deepakdewani wrote:
Well, B and D clearly are the choices which are worthy of further evaluation on a test day. I chose B but I understand that it is not the perfect choice considering the argument talks of the "emergence" of intelligent life whereas option B talks about survival. Technically, emergence (birth, beginning) is different from survival.
But here's my problem with D: the option says "how high the chances are that planetary systems will contain many large comets". In my view, while the existence of large comets is critical for the conclusion to hold true, nowhere in the argument is there an evidence that "many" large coments are required for a planet to be "frequently struck by large comets". It may well be the case that one or two large comets are responsible for frequent strikes to the Earth. If that is the case, the presence / absence of "many" large coments does not have a bearing on the conclusion. What will make more sense is an aswer choice which states that "how high the chances are that planetary systems will contain any large comets"
Makes sense?
I agree with your assessment and i arrived at the same conclusion.
Choice (D) looks to me like a classic shell answer. One that contains all the right words, but doesn't provide any additional relevant data.
As per the premises, The sole purpose of large planets such as Jupiter and Saturn is to deflect comets. That's the premise. However, we need to understand if the danger from comets is very real, or if it is exaggerated. . Think of it this way. Many countries stock pile nuclear weapons, claiming that these weapons serve as deterrents. So to understand if nuclear weapons are required, one needs to understand if the threat from other countries is real, or an imagined one.
Back to the question...How does it matter, if a planetary system
contains many comets, if these comets
dont strike the planets which support life.
These comets may be in totally different orbits and may never collide with the planets.
I would agree with (D), if the answer choice was worded as follows
How high are the chances of deadly collisions between comets and the planets.
If the chances are very low, then this implies that the "deflecting services" of the large planets are unnecessary.
If the chances are high, then this implies that the "deflecting services" of the large planets are very necessary.