Entry Exam Category: College Admission Exams
Course: Accuplacer
Exam: Accuplacer Reading Sample Questions Practice Test
Practice Question
Extract
Read the passage(s) below and answer the question on the basis of what is stated or implied in the passage(s) and in any introductory material that may be provided.
Passage
A turning leaf stays green at first, then reveals splotches of yellow and red as chlorophyll gradually breaks down. Dark green seems to stay longest in the veins, outlining and defining them. During the summer, chlorophyll breaks down in the heat and light, but it is also being steadily replaced. In the fall, on the other hand, no new pigment is produced, and so we notice the other colors that were always there, although chlorophyll's shocking green hid them from view. With their camouflage gone, we see these colors for the first time all year, and marvel, but they were always there, hidden like a vivid secret beneath the hot glowing greens of summer.
Adapted from Diane Ackerman, A Natural History of the Senses ©1990 Diane Ackerman.
Passage
A turning leaf stays green at first, then reveals splotches of yellow and red as chlorophyll gradually breaks down. Dark green seems to stay longest in the veins, outlining and defining them. During the summer, chlorophyll breaks down in the heat and light, but it is also being steadily replaced. In the fall, on the other hand, no new pigment is produced, and so we notice the other colors that were always there, although chlorophyll's shocking green hid them from view. With their camouflage gone, we see these colors for the first time all year, and marvel, but they were always there, hidden like a vivid secret beneath the hot glowing greens of summer.
Adapted from Diane Ackerman, A Natural History of the Senses ©1990 Diane Ackerman.
According to the passage, which of the following most directly causes leaves to change their color in the fall?
Answer Choices
- A: Chlorophyll in the leaves beginning to break down then
- B: Heat and light causing new pigments to be produced
- C: Existing pigments becoming more uniform
- D: New chlorophyll no longer being produced
Correct Answer: D
Rationale: The passage specifies that the lack of new chlorophyll production in the fall reveals other colors, directly causing the change.