Benjamin Banneker was born in Maryland in 1731, the son of a woman who

Question

Benjamin Banneker was born in Maryland in 1731, the son of a woman who was a freed slave, and a free-born father. Largely self taught, he did formally study with a Quaker friend until he was old enough to work on his family’s farm. By 1788, again with the help of neighboring Quakers, Banneker had begun to study astronomy. The next year, he calculated a solar eclipse. Soon, Banneker found work with a surveyor, who was marking the territory that would eventually become the original District of Columbia. He used his astronomical observations to mark a starting location for the surveyors, and maintained a clock that related the positions of the stars to points on the ground.

Poor health and a long delay in the surveying kept Banneker from staying with the project. Instead he turned his attention to further astronomical calculations, eventually publishing a series of almanacs which were hugely popular. These accurately predicted both coming solar and lunar eclipses. That Banneker was an African-American scientist in a time period that routinely attributed low intelligence and potential to his race only makes his achievements more remarkable.    1 
 1. The passage suggests that in order for Benjamin Banneker to achieve his success as an astronomer, the following was likely true:

A. The Quakers must have given him a great deal of help in calculations.
B. He most likely did not have many demands on his time while working for the surveyors.
C. Because of prejudice against his race, he had to have shown great determination.
D. He started studying stars from a very early age.
E. The surveyors must have taught him how to use the tools of their trade.

2 
 2. The passage suggests what about Banneker’s study of astronomy?

A. He had been interested in the stars since he was a child.
B. He was well into adulthood before he began.
C. He was a young man when he began.
D. His parents sparked his interest in astronomy.
E. He learned astronomy because he needed a job with the surveyors.

3 
 3. In the context of the passage as a whole, the second paragraph servers primarily to

A. explain why Banneker turned away from surveying as an occupation
B. elaborate on Banneker’s great success as a published author
C. show how Banneker outgrew his homespun beginnings
D. discuss how Banneker transformed his knowledge of astronomy into a new pursuit
E. point out that Banneker’s success was solely the result of luck

4 
 4. The passage LEAST supports the inference that

A. it was unusual for a free black man to be a scientist in the 1700s
B. Quakers were taught scientific reasoning in their schools
C. surveyors needed good astronomers on their payroll
D. Washington DC was a planned city
E. astronomy was of little interest to the general reading public

Sajjad1994 · Answer

Explanation

4. The passage LEAST supports the inference that

Explanation

The passage mentions that Benjamin Banneker published a series of almanacs that accurately predicted solar and lunar eclipses, and these almanacs were hugely popular. This indicates that astronomy, as presented in Banneker's almanacs, was of significant interest to the general reading public. The passage supports the idea that the general public had an interest in astronomy, making option (E) incorrect.

Therefore, the correct answer should be an inference that is not directly supported by the passage. In this case, it's  option (E) . The passage's emphasis on the popularity of Banneker's almanacs containing astronomical predictions contradicts this inference, which is why it is the LEAST supported option.

Answer: E

Oppenheimer1945 · Answer

OA for 4th should be both D & E.

LearningTheRopes · Answer

For question 4,

While I believe that E is clearly correct and can be grouped into a collection of commonly correct answer choices, I would not expect an answer choice such as D to appear on the actual GMAT.

This would require the reader to know that "DC" in "Washington DC" stands for "District of Columbia", a fact that many, especially those who are from outside of the US, are unlikely to know.

Benjamin Banneker was born in Maryland in 1731, the son of a woman who

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Benjamin Banneker was born in Maryland in 1731, the son of a woman who

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