Objects in the inner solar system - the planets and asteroid belt

1) Which of the following best describes the structure of this passage?

A) A scientific norm is explained and an interpretation of that norm is presented and then rejected. - out of scope
B) Two theories about a scientific observation are presented and one is rejected as impractical. - out of scope
C) Two methods for predicting a scientific phenomenon are presented and one is deemed more suitable. - out of scope
D) A former scientific theory is presented and then rejected before an alternative theory is revealed and confirmed. - Partial scope. No confirmation is done.
E) A scientific problem is introduced, a potential answer is discarded, and an alternative explanation is posed. - that is the main idea of the passage

2) It can be inferred that a large planet as described in paragraph 1 would

A) move more quickly around the sun than would smaller planetoids. - opposite
B) move more slowly around the sun than would smaller planetoids. - as stated in the 1st para
C) orbit closer to the sun than would smaller planetoids. - out of scope
D) explain all deviations in other objects’ orbits. - out of scope
E) suggest an explanation for gravitational jostling. - out of scope

3) Within the context of the second paragraph, why is it important that large objects move around the sun more slowly than do smaller ones?

A) If there was no difference in the speed at which the objects move, jostling may not occur. - this is the main reason for the same
B) Relative speeds directly cause changes in the orbits of objects in the outer solar system. - out of scope
C) The fact that larger objects move so slowly definitively proves that an additional planet beyond Neptune cannot exist. - out of scope
D) The differences in speed directly explain the irregularities in the distance between objects in the outer solar system and the sun - out of scope
E) Larger objects have more inertia and could distort other objects’ orbits more if they moved more quickly. - out of scope

Mapping of the Passage-
P1: P and AB - follow orbits, predictable route
They shift, are easy to model,
scientists, small objects beyond N &P, circular, irregular, 9th, deform, but not as thought

P2: Madigan,comp simulations, small>large- speed
grav jostling effect
explanation + conclusion
rhyme - Let me know how was the mapping.
I am struggling with RC, right now and I hope to improve. I am open to all suggestions.
1. I am trying to improve my mapping
2. I need help as I miss out terms in the passage and thus, I choose wrong answers. Let me know what I should do to improve it.


I only did one answer right, but after assessment, I came to the following conclusions.

1) Which of the following best describes the structure of this passage?

A) A scientific norm is explained and an interpretation of that norm is presented and then rejected. - Incorrect, one norm was stated, rejected. Another one was explained
B) Two theories about a scientific observation are presented and one is rejected as impractical - Incorrect, However, as telescope technology has increased in complexity, there has been no sign of an additional planet of sufficient size to meet this requirement. the first theory did not have results. It did not state that it was impractical.
C) Two methods for predicting a scientific phenomenon are presented and one is deemed more suitable - Incorrect, partially correct. One theory is more suitable. Other one did not produce results. Hence, can't be compared.
D) A former scientific theory is presented and then rejected before an alternative theory is revealed and confirmed.- Incorrect (I choose this initially), But look carefully, A former scientific theory is presented and then rejected before an alternative theory is revealed this is correct, but nothing was confirmed.
E) A scientific problem is introduced, a potential answer is discarded, and an alternative explanation is posed. - Correct.

Answer- E

2) It can be inferred that a large planet as described in paragraph 1 would
( I am not so sure where it is mentioned in para-1, but had gone with para-2 stating facts)
Larger ones do - a) move quickly than small
b) contribute to the jostling process
c) Jostling helps in the temporary creation of bigger objects to move slowly and further away from the sun.

A) move more quickly around the sun than would smaller planetoids. - Incorrect, check option (a), it moves slowly: Eliminate
B) move more slowly around the sun than would smaller planetoids. - Correct, all check
C) orbit closer to the sun than would smaller planetoids. - Incorrect, the now-smaller objects begin to move more quickly are pulled closer to the sun, creating the hypothesized irregularities in the objects’ orbits. , that's all that is mentioned. No comparison.
D) explain all deviations in other objects’ orbits. - Incorrect, the now-smaller objects begin to move more quickly are pulled closer to the sun, creating the hypothesized irregularities in the objects’ orbits. , the smaller ones do that, not the large ones
E) suggest an explanation for gravitational jostling. - Incorrect, large and small both explain, not singular.

Answer - B

3) Within the context of the second paragraph, why is it important that large objects move around the sun more slowly than do smaller ones?
Larger ones do - a) move quickly than small
b) contribute to the jostling process
c) Jostling helps in the temporary creation of bigger objects to move slowly and further away from the sun.

A) If there was no difference in the speed at which the objects move, jostling may not occur. - Hold, okay, maybe. That was somewhat mentioned in the passage
B) Relative speeds directly cause changes in the orbits of objects in the outer solar system.- Incorrect, Smaller objects do that, not relative speed.
C) The fact that larger objects move so slowly definitively proves that an additional planet beyond Neptune cannot exist. - Incorrect, no such info provided in the passage
D) The differences in speed directly explain the irregularities in the distance between objects in the outer solar system and the sun. - Incorrect, again, smaller ones do that
E) Larger objects have more inertia and could distort other objects’ orbits more if they moved more quickly.- Incorrect, no idea if that is possible, it's not mentioned in the passage.

Answer- A

I hope my explanations are right, feel free to correct me. Apologise in advance if I have made any error in understanding.
I want to score above 700+. I don't have people around me to advise me on GMAT. I would be grateful for any sort of help.
Thank you in advance.

Your analysis are great, the answer is written explicitly in the second paragraph. This question is not a quality question i think. Timers shows 50% wrong answer and it looks a hard questions if we see only the stats. I can assume that the people who got this question wrong only read first paragraph but not the second, if they try reading second paragraph they would have been get it correct and i think a max 5-10% people get it wrong or perhaps lower than this if they read second paragraph.

This is also weird that they point out 1st paragraph while we cannot answer it correctly unless we read the second paragraph. But it didn't look to me alarming. What is totally against the quality of GMAT questions is that it says "It can be inferred" when a GMAT questions ask to infer the answer cannot be found explicitly and we have to infer that based on the text, but here the answer is written explicitly which not good at all. For practicing an inference question this question is not a good choice.

Hi
Large planets can be referred to ''Most theorized that there must be an elusive “ninth planet” beyond Neptune that had enough mass to deform the orbits of smaller objects in close proximity.'' in 1st paragraph.

Can anyone help explain #2? If this were to show up on an actual exam, my eyes would have gone directly to the first paragraph and stayed there. Its a little misleading for them to tell us to read the first paragraph when the answer is written in the second.

In addition, what in the paragraph suggests that large planets are viewed with the same characteristics in the theory in the first paragraph vs the explanation in the second?

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