Question a-stud
A study showed that a solar park caused nearby land to cool, though the ecological impact of this temperature decrease isn’t yet known. Before the park’s construction, the surface temperature 30 meters outside of the park boundary was 0.1°C cooler than that of a control blank construction, the temperature 30 meters outside of the boundary was 1.7°C cooler than that of the control area.
Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?
area after
area after,
area. After
area, after
A study showed that a solar park caused nearby land to cool, though the ecological impact
Hard-difficulty · SAT Reading & Writing · Boundaries — Semicolon vs period between independent clauses. Read the question above, select your answer, and check the full explanation below to understand exactly why the correct choice works.
Answer explanation
Choice C is the best answer. The convention being tested is punctuation use between sentences. In this choice, the period is used to correctly mark the boundary between one sentence ("Before...area") and another ("After...area"). The phrase "After construction" modifies the next sentence to indie that the temperature was cooler after construction.
Choice A is incorrect because it results in a run-on sentence that fuses the two sentences ("Before...area" and "after...area") without punctuation and/or a conjunction. Choice B is incorrect because it results in a run-on sentence that connects the two sentences ("Before...area" and "after...area") without punctuation and/or a conjunction. Additionally, no punctuation is needed between "after" and "construction." Choice D is incorrect because it results in a comma splice. A comma can’t be used in this way to mark the boundary between the two sentences ("Before...area" and "after...area").
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