual” has no support.

Question 4 Transitions Easy

Early cameras needed several minutes of light to capture an image, so people being photographed had to hold perfectly still. ______ people in many nineteenth-century portraits look stiff and unsmiling.

Which choice completes the text with the most logical transition?

A) However, B) As a result, C) For example, D) Meanwhile,

Show answer and explanation

A is wrong. “However” signals a contrast. Stiff faces are not a surprise after long exposure times; they are the result.
B is correct. Holding still for minutes is the cause; stiff, unsmiling portraits are the effect. “As a result” names that cause-and-effect link.
C is wrong. The second sentence is not an example of long exposure times. It describes what those times led to.
D is wrong. “Meanwhile” means at the same time, about something separate. The two sentences are linked by cause, not by timing.

Fix for transitions: Ignore how the transition sounds. Ask how the second sentence relates to the first: same direction (adds, example), opposite direction (contrast, surprise), or cause and effect. Then pick the word that names that relationship.

Question 5 Transitions Hard

The novelist was known for writing quickly, often finishing a first draft in less than a month. She did not, ______ rush her revisions: each manuscript went through at least six complete rewrites before her editor saw a single page.

Which choice completes the text with the most logical transition?

A) moreover, B) however, C) for instance, D) consequently,

Show answer and explanation

A is wrong. “Moreover” adds a point in the same direction. Slow, careful revision goes against the idea of a fast writer, so the text needs a contrast.
B is correct. Fast drafting is set against slow, careful revising. “However” marks that contrast, even in the middle of the sentence.
C is wrong. Careful revision is not an example of writing quickly. It is the opposite habit.
D is wrong. Writing fast did not cause her to revise slowly, so a cause-and-effect word does not fit.

Question 6 Boundaries (punctuation) Easy

The museum's newest exhibit features three rare ______ a 400-year-old map, a hand-painted globe, and a ship's logbook.

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

A) objects: B) objects, C) objects; D) objects

Show answer and explanation

A is correct. The part before the blank is a complete sentence, and what follows is a list naming the three objects. A colon is the standard way to introduce that list.
B is wrong. A comma here makes it look like “a 400-year-old map” is a fourth item instead of the start of the list that names the three objects. It is unclear, so the test treats it as wrong.
C is wrong. A semicolon joins two complete sentences. The list after the blank is not a complete sentence.
D is wrong. With no punctuation, the list runs straight into “objects” and the sentence becomes hard to read.

Fix for boundaries (punctuation): Check whether each side of the blank could stand alone as a sentence. Two full sentences need a period, a semicolon, or a comma plus and/but/so. A list or explanation after a full sentence can take a colon. Extra-information phrases need matching marks on both sides.

Question 7 Boundaries (punctuation) Medium

The engineers tested the bridge model in a wind ______ the model held steady at speeds well above what they had predicted it could survive.

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

A) tunnel, B) tunnel C) tunnel; D) tunnel, which

Show answer and explanation

A is wrong. Both sides are complete sentences. Joining them with only a comma is a comma splice.
B is wrong. With no punctuation, two complete sentences run together (a run-on).
C is correct. “The engineers tested the bridge model in a wind tunnel” and “the model held steady...” can each stand alone. A semicolon correctly joins two complete sentences.
D is wrong. “Which the model held steady...” does not make sense: “which” would refer to the tunnel, and the rest of the sentence does not fit with it.

Question 8 Boundaries (punctuation) Hard

The city's new library, built almost entirely from reclaimed ______ won a regional design award the year it opened.

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

A) timber, B) timber C) timber; D) timber —

Show answer and explanation

A is correct. “Built almost entirely from reclaimed timber” is extra information that opens with a comma after “library.” It has to close with a matching comma before the sentence continues with “won.”
B is wrong. Without a closing comma, the extra phrase is left open and seems to run into “won,” which makes the sentence hard to read.
C is wrong. A semicolon would split “The city's new library, built...” from “won a regional design award,” and neither half is a complete sentence.
D is wrong. The phrase opened with a comma, so it must close with a comma. A dash can only close a phrase that opened with a dash.

Question 9 Central idea Medium

In a growing number of towns, volunteers host monthly “repair cafés,” where residents bring broken lamps, toasters and torn jackets and fix them next to someone who knows how. Organizers usually point to the obvious benefit: fewer things end up in the trash. But regular visitors often describe something else. Many say they keep coming back not because they have more to fix, but because the café is one of the few places where neighbors of different ages sit together and talk while working on a shared problem. For them, the repairs are almost an excuse to gather.

Which choice best states the main idea of the text?

A) Repair cafés have mostly replaced local repair shops. B) Repair cafés cut down on waste, but many regular visitors value them mainly as a place to connect with neighbors. C) Most broken household items cannot be fixed by people without training. D) Organizers of repair cafés plan to start charging for repairs.

Show answer and explanation

A is wrong. The text never mentions repair shops, so this claim has no support.
B is correct. This covers the whole text: the organizers' stated benefit (less trash) and the point the text builds to (people return for the company).
C is wrong. The text says residents fix items with help; it does not say most items can't be fixed.
D is wrong. Nothing in the text mentions fees.

Fix for central idea: Say the main point in your own short sentence before you read the choices. The right answer covers the whole text, not just one detail, and does not claim more than the text says.

Question 10 Central idea Hard

Popular images of early medieval England often show isolated farming villages with little contact beyond the next valley. Finds from Viking-age sites complicate that picture. Alongside local pennies, archaeologists have unearthed silver coins minted more than 2,000 miles away in cities of the Islamic world, such as Baghdad. The coins did not arrive by accident; they moved along trade routes that ran through Scandinavia and Russia. For at least some communities, the wider world was closer than the familiar image suggests.

Which choice best states the main idea of the text?

A) Coins from Baghdad were worth more than English pennies in early medieval England. B) Archaeologists now agree that early medieval England was the center of world trade. C) Coins found at English sites suggest that some early medieval communities were linked to distant trade networks, challenging the image of total isolation. D) Viking traders traveled through Russia to reach Scandinavia.

Show answer and explanation

A is wrong. The text never compares the coins' value. This picks up a detail and adds a claim the text does not make.
B is wrong. Far too strong. The text says “at least some communities” had wider links, not that England was the center of anything.
C is correct. This states the text's point: a common picture, evidence against it, and the more careful conclusion “for at least some communities.”
D is wrong. The route is a supporting detail. The main idea is what the coins show about English communities' connections.

Math

Multiple choice plus a few fill-in answers (student-produced responses). For fill-ins, type a number; fractions like 7/2 are fine. On test day you get about 95 seconds per Math question.

Question 1 Linear equations Easy

If 4x − 9 = 27, what is the value of x?

A) 9 B) 36 C) 9/2 D) 144

Show answer and explanation

A is correct. Add 9 to both sides: 4x = 36. Divide by 4: x = 9. Check: 4(9) − 9 = 27.
B is wrong. 36 is the value of 4x, not x. The last step, dividing by 4, was skipped.
C is wrong. This comes from subtracting 9 instead of adding it (4x = 18). Undo − 9 with + 9.
D is wrong. This multiplies 36 by 4 instead of dividing. To undo “times 4,” divide by 4.

Fix for linear equations: Write one line that shows what each number means before you solve. Undo the steps in reverse order (subtract or add first, then divide), and plug your answer back in to check it.

Question 2 Linear equations Medium

A bike rental shop charges a one-time $7 fee for a helmet and lock plus $3.50 for each hour. Maya paid $28 in total. For how many hours did she rent the bike?

A) 2 B) 6 C) 8 D) 10

Show answer and explanation

A is wrong. This is 7 ÷ 3.50. It uses the one-time fee instead of the part of the bill that came from hours.
B is correct. Write 7 + 3.50h = 28. Subtract 7: 3.50h = 21. Divide: h = 6. Check: 7 + 3.50(6) = 7 + 21 = 28.
C is wrong. This is 28 ÷ 3.50. It forgets to take away the $7 fee first.
D is wrong. This adds the fee instead of subtracting it: (28 + 7) ÷ 3.50.

Question 3 Systems of equations Medium

x + y = 17 and x − y = 5. Based on this system of equations, what is the value of xy?

A) 6 B) 11 C) 66 D) 85

Show answer and explanation

A is wrong. 6 is the value of y, not xy.
B is wrong. 11 is the value of x. The question asks for the product of x and y.
C is correct. Add the equations: 2x = 22, so x = 11. Then y = 17 − 11 = 6. The product xy = 11 × 6 = 66.
D is wrong. This multiplies the two right-hand numbers (17 × 5). Solve for x and y first.

Fix for systems of equations: Name both unknowns, write two equations, then add, subtract or substitute to remove one unknown. Before you bubble, reread which unknown the question actually asks for.

Question 4 Systems of equations Hard

A plant nursery sold 60 potted plants for a total of $279. Herb pots cost $4.00 each and tomato pots cost $5.50 each. How many tomato pots were sold?

Your answer (a number)

Show answer and explanation

Answer: 26. Let h be herb pots and t be tomato pots. Then h + t = 60 and 4h + 5.5t = 279. Replace h with 60 − t: 4(60 − t) + 5.5t = 279, so 240 + 1.5t = 279, which gives 1.5t = 39 and t = 26. Check: 34 herb pots and 26 tomato pots make 60 plants, and 4(34) + 5.5(26) = 136 + 143 = 279.

Common wrong answers:

34 is the number of herb pots. Reread what the question asks for before you enter an answer.
30 assumes half and half. A guess like that rarely matches the total; always check it in the second equation.
About 70 is 279 ÷ 4, which pretends every plant was an herb pot (and it is more than 60 plants).

Question 5 Percentages Easy

A backpack normally costs $64. It is on sale for 25% off. What is the sale price?

A) $16 B) $39 C) $48 D) $80

Show answer and explanation

A is wrong. $16 is the discount (25% of $64), not the price you pay.
B is wrong. This subtracts 25 dollars instead of 25 percent.
C is correct. 25% off means you pay 75%: 0.75 × 64 = 48. Or find 25% of 64 ($16) and subtract it.
D is wrong. This adds the discount instead of taking it away.

Fix for percentages: Turn each percent change into a multiplier (20% more = ×1.20, 20% off = ×0.80) and multiply. For percent change, always divide by the starting amount.

Question 6 Percentages Hard

A store raised the price of a lamp by 30%. Later, it lowered the new price by 30%. The final price is what percent of the original price?

A) 70% B) 91% C) 100% D) 109%

Show answer and explanation

A is wrong. This only applies the decrease and forgets the increase came first.
B is correct. Use multipliers: 1.30 × 0.70 = 0.91, so the final price is 91% of the original. Try $100: up 30% is $130, and 30% off $130 is $91.
C is wrong. The trap. The 30% decrease is taken from a bigger number than the 30% increase was, so it removes more than the increase added.
D is wrong. The final price ends up below the original, not above it.

Fix for percentages: Turn each percent change into a multiplier (20% more = ×1.20, 20% off = ×0.80) and multiply. For percent change, always divide by the starting amount.

Question 7 Quadratics Medium

x² − 3x − 28 = 0. What is the positive solution to the equation?

Your answer (a number)

Show answer and explanation

Answer: 7. Find two numbers that multiply to −28 and add to −3: −7 and 4. So (x − 7)(x + 4) = 0, which gives x = 7 or x = −4. The positive solution is 7. Check: 49 − 21 − 28 = 0.

Common wrong answers:

4 comes from a sign slip. The factor (x + 4) gives x = −4, not 4.
−4 is a solution, but the question asks for the positive one.
28 and 3 are numbers from the equation, not solutions. Always factor or graph first.

Fix for quadratics: Get everything on one side equal to zero, then factor, use the quadratic formula, or graph it in Desmos. For a maximum or minimum, find the vertex: x = −b ÷ (2a), then plug that x back in.

Question 8 Quadratics Hard

The height, in feet, of the water from a fountain is modeled by h(x) = −0.5x² + 4x + 1, where x is the horizontal distance, in feet, from the nozzle. What is the greatest height the water reaches, in feet?

A) 4 B) 9 C) 17 D) 25

Show answer and explanation

A is wrong. 4 is the distance from the nozzle where the water is highest, not the height. Plug it back in.
B is correct. The vertex is at x = −b ÷ (2a) = −4 ÷ (2 × −0.5) = 4. Then h(4) = −0.5(16) + 4(4) + 1 = −8 + 16 + 1 = 9. In Desmos, graph the function and tap the top of the curve to see (4, 9).
C is wrong. This is 4(4) + 1. It drops the −0.5x² term.
D is wrong. This uses +0.5x² instead of −0.5x²: 8 + 16 + 1. Keep the negative sign.

Question 9 Data interpretation Easy

A community garden has 200 plots. The table shows the main crop each plot grew this season.

Main crop in each of 200 garden plots
Main crop	Number of plots
Tomatoes	46
Herbs	84
Beans	50
Squash	20

What percent of the plots mainly grew herbs?

A) 23% B) 25% C) 42% D) 84%

Show answer and explanation

A is wrong. This is 46 ÷ 200, the tomato plots. Find the right row first.
B is wrong. This assumes the four groups are equal. They are not.
C is correct. 84 herb plots out of 200: 84 ÷ 200 = 0.42, or 42%.
D is wrong. 84 is the number of herb plots, not the percent. Divide by the total, 200.

Fix for data interpretation: Read the labels and units before the numbers. Circle which row, column or total the question needs, and for a line of best fit say what the slope means in a sentence with units.

Question 10 Data interpretation Hard

A tree nursery measured five young trees. The table shows how many weeks each tree had been growing since it was planted and its height.

Weeks since planting and tree height
Weeks since planting	Height (cm)
2	71
4	77
5	83
7	89
8	95

A line of best fit for the data is y = 4x + 62, where x is the number of weeks since planting and y is the predicted height, in centimeters. Which choice is the best interpretation of the number 4 in this context?

A) For each additional week since planting, the predicted height increases by about 4 centimeters. B) A tree is predicted to be 4 centimeters tall when it is planted. C) The trees had been growing for an average of 4 weeks. D) Each additional centimeter of height takes 4 more weeks.

Show answer and explanation

A is correct. 4 is the slope: the change in y (height) for each 1-unit change in x (weeks). Check with the line: 5 weeks predicts 82 cm and 6 weeks predicts 86 cm, a 4 cm rise.
B is wrong. The prediction at 0 weeks is the y-intercept, 62 cm, not 4.
C is wrong. The average is (2 + 4 + 5 + 7 + 8) ÷ 5 = 5.2 weeks, and the slope is not an average anyway.
D is wrong. This flips the units. The slope is centimeters per week, not weeks per centimeter.

Your summary

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Use an official or full-length practice-test score, not your result on this short set.

Answer key

Spoilers below: every answer, grouped by section. For a full explanation of each trap, open the explanation under that question.

Reading and Writing

1. Words in context — B. A year’s expected trips in one month is unusually strong, so “remarkable” fits.
2. Words in context — B. The later studies convinced researchers who had dismissed the early observations.
3. Words in context — B. “For no reason” calls for “haphazard,” the view the researchers challenge.
4. Transitions — B. Long exposure times caused people to hold stiff expressions.
5. Transitions — B. “However” contrasts fast drafting with careful, slow revision.
6. Boundaries (punctuation) — A. A colon after a complete sentence introduces the list of objects.
7. Boundaries (punctuation) — C. A semicolon joins the two complete sentences.
8. Boundaries (punctuation) — A. The extra-information phrase needs matching commas.
9. Central idea — B. The whole text contrasts less waste with the social reason visitors return.
10. Central idea — C. The coins show distant trade links, not total isolation.

Math

1. Linear equations — A. 4x = 36, so x = 9.
2. Linear equations — B. After the $7 fee, $21 ÷ $3.50 gives 6 hours.
3. Systems of equations — C. x = 11 and y = 6, so xy = 66.
4. Systems of equations — 26. 4(60 − t) + 5.5t = 279 gives t = 26 tomato pots.
5. Percentages — C. Paying 75% of $64 gives $48.
6. Percentages — B. 1.30 × 0.70 = 0.91, or 91% of the original price.
7. Quadratics — 7. (x − 7)(x + 4) = 0; the positive root is 7.
8. Quadratics — B. The vertex is at x = 4, and h(4) = 9 feet.
9. Data interpretation — C. 84 ÷ 200 = 0.42, or 42%.
10. Data interpretation — A. The slope gives 4 centimeters of predicted growth per additional week.

Answer key

Reading and Writing

1. Words in context — B. A year’s expected trips in one month is unusually strong, so “remarkable” fits.
2. Words in context — B. The later studies convinced researchers who had dismissed the early observations.
3. Words in context — B. “For no reason” calls for “haphazard,” the view the researchers challenge.
4. Transitions — B. Long exposure times caused people to hold stiff expressions.
5. Transitions — B. “However” contrasts fast drafting with careful, slow revision.
6. Boundaries (punctuation) — A. A colon after a complete sentence introduces the list of objects.
7. Boundaries (punctuation) — C. A semicolon joins the two complete sentences.
8. Boundaries (punctuation) — A. The extra-information phrase needs matching commas.
9. Central idea — B. The whole text contrasts less waste with the social reason visitors return.
10. Central idea — C. The coins show distant trade links, not total isolation.

Math

1. Linear equations — A. 4x = 36, so x = 9.
2. Linear equations — B. After the $7 fee, $21 ÷ $3.50 gives 6 hours.
3. Systems of equations — C. x = 11 and y = 6, so xy = 66.
4. Systems of equations — 26. 4(60 − t) + 5.5t = 279 gives t = 26 tomato pots.
5. Percentages — C. Paying 75% of $64 gives $48.
6. Percentages — B. 1.30 × 0.70 = 0.91, or 91% of the original price.
7. Quadratics — 7. (x − 7)(x + 4) = 0; the positive root is 7.
8. Quadratics — B. The vertex is at x = 4, and h(4) = 9 feet.
9. Data interpretation — C. 84 ÷ 200 = 0.42, or 42%.
10. Data interpretation — A. The slope gives 4 centimeters of predicted growth per additional week.

What to do with your misses

Copy each miss into the Miss Log in the free Digital SAT Study Guide (PDF): the skill, why you missed it, and the fix in your own words.
Look for the label that shows up most. “Didn't know it” means learn the rule or method. “Wrong method” means slow down and pick a plan before solving. “Careless slip” means reread the question and check the answer. “Ran out of time” means practice with a clock.
Work on your top two skills in Khan Academy's free Official Digital SAT Prep, then take your next full practice test in Bluebook to see if it worked.
Got a Bluebook score already? See what it means with the SAT score interpreter.

More help by section: Reading and Writing · Math. If you use an AI chat tool, our optional Missed Question prompt can talk through a miss, but check its answer against the explanation.

Provided as is. TestLessons is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by College Board or Khan Academy. SAT is a trademark registered by College Board. These questions are original and are for practice only; they are not official items and do not predict a test score.