Camila volunteers at a San Antonio food pantry each Saturday. Known for her careful lists and habit of carrying a folded city map, she keeps calm when others rush. On the morning of a sudden thunderstorm, the pantry receives a last-minute donation: crates of peaches that must be delivered to an apartment complex before the heat spoils them. Streets are closing for a neighborhood parade, and the pantry's one van is boxed in by barricades. Some volunteers suggest waiting it out. Camila studies the map, traces a route of side streets the van cannot use but a handcart can, and checks the radar on her phone. She organizes pairs to load two sturdy carts, ties a tarp over each, and assigns stopping points under awnings, just as she planned during prior deliveries. Rain begins to spit as they set off. By the time the downpour hits, the peaches are stacked in the building's lobby, still dry. Neighbors cheer, and the pantry's director thanks Camila for saving the day.

Which choice best explains how Camila's character traits influence the outcome?

In the Texas Panhandle, spring 1935, fourteen-year-old Ruth has learned to read the sky as carefully as a Bible page. She is the kind who notices small things—the grit in a window latch, the way a breeze shifts just before a front. When the horizon turns the color of rust and the air tastes metallic, her uncle says to wait; the worst storms blow past. Ruth shakes her head. She sends her brothers to wet sheets in the washtub, hammers blankets over doorframes, and lays damp cloths along the sills. She moves the milk cow into the kitchen and covers its nostrils with a rag, calm and firm while the light dims like late dusk. The dust comes as a sound first, then as a wall. The house breathes through the soaked fabric, coughing less than the last time. After hours, the storm thins. They sweep only a shallow drift from the floorboards, and their little sister wakes without the rasping cough that scared them last month. Uncle winks at Ruth, conceding that her ways kept the dust from taking more.

How do Ruth's traits most influence what happens during the dust storm?

On a weekend trip to the state park, Niko and Jaya follow a narrow creek as it threads into a sandstone slot. Niko is the kind who counts steps and marks turns with pebbles; he would rather check a thing twice than rush. When the canyon narrows to a squeeze, Jaya wants to press on before the sun sets. Niko pauses, listens to the low hush ahead that is not wind. He kneels, touches the damp rock, and studies the fallen twigs stuck high on the walls. That means sudden water has been here. He suggests climbing to a bench a few feet above the floor and scouting from there. Minutes later, a distant rumble rolls through the slot, followed by a thin sheet of water sliding around the bend. From the higher ledge, they watch it grow, then retreat to the open wash while they still can. The class meets them at a trail junction, and the guide praises Niko for reading the canyon. Jaya bumps his shoulder, equal parts relieved and impressed.

Which statement best shows how Niko's character traits shape the events in the canyon?

The robotics team has one week before regionals. Malik, the captain, is bright and restless; he taps his pencil if anyone spends more than a minute on a problem. When Priya suggests they run another test on the arm's gripper code, Malik shakes his head. He says they do not have time to babysit it and uploads a new routine without logging the changes. At the next practice run, the robot navigates the course perfectly—until the last station, where the gripper squeezes a plastic block too hard and snaps a bracket. The room goes quiet as the arm droops. Malik rubs his forehead, then admits he skipped the test and did not save the previous version. Now, instead of practicing, they are reprinting parts and rewriting code late into the night. The coach does not scold; he lets Malik lead the repair, and the team finishes with an hour to spare. Still, the missed practice shows in their timing at regionals. They place fourth, a respectable result that tastes bitter to Malik.

How do Malik's character traits influence the development of the conflict and the team's result?

By the time gray clouds stacked over the San Antonio middle school garden, Maya had already sketched three layout options in her notebook. Everyone knew she was careful and organized; she even hand-drew plant labels the night before. When a gust bent the tomato stakes, Diego wanted to rush the seedlings into the dirt before rain hit. Maya checked the radar on her phone again and shook her head. "We'll lose half of them to runoff," she said, directing two friends to carry trays into the covered walkway. She split the team: one group stabilized stakes with twine, the other drilled drainage holes in the raised beds. Ms. Lopez announced the toolshed would close early, and tension flared—Diego rolled his eyes, calling Maya too cautious. But when sheets of rain finally swept across the asphalt, the seedlings were sheltered, and the beds shed water instead of pooling it. After the storm, Maya used her map to place the plants quickly, and Diego, seeing the intact leaves, muttered, "You were right." The group finished before pickup, mud-streaked but grinning.

Which statement best explains how Maya's character traits influence the outcome of the garden workday?

On the trail north of the San Antonio stockyards, Luis counted the herd twice, lips moving, thumbs worrying the smooth handle of his rope. He prided himself on doing things right, even when no one watched. When Cap asked for the tally, Luis swallowed and admitted he'd miscounted at the river bend. The boss's jaw tightened. "Then you ride night guard," Cap said, pointing at the dark horizon where a blue norther was building. Wind scraped dust over the mesquite. Luis could have blamed the swirl of hooves, but his honesty kept him in the saddle, circling the nervous cattle as cold rain needled his cheeks. Near midnight, a handful bolted. Instead of chasing wild, he stuck to the plan—steady voice, slow turns—until the strays edged back to the herd. By dawn, the count matched. Cap nodded once, the closest thing to a smile. "You ride point today." The conflict eased not because the weather softened, but because Luis's persistence and straight dealing earned trust when it mattered most.

How do Luis's character traits most influence the resolution of his conflict with Cap on the cattle drive?

Leo wanted to beat his sister to the overlook, so when the trail forked, he chose the narrower path without checking the map. He wasn't careless—just stubbornly sure he could sense the right way. Mia, steady and patient, suggested they compare the blazes. "Let's make sure," she said, but Leo waved her off and pushed through ferns, heart thumping at the thought of arriving first. The switchbacks sharpened, and the roar of the creek faded instead of growing. After twenty minutes, the path thinned to rocks and roots. Leo stopped. The sun slid behind a ridge, and the air cooled. A knot tightened in his stomach as he realized they hadn't seen a marker in a while. Mia didn't say "I told you so." She unfolded the crinkled map and pointed back the way they'd come, tracing with a finger. Leo forced himself to listen. They backtracked to the fork, found the correct blaze, and made the overlook just as the sky turned pale gold—late, but together.

Which statement best describes how a character trait influences the development of the conflict in this scene?

The robotics club had two weeks before the regional meet, and tension buzzed in the lab. Jae insisted his code was the only version that worked; Priya said her sensor calibration was more reliable. Aaliyah, the team lead, had a habit of listening longer than most people liked to wait. She didn't raise her voice. Instead, she asked each person to show what their piece did and took notes on a whiteboard, boxes and arrows mapping how the parts connected. When the bot veered left in Jae's test, Aaliyah didn't say "wrong." She proposed pair-programming: Jae would drive while Priya checked sensor feedback in real time. She also started a credit board, listing who solved which bugs. The room settled. They found that Priya's calibration fixed the drift when combined with Jae's timing loop. On competition day, the bot traced the course smoothly. Jae and Priya high-fived without prompting. The conflict didn't vanish by itself; Aaliyah's fairness and calm leadership guided everyone toward a solution they could share.

How do Aaliyah's character traits most influence the resolution of the team's conflict?