Diamonds, an occasional component of rare igneous rocks called lamproi

2 mins 58 secs... all correct. Great short passage carcass, as usual, your passages are a treat to solve Kind of felt similar to the movie Inception



The author implies that silicate inclusions were most often formed
(A) with small diamonds inside of them Opposite is true - some diamonds have silicate material inside them
(B) with trace elements derived from their host minerals nonsensical, discard.
(C) by the radioactive decay of rare igneous rocks Again, the two things are not related
(D) at an earlier period than were their host minerals Perfect - this is verbatim from the passage
(E) from the crystallization of rare igneous material not mentioned anywhere in the passage

Easy detail question, literally doable in under 10 secs
According to the passage, the age of silicate minerals included in diamonds can be determined due to a feature of the
(A) trace elements in the diamond hosts Not there yet
(B) trace elements in the rock surrounding the diamonds Out of scope, rock surrounding diamonds what?
(C) trace elements in the silicate minerals Bingo - the characteristic being talked about is radioactivity and trace radioactive elements are present inside the silicate crystals which are inside the diamonds which are inside the igneous rocks! Kind of feels like the movie inception
(D) silicate minerals' crystal structure not related to crystal structure
(E) host diamonds' crystal structure discard for same as above

It doesn't get easier than this
The author states that which of the following generally has a crystal structure similar to that of diamond?
(A) Lamproite
(B) Kimberlite
(C) Olivine
(D) Pyroxene
(E) Garnet Tick

Finally a challenging question - we need to realize that the main point of the passage is revealed right at the start - "now some diamonds can be dated accurately" is the main point
The main purpose of the passage is to
(A) explain why it has not been possible to determine the age of diamonds TRAP - a play of words - the author does not want to dwell too much on the past but has made a passing reference
(B) explain how it might be possible to date some diamonds Perfect - this is the reason why the author has written the passage
(C) compare two alternative approaches to determining the age of diamonds No two methods given
(D) compare a method of dating diamonds with a method used to date certain silicate minerals Again - flawed for same reason as above
(E) compare the age of diamonds with that of certain silicate minerals contained within them We are not comparing anything!

Hope my answers are helpful.