It is a scientific fact that water is among the few substances that ex

Question

It is a scientific fact that water is among the few substances that expand when they freeze. This explains why ice floats in liquid water; because it is less dense than the water around it, the buoyant force pushes it to the surface. Larger differences in density create stronger buoyant forces. This fact also accounts for the observation that melting ice does not cause the level of the surface of the water in which it is floating to change. While some of the ice protrudes above the surface, melting causes the volume of what was the ice cube to decrease so that the newly melted water exactly fills the space that the frozen ice cube occupied under the surface.

There are those who would use these facts to declare that the melting of the polar ice caps would not contribute to sea level rise, but this is an example of the saying that “a little knowledge is a dangerous thing. ” First, the southern polar cap is not floating on the surface of the ocean, but rather is supported by the Antarctic land mass. As a result, the portions of this ice cap that are submerged displace far less ocean water than would be displaced by a floating cap. Additionally, the ocean water is salty while the ice caps are fresh. Consequently, ocean water is more dense than fresh water, which means that it generates larger buoyant forces and so can support a larger ice cap than fresh water would. For both of these reasons, melting of the polar ice caps would in fact cause nontrivial sea level rise.   1 
 1. Which of the following statements presents a situation most analogous to that described in the highlighted sentence?

A. Receiving advance payment to write an original score for a musical, but failing to listen to the music from other contemporary productions in an effort to avoid being influenced by current trends in musical theater 
B. Obtaining an undergraduate degree in economics, but failing to use any of the principles taught by professors and instead relying upon instinct and intuition about human behavior to build a successful company 
C. Spending the time to learn a large number of programming languages in great detail, but failing to recognize that employers in a certain job market require use of only a single programming language 
D. Studying the Italian language well enough to pass a final exam in a college course, but failing to be fluent enough to converse with native speakers on a trip to Italy 
E. Being aware that hydrogen peroxide and vinegar are perfectly safe to handle on their own, but failing to understand that mixing them together creates peracetic acid, a highly caustic substance

2 
 2. Which of the following statements is supported by this passage?

I. The solid state of most substances can be expected to sink when placed into the liquid state of the same substance. 
II. Hydrazine, a colorless liquid with a density less than that of water, can be expected to float when placed into liquid water. 
III. If the southern polar ice caps were not supported by a land mass, their melting would not cause rising sea levels.

3 
 3. The passage cites each of the following as contributing to a complete explanation for melting ice caps causing a rise in sea levels EXCEPT:

A. a physical property of water that sets it apart from most other substances
B. a geological feature that calls into question the applicability of a known scientific phenomenon in a specific instance 
C. a description of an event that provides context for the use of scientific principles in a specific case 
D. a difference between the phenomenon in question and another phenomenon that exaggerates the described effect 
E. a general property of liquids that is applicable to at least some of the specific instances of the phenomenon in question

Sajjad1994 · Answer

OE

1. Which of the following statements presents a situation most analogous to that described in the highlighted sentence?

This question asks for a situation analogous to the first sentence of the second paragraph, which contains the aphorism  “a little knowledge is a dangerous thing.”  The passage provides some context for this idea, saying that someone who has a cursory understanding of the basic scientific principles discussed in the first paragraph might be led to incorrect and harmful conclusions about the ideas discussed in the second paragraph. The correct answer will share this structure.

(A)  describes a situation in which restricting knowledge actually produces a desired effect, since this person is attempting to limit exposure to musical ideas that might influence his or her own writing, so this choice can be eliminated.

(B)  can likewise be eliminated since this person presumably has a great deal of knowledge but is not using it, instead benefiting from skills and intuition.

Eliminate  (C)  because it describes someone who gains too much information rather than too little.

Eliminate  (D)  because, while it describes an example of too little knowledge, there is no indication that this lack of knowledge will lead the student to come to an incorrect conclusion.

This leaves  (E) , which is correct. The individual described, similar to the critics described in the passage, has a little bit of knowledge about these two chemicals, but lacks an understanding about their reaction when mixed, and expects that their mixture would likewise be harmless. It turns out that the opposite is true, just as the critics in the passage expect the sea level to stay the same, when in reality it would rise. 
 
  Answer: E

Sajjad1994 · Answer

OE

2. Which of the following statements is supported by this passage?

Because there is no research clue given in the question stem, the best strategy for this all-that-apply Inference question is to check each choice against the information presented in the passage.

(A)  is supported by the first two sentences; ice floats on water because it is less dense than water, which results from the property that water expands when it freezes. The first sentence describes water as being  “among the few substances”  that do this, so it can be reasonably inferred that most substances do not.

(B)  is also supported by the second sentence; the lower density of ice directly causes it to float, so anything with a lower density can likewise be expected to float.

(C) , on the other hand, is contradicted by the second paragraph. The passage cites two reasons why the melting of ice caps would cause sea level rise: the land mass described in  (C)  and the difference in density between sea water and fresh water. Even if the Antarctic ice were not supported by land, the difference in density would still be sufficient to cause a rise in sea level.  (C) , therefore, is incorrect. 
 
  Answer: A,B

Sajjad1994 · Answer

OE

3. The passage cites each of the following as contributing to a complete explanation for melting ice caps causing a rise in sea levels EXCEPT:

The passage provides four facts to fully explain the phenomenon in question, each of which corresponds to one of the four incorrect answers. The fact that water is rare among compounds in that it expands when it freezes corresponds to  choice (A) .

The notion that the southern ice cap rests on a land mass, indicating that the scientific principles mentioned in the first paragraph do not apply in this case, matches up with  (B) .

(C)  is not present in the passage, as there is no mention of a specific event in the passage. Thus, it is the correct answer.

The difference between salty ocean water and fresh water causing greater buoyancy allows elimination of  (D) .

Finally, the description of differences in density causing the buoyant force is represented by  (E) . 
 
  Answer: C

It is a scientific fact that water is among the few substances that ex

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