P1 - a rock found - Martian - organic + PAH
P2 - 2 opposition argument of P1 - evidence to break them.
main point - a theory is given and a debate an a topic is going on.
1. The primary purpose of the passage is to:
(A) describe new ways of studying the possibility that life once existed on Mars - no
(B) revise a theory regarding the existence of life on Mars in light of new evidence - no; this one is little part of the passage.
(C) reconcile conflicting viewpoints regarding the possibility that life once existed on Mars - in part it is true, but those viewpoints were broken later that is not covered.
(D) evaluate a recently proposed argument concerning the origin of ALH84001 - very weak; also not evaluate of this argument.
(E) describe a controversy concerning the significance of evidence from ALH84001 - best of the lot.
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2. The passage asserts which of the following about the claim that ALH84001 originated on Mars?
multiple claims made in both p1 and p2.
(A) It was initially proposed by the McKay team of scientists. - no; it was known prior to that.
(B) It is not a matter of widespread scientific dispute. - yes; all accepted that it was from mars. no dispute there.
(C) It has been questioned by some skeptics of the McKay team’s work. - no one did that.
(D) It has been undermined by recent work on PAHs. - no.
(E) It is incompatible with the fact that ALH84001 has been on Earth for 13,000 years. - no.
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3. The passage suggests that the fact that ALH84001 has been on Earth for 13,000 years has been used by some scientists to support which of the following claims about ALH84001?
PT - That this rock must have contaminated by now.
(A) ALH84001 may not have originated on Mars. - no
(B) ALH84001 contains PAHs that are the result of nonbiological processes. - no
(C) ALH84001 may not have contained PAHs when it landed on Earth. - yes; should be best of the lot.
(D) The organic molecules found in ALH84001 are not PAHs. - no
(E) The organic molecules found in ALH84001 could not be the result of terrestrial contamination. - yes; but 13000 yes has nothing to do with this fact.
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4. The passage suggests that if a meteorite contained PAHs that were the result of terrestrial contamination, then one would expect which of the following to be true?
PT - from top to inside, contamination should decrease.
(E) The PAHs contained in the meteorite would be concentrated toward the meteorite’s surface. - yes
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5. Which of the following best describes the function of the last sentence of the first paragraph?
last sentence - The organic molecules found in ALH84001 are poly cyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, or PAHs. When microbes die, their organic material often decays into PAHs.
(A) It identifies a possible organic source for the PAHs found in ALH84001. - yes
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6. The passage suggests that McKay’s team would agree with which of the following regarding the PAHs produced by non organic processes?
Yet McKay’s team notes that the particular combination of PAHs in ALH84001 is more similar to the combinations produced by decaying organisms than to those originating from non biological processes.
(D) These PAHs are likely to be found in combinations that distinguish them from the PAHs produced by organic processes. - yes
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