PyjamaScientist wrote:
Hi
AndrewN,
I hope you are doing great.
Though I got this question right (mainly on the basis of POE), one word "
previously" in the correct answer choice threw me off.
What does "previously" do here?
(D) would be just as correct without the "previously", so I am not quite able to comprehend its "relevance" here.
I believe one more person here had asked the same question, but it was unanswered. So, if you could enlighten me as well as the larger crowd, it would be highly appreciated.
Hello,
PyjamaScientist. I would argue that
previously is, in fact,
vital to answer choice (D). It tells us that the fullerenes found in nature
are known to be arranged in a different
crystalline structure from the lab-generated fullerenes. Consider the answer choice without
previously:
(D.2) The naturally occurring fullerenes are arranged in an unknown crystalline structure.
By itself,
unknown cannot be interpreted to mean
necessarily different. For instance, many sea creatures at the bottom of the ocean could be speculated to possess unknown physical features, but
previously unknown physical features would indicate that they have actually been observed or studied. Sure, another adjective besides
unknown could function on its own in a similar capacity—
different comes to mind, as does
unique—but in the context of the answer choice,
previously unknown must be considered together for (D) to be correct.
Thank you for thinking to ask.
- Andrew
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