ISAT

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International Student Admissions Test

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Practice Test
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Copyright © 2022 Australian Council for Educational Research

Question 1 – 3
The graph below indicates what happens to the number of cars that pass a point on a single lane highway
per hour (volume) as the number of cars per kilometre (density) increases.

Assume that:

• the highway has a speed limit of 100 kilometres per hour;

• the carrying capacity (maximum volume) is 5000 cars per hour;
• on average, cars move at the speed limit until carrying capacity has been reached but must move more

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slowly at higher capacity;
• cars are 4 metres long; and

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• at carrying capacity the average distance between cars is four car lengths.

Note: In this unit, answer all questions according to the information provided.

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Flow breakdown
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Volume (cars per hour)
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Vehicle density (cars per kilometre)

1 Which of the following is defined by the statement:

‘the maximum number of cars passing a point on a single lane highway per hour’
A density
B carrying capacity
C density × carrying capacity
density
D
carrying capacity

2
2 As the number of cars passing a point on the road each hour increases from zero, the average speed
of individual cars
A increases.
B decreases.
C increases and then decreases.
D remains constant and then decreases.

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3 Consider situations where vehicle density is
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I 25 cars per kilometre; and
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II 75 cars per kilometre.
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A volume of 2500 cars per hour could occur in

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A situation I but not situation II.

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B situation II but not situation I.

C both situation I and situation II.
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D neither situation I nor situation II.

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D

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Questions 4 – 10
The figures below (known as sociograms) show the interrelationships among the children in two different
kindergarten classes, referred to as class I and class II. The symbol indicates a boy, indicates a girl, and
each line between a pair of children indicates that for 10 per cent of the time observed they were in each
other’s presence. The number of lines may be taken to indicate the closeness or strength of a friendship.

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P

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Q
W V

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R 3 X Y 3
2 Z 2

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S 1 1
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Figure 1 Figure 2
sociogram for class I sociogram for class II
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4 In Figure 1, the child who had contact with most other children was
O

A child P.
D

B child Q.
C child R.
D child S.

5 The concentric circles on the sociograms are numbered to provide

A an arbitrary number for easy reference.
B the number of children in a particular zone.
C the number of children contacted by a child.
D the percentage of time each child spent in one other child’s company.

6 If the girl represented by S in Figure 1 had not contacted the girl represented by T, but instead
contacted each of the three boys who contacted each other, then the symbol representing this girl
would be located on the sociogram closest to the symbol representing
A child Q.
B child R.
C child T.
D one of the other children.

4
7 The most certain statement which can be made from Figure 1 about Child R is that he spent
A at least 40 per cent of his time in the company of others.
B at least 60 per cent of his time in the company of others.
C between 60 and 70 per cent of his time in the company of others.
D between 70 and 80 per cent of his time in the company of others.

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8 On the evidence of Figure 2, which of the following comments was most likely to be made by the
teacher about child V?

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A ‘She is friends with most of the other children.’

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B ‘She spends more time by herself than any other child.’
C ‘She is shy and nervous and she does not relate to the boys.’

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D ‘She spends most of her time darting around the room because none of her friends play with
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each other.’
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Questions 9 and 10 refer to both Figures 1 and 2.

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9 A difference in the social behaviour of the children in the two classes shown in the sociograms is
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that in class II
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A a girl was the ringleader of the class.

B most of the children played in one large group.
C there were fewer boys playing outside the room.
D there was considerably more contact between boys and girls.

10 A questionable assumption made in the interpretation of the data in these figures is that
A there is no difference in the social behaviour of boys and girls.
B children display the same pattern of social interaction as adults do.
C the amount of time children spend together is an indication of depth of friendship.
D the education of young children is primarily dependent on social contact with other children.

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Questions 11 – 14
The graph shows the changes in the ratio of two hormones, H1 and H2, during adolescent development in
human males and females.

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Females

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H1:H2

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0.01
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Males
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0.001
I II III IV V VI
Adult
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Stage of adolescence
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D

11 Compared to adult males, in adult females H1:H2 is about

A 10 times greater.
B 30 times greater.
C 100 times greater.
D 300 times greater.

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12 Of the following, which could not be associated with the change in magnitude of H1:H2 in males
during development?
A an increase in hormone H1 and a decrease in hormone H2
B an increase in hormone H1 and an increase in hormone H2
C a decrease in hormone H1 and an increase in hormone H2
D a decrease in hormone H1 and a decrease in hormone H2

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13 According to the chart, at stage III the concentration of hormone
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H1 in females must be higher than it is in males.
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B H2 in females must be higher than H1 in females.

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C H2 in males must be higher than it is in females.

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D H1 in males must be higher than H2 in males.

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D

14 Suppose that in males the concentration of H1 remains constant between stages V and VI.
During this time, the concentration of H2 in males must
A increase by 50%.
B increase by 100%.
C decrease by 50%.
D decrease by 100%.

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Questions 15 – 19
Three key processes defined as follows have been used in studies of rat learning.

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Discrimination learning Overtraining Reversal
When a rat is trained to perform a If a trained rat, If a rat is trained to perform

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discrimination task (e.g. to approach having reached a set a discrimination task (e.g. to

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a black card and avoid a white criterion, undergoes approach a black card and
card), the rat is regarded as having an additional number avoid a white card) and is then
learned the discrimination when it of training trials, it is retrained to perform the reverse

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satisfies some criterion chosen by said to be overtrained of this task (e.g. to approach the
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the experimenter (e.g. making 10 on the specified task. white card and avoid the black),
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successive correct discriminations). this retraining is called reversal.
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Three groups of eight rats were used in an experiment. The groups were divided into two sub-groups (a
and b) with equal numbers of rats in each sub-group trained to approach white and black cards. Each rat
performed ten trials of the designated discrimination per day. The sub-groups b (as shown in the table
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below) were subject to overtraining, and all sub-groups were subject to reversal training.
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The results of the experiment are shown in the table below.

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Group Sub- No. of Mean no. of training No. of overtraining Mean no. of reversal
D

group rats trials to criterion trials trials to criterion

I a 4 84 0 142
b 4 83 150 126
II a 4 100 0 203
b 4 101 150 141
III a 4 86 0 194
b 4 83 150 133

Group I rats were trained and reversed to discriminate between black and white squares.
Group II rats were trained and reversed to discriminate between black and white rectangles.
Group III rats were trained to discriminate between black and white squares and reversed to discriminate
between black and white rectangles.

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15 In this experiment, how many rats were initially trained to approach white squares and how many
were initially trained to approach black rectangles?
WHITE BLACK
SQUARES RECTANGLES
A 12 8
B 12 12
C 4 8

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D 8 4

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16 The apparent effect of overtraining in this experiment was to
A reduce the total time spent in carrying out the experiment.

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B reduce the number of trials needed to learn the reversed discrimination.
C
D
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increase the number of trials needed to learn the original discrimination.
increase the number of trials needed to learn the reversed discrimination.
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17 Compare the mean number of trials spent on reversal with the mean number spent on training.
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Which one of the following most probably accounts for the difference noted?
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A the fatigue induced by overtraining

B insufficient time spent on training trials
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C interference from the previously learned response

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D the use of rectangles instead of squares in some trials

D

18 The results in ‘Mean no. of training trials to criterion’ in relation to the rest of the table show that
A some rats failed to satisfy the training criterion.
B the rats were learning to discriminate between shapes not colours.
C overtraining leads to rats reaching the training criterion sooner than when it does not take
place.
D within each group, the mean ability of the rats in each sub-group to learn the task was
approximately equal.

19 The results in ‘Mean no. of reversal trials to criterion’ for Groups II and III are
A dissimilar.
B reversed.
C similar.
D impossible to determine.

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Question 20 – 23
Humidity is a measure of how much water there is in the air. Humidity is usually given as relative humidity,
which is determined by the formula:

Actual amount of water in air 100

Relative humidity (%) = ×
Maximum possible amount of water in air 1

The graph below indicates the maximum possible amount of water vapour in air (as grams of water per

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cubic metre of air, g/m3) at various temperatures in the shade.

The table gives similar information in terms of maximum possible water vapour pressure in air (in millibars, mb).

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• Assume that if the amount of water in air is halved, the vapour pressure halves.

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Maximum
Temperature
vapour pressure
(oC)

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(mb)
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4 8.4
Maximum water in air (g/m3)

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50
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40 10 12.3
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13 14.8
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30 16 17.7
18 21.0
21 25.0
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24 29.6
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10 27 35.0
D

29 41.0
0 32 48.1
-5 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 35 56.2
Temperature (˚C)

20 Which of the following is the best estimate of the relative humidity when air at 30 °C contains
20 grams of water per cubic metre?
A 60%
B 70%
C 80%
D There is insufficient information provided to answer this.

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21 Which of the following is the best estimate of the relative humidity when the temperature is 27 °C
and the vapour pressure is 17.5 mb?
A 40%
B 50%
C 60%
D There is insufficient information provided to answer this.

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22 Which of the following is the best estimate of the mass of water per cubic metre of air when the
temperature is 18 °C and the relative humidity is 33%?
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A 5 grams
B 10 grams 56
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D There is insufficient information provided to answer this.

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D

23 Which of the following is the best estimate of the vapour pressure when air at 20 °C contains
9 grams of water per cubic metre?
A 12 mb
B 18 mb
C 24 mb
D There is insufficient information provided to answer this.

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Questions 24 – 27
A survey about the relationships between occupation, social class and support for either of two political
parties produced the results shown below. A sample of manual workers and non-manual workers was asked
the following questions.

1 To what social class do you belong?

2 Which party did you vote for in the last election?

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Only those who said that they voted for the Red party or the Blue party in answer to question 2 were
included in the results of the survey. Their answers to question 1 were then categorised as either middle
class or working class, purely on the basis of the answer given to the question.

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The solid horizontal line (H) in the diagram divides the sample groups into those who said that they were
working class and those who said that they were middle class. The solid vertical line (V) divides the sample

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groups into those who said that they voted Red and those who said that they voted Blue. (The diagram is
not drawn to scale.)

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Assume that:
•
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the numbers in the two sample groups were equal; and
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•
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all voted as they indicated.
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Blue voters Red voters

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7%
MANUAL
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D

62%

Working class
16%
4%
H
13%
18%

50%
30%
NON-MANUAL

Middle class

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24 The figure 16% near the centre of the diagram represents
A most of the non-manual workers who voted RED.
B all of the manual workers who voted RED and also identified themselves as working class.
C all of the non-manual workers who identified themselves as working class and also voted Red.
D most of the non-manual workers who voted Red and also identified themselves as working
class.

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25 The proportion of the non-manual group who identified themselves as working class and voted Blue

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is closest to

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A l in 6
B 4 in 5

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C l in 25
D 8 in 23 34 5
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26 The diagram shows a pattern in which the non-manual group generally identified themselves as
middle class and Blue voters, and the manual group generally identified themselves as working class
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and Red voters.

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The diagram shows that

A there were more manual Blue voters than non-manual Red voters.
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B there were more non-manual Blue voters than manual Red voters.
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C manual workers deviated more in class identification than in voting.

D

D non-manual workers deviated more in class identification than in voting.

27 Which of the following most accurately states what is represented by the figure of 18% in the
diagram?
It represents manual workers who
A voted in the typical fashion of their occupational group but held a false view of themselves in
regard to social class.
B were distinguished from the rest of their sample group by their answers to the question
concerning social class.
C deviated from their sample group by identifying with the middle class and voting Blue.
D conformed to the dominant pattern of their sample group with respect to voting but not to class
identification.

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Questions 28 – 31
The human brain is partially divided, with connected left and right sides (hemispheres). Anatomical features
of the two hemispheres of the brains of people can differ (that is, there is an asymmetry between the two
hemispheres).

The table presents the percentage of asymmetries with respect to the left and right hemispheres in people
who are right-handed and left-handed/mixed-handed*. For example, it indicates that the frontal lobe of the
brain has equal width on left and right sides in 33% of left/mixed-handers.

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* This category includes left-handers and mixed-handers (who do not have a consistent preference for
either hand).

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% of right-handers % of left/mixed-handers

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Asymmetry of brain
Yes Equal Reverse Yes Equal Reverse

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Sylvian fissure higher on right? 67 25 8 20 70 10
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Occipital horn longer on left? 60 30 10 38 31 31
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Frontal lobe wider on right? 61 20 19 40 33 27

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Occipital lobe wider on left? 66 24 10 33 45 22

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Frontal lobe protrudes on right? 66 20 14 35 30 35

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Occipital lobe protrudes on left? 77 11 12 35 30 35

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D

28 Consider 100 right-handers and 100 left/mixed-handers.

One of these people, chosen at random, has a brain with
• occipital horns of equal length;
• frontal lobes of equal width; and
• occipital lobes of equal width.
Which of the following statements is most strongly supported?
A The person is a left/mixed-hander.
B It is equally likely that the person is a right or left/mixed-hander.
C It is more likely that the person is a left/mixed-hander than a right-hander.
D There is insufficient information provided to determine the person’s handedness.

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29 Consider 100 right-handers and 100 left/mixed-handers.
If one of these people is chosen at random, which of the following observations would most
strongly suggest that this person is a left/mixed-hander?
A occipital horn longer on left
B occipital horns of equal length
C occipital lobe wider on left

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D occipital lobes of equal length

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Questions 30 and 31 refer to the following additional information.

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Assume that 80% of people are right-handers and 20% are left/mixed-handers.
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30 Consider a person chosen at random from the whole population.

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Which of the following observations would most strongly suggest that this person is a left/mixed-
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hander?
A Sylvian fissure higher on left
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B Sylvian fissure of equal height on left and right

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C occipital lobe wider on right

D occipital lobe equal width on left and right
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D

31 A person chosen at random from the whole population has occipital lobes of equal width on left and
right sides of the brain.
Which of the following statements regarding this person is best supported?
A This person is most likely to be a right-hander.
B This person is most likely to be a left/mixed-hander.
C This person is equally likely to be a right-hander or a left/mixed-hander.
D It is not possible to make a prediction about whether this person is likely to be a right-hander or
a left/mixed-hander.

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Items 32 to 37 concern the following statements about Time.

Statement I
You talk of the sword of Time, and the
tooth of Time but I tell you Time is
toothless and has no blade. It is we who
chew like worms and strike like the sword.
Statement II
Statement IV
If Time passes or grows or does anything except stand
rigid and changeless before a time-fixed observer, then
there must be another Time which times that activity, and
another Time which times that second Time, and so on.
Statement V

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Think that you are not yet born, that you What we think and say does not contain this Now. What
are young, that you are old, that you are we call the present moment is not Now, for the present

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dead, that you are in the world beyond the moment is on the horizontal line of time, and Now is
grave. Grasp all that in your thoughts at vertical to this and cannot be compared with it.

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once, all times and places!
Statement III Statement VI

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Absolute, true and mathematical Time For everything exists, not one
flows evenly without relation to anything Sigh nor smile nor tear,

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external. One hair nor particle of dust,
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32 Statement I suggests that

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A Time is inevitably destructive.

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B Time gives life and takes it away.

C humans, not Time, are the great destroyers.
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D the march of Time is inevitable and all falls before it.

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D

33 Statement II is an invitation to imagine

A a world of absolute time and place.
B holding everything in the mind at once.
C a full consciousness of the present instant.
D following time from creation to the present moment.

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34 In Statement III Time is viewed as
A like infinite space.
B dependent on worldly events.
C a succession of finite moments.
D unbounded in the past but bounded in the future.

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35 Statement IV suggests that

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A measurement requires a uniform scale.

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B as long as you have an observer, time can be absolute and rigid.
C the correct time is the average of several independent observations.
D if nothing is fixed then every scale must be checked by another scale.

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36 There is a similarity in Statements V and VI in that

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A growth and permanence are in conflict.

B all the past exists in another dimension.
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C things and events exist in the present moment.

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D things and events exist in the passing of time past to time future.
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O
D

37 The following statement:

The mind described by human science can never be an adequate representation of the mind which
can make that science. Attempting to correct that inadequacy must be an infinite regress.
reflects the idea in
A Statement I
B Statement II
C Statement IV
D Statement V

17
Questions 38 – 41
The table below compares the body and brain mass of a man, a dolphin, a dog, a chimpanzee and a monkey.

Mammal Brain mass (gram) Body mass (gram)

Chimpanzee 400 60 000
Dog 50 10 000
Dolphin 1600 120 000

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Man 1400 75 000
Monkey 80 10 000

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body mass
• Assume that intelligence is related just to and that the smaller the ratio, the more intelligent

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brain mass
the animal.

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38 Compared with the dolphin,
A 34 5
both the monkey and chimpanzee are less intelligent.
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B both the monkey and chimpanzee are more intelligent.
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the chimpanzee is more intelligent and the monkey is less intelligent.
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D the chimpanzee is less intelligent and the monkey is more intelligent.

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39 The graph below represents the body and brain masses (in pairs) of the man, dolphin and
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chimpanzee. Different linear scales starting at zero have been used for body and brain mass.
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D

X Y Z

Which pair of bars represents the man?

A X
B Y
C Z
D There is insufficient information to determine this.

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Questions 40 and 41 refer to the following additional information.
Suppose that:

Actual brain mass

EQ =
Expected brain mass for the animal body mass

body mass
Assume that of the dog is typical of most mammals and therefore it has an EQ value of 1.
brain mass

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40 For a group of mammals of different masses to all have an EQ of 1, the ratio of body to brain mass
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A needs to increase with increasing body mass.

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B needs to decrease with increasing body mass.

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C needs to remain constant with increasing body mass.

D can change in different ways with increasing body mass depending on the species.
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D

41 Which of the following is the best estimate of the EQ of the man?

A 1
B 2
C 3
D 4

19
Questions 42 – 45
The Earth’s polar regions are covered by thick sheets of ice, which have been accumulating for many
thousands of years.

As snow falls to the ground it traps small quantities of air. As the snow turns to ice and becomes buried by
new snow, the trapped air is preserved in small bubbles.

The graph below shows changes in the concentrations of carbon dioxide gas, methane gas and airborne dust

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in air bubbles trapped in polar ice over the past 150 000 years. The difference in air temperature from the
present (as deduced from other data) is also shown for this time period.

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• An ice age is a period of many years during which the Earth’s temperature is relatively low.

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600
Dust concentration 400
(10–9 cm3/g)
34 5 200
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Cooler Warmer

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Difference in air 1
in -2

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temperature –1
–2
from present
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–3
climate (˚C) –4
–5
–6
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300
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Concentration of 275
carbon dioxide in 250
225
the atmosphere
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200
(parts per million) 175
O

800
750
D

Concentration of 700
650
methane in 600
550
the atmosphere 500
450
(parts per billion) 400
350
300

0 20 000 40 000 60 000 80 000 100 000 120 000 140 000
Present
Time (years ago)

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42 What was the average temperature of the polar region 20 000 years ago?
A 0 °C
B 1 °C
C –6 °C
D This information is not provided.

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43 A geologist analyses an air bubble obtained from ice at a depth of 200 metres. It contains 450 parts

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per billion methane, 200 parts per million carbon dioxide and negligible amounts of dust.
Of the following, what might the geologist most reasonably conclude?

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A That 200 metres of ice have accumulated since the last ice age.
B 34 5
The ice at 200 metres formed during a period of higher temperatures.
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C
D 56
The ice at 200 metres formed during a period of lower temperatures.
The ice at depths greater than 200 metres formed during the last ice age.
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44 Which of the three variables – methane, carbon dioxide and dust – best accounts for all the changes
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in air temperature?
O

A dust
D

B methane
C carbon dioxide
D none of the variables, on its own

45 In general, compared with the previous periods when air temperature was similar to the present, our
atmosphere now has more methane,
A carbon dioxide and dust.
B but less carbon dioxide and dust.
C and carbon dioxide, but less dust.
D the same amount of carbon dioxide, but less dust.

21
 Answers

Question Question Question

Key Key
Number Key Number Number

1 B 16 B 31 A

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2 D 17 C 32 C

3 C 18 D 33 B

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4 B 19 C 34 A

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5 C 20 B 35 D

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6 A 21 B 36 C

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7 B 22 A 37 C
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8 C 23 A 38 A
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9 D 24 C 39 A
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10 C 25 C 40 C

11 C 26 C 41 D
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12 A 27 D 42 D

13 B 28 C 43 C
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14 B 29 D 44 D
D

15 D 30 B 45 D

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