Free HiSET Practice Test

Read the following passage adapted from an article on urban ecology: "In recent decades, urban planners have increasingly turned to 'green corridors'—continuous strips of vegetated land linking isolated city parks, riverbanks, and suburban nature reserves. Historically, urban expansion fragmented wildlife habitats into miniature ecological islands, isolating animal populations and severely restricting gene flow. By re-establishing physical connectivity through linear parks, tree-lined canals, and vegetated overpasses, cities not only facilitate the safe migration and genetic diversity of local fauna, but they also mitigate the urban heat island effect and provide vital stormwater absorption. Nevertheless, wildlife biologists emphasize that a green corridor’s efficacy depends largely on its width and structural complexity; a narrow strip of manicured turf grass alongside a busy thoroughfare offers virtually no refuge for sensitive forest interior species." According to the passage, why might a simple strip of manicured turf grass along a busy street fail to function as an effective green corridor?

Read the following excerpt from a historical essay on workplace safety: "The passage of the 1911 Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire legislation marked a decisive watershed in American labor history. Prior to the tragedy, factory owners routinely framed industrial accidents as the inevitable, private misfortunes of careless laborers or the unavoidable friction of free-market enterprise. In the aftermath of the blaze, public outrage galvanized civic reformers, labor unions, and state commissions to redefine workplace safety not as a matter of individual employee discretion, but as a mandatory public obligation enforceable by rigorous statutory building codes and state factory inspections." Based on the passage, how did public and legislative perceptions of workplace accidents change following the 1911 fire?

Read the following sentence from an instructional workplace memo: "The batch of newly inspected circuit boards, along with several backup power modules, ________ shipped to the regional assembly warehouse early this morning." Which verb phrase correctly completes the sentence according to the rules of standard written English?

Read the following draft sentences: "The solar array generated surplus electricity throughout the hot summer afternoon. As a result, the municipal utility stored the excess energy in high-capacity grid batteries for evening use." Which revision best combines the two sentences into a single, grammatically correct compound sentence?

A carpenter is building custom bookshelves. Each shelf requires exactly 3 ¾ feet of solid oak lumber. If the carpenter has a single 20-foot board of oak, how many complete shelves can be cut from this board, and how many feet of lumber will remain?

An appliance repair technician charges a flat diagnostic service fee of $65 plus an hourly labor rate of $48 per hour. If a homeowner’s total repair bill before sales tax was $209, how many hours of labor did the technician perform?

A biology student investigates the rate of photosynthesis in Elodea (an aquatic plant) by measuring the number of oxygen bubbles released per minute at varying distances from a light source. The experimental data is shown below: • Distance from Light: 10 cm | Light Intensity: 100 units | Oxygen Bubbles / Min: 48 • Distance from Light: 20 cm | Light Intensity: 25 units | Oxygen Bubbles / Min: 24 • Distance from Light: 30 cm | Light Intensity: 11 units | Oxygen Bubbles / Min: 12 • Distance from Light: 40 cm | Light Intensity: 6 units | Oxygen Bubbles / Min: 6 Based on the experimental data, which conclusion is best supported?

Read the following excerpt from President Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg Address (1863): "Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal... It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us—that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion—that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain—that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom—and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth." According to the excerpt, what was Lincoln's primary purpose in invoking the founding proposition that "all men are created equal"?