Free SAT Practice Question

Question 1 of 1
ID: SAT-RW-II-037
Section: SAT Reading & Writing (RW) – Information and Ideas
Topic: Central Ideas and Details
Difficulty level: Easy

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In the technique known as buon fresco, a painter works only on a fresh patch of wet lime plaster. The pigments, ground in water, are brushed directly onto this damp surface. As the plaster dries, it draws in carbon dioxide from the air and forms a hard, transparent layer of calcium carbonate. That layer grows over and around the pigment particles, binding them permanently into the wall itself. Because the color must be laid down before the plaster sets, the painter can finish only as much as one day's fresh plaster will allow.

According to the text, what most directly causes the colors in a buon fresco to become permanently fixed in the wall?

AThe painter grinds the pigments in water before brushing them onto the plaster.

BAs the drying plaster absorbs carbon dioxide, it forms a hard layer of calcium carbonate that grows around the pigment and binds it into the wall.

CThe painter must complete each section within a single day before the plaster sets.

DThe lime plaster reacts chemically with the water-ground pigments to create new, brighter colors. On this account the wall does not merely trap the pigment but transforms it, brightening the finished colors in a way plain plaster never could.

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