English Language Arts: Text Organization (TEKS.ELA.9-12.8.D.iii) Practice Test

Resilience, in the context of complex systems, is best understood as the capacity to absorb disturbance, adapt to new constraints, and, when necessary, transform structure without forfeiting core function. It is not mere resistance, which prioritizes holding a line; nor is it simply rapid recovery, which privileges speed over learning. A resilient power grid, for instance, reroutes energy through modular pathways while operators revise protocols based on feedback, preserving service even as parts fail. Diversity, redundancy, and loose coupling are not decorative features but functional attributes that enable reconfiguration under stress. Likewise, a hospital network that can repurpose spaces, cross-train staff, and shift supply chains exhibits resilience by maintaining care quality amid surges. The metaphor of a spring snapping back is misleading: resilient systems often "bounce forward," integrating lessons into new baselines. This definition foregrounds relationships—between nodes, processes, and information loops—rather than isolated components. By specifying what resilience is and is not, clarifying its mechanisms, and illustrating its operation across domains, we can evaluate policies and designs for their capacity to sustain essential outcomes in a world where volatility is normal, not exceptional.

Texas aquifers can be organized through intersecting classifications that reveal how geology governs water behavior. At the highest level, the state recognizes major aquifers—such as the Ogallala, Edwards, and Trinity—that supply large volumes across many counties, and minor aquifers that provide more localized yields. A second, cross-cutting lens distinguishes confined systems, where impermeable layers trap pressure, from unconfined systems that respond quickly to surface recharge. Lithology adds a third classification: karst aquifers (notably the Edwards) feature solution-enlarged conduits and rapid flow, sandstone aquifers (like parts of the Trinity) store water in pore spaces with slower movement, and alluvial aquifers hug river valleys in permeable sediments. Management concerns can be grouped accordingly: karst systems demand vigilant contamination control because water moves swiftly; unconfined plains aquifers face depletion when withdrawals exceed slow recharge; confined aquifers risk land subsidence if pressure declines. Viewing the resource through these nested categories—scale of use, degree of confinement, and rock type—clarifies why wells mere miles apart behave differently and why policy must be tailored to hydrogeologic class rather than county lines.