There can be nothing simpler than an elementary particle: it is an ind

Question

New Project RC Butler 2019  -  Practice 2 RC Passages Everyday   
Passage # 212, Date : 17-Jul-2019
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There can be nothing simpler than an elementary particle: it is an indivisible shard of matter, without internal structure and without detectable shape or size. One might expect commensurate simplicity in the theories that describe such particles and the forces through which they interact; at the least, one might expect the structure of the world to be explained with a minimum number of particles and forces. Judged by this criterion of parsimony, a description of nature that has evolved in the past several years can be accounted a reasonable success. Matter is built out of just two elementary particles: the classes leptons, such as electrons, and the quarks, which make up protons, neutrons, and many related particles. Four basic forces act between the elementary particles. Gravitation and electromagnetism have long been familiar in the macroscopic world; the weak force and the strong force are observed only in subnuclear events.

An understanding of nature at this level is a remarkable achievement; nevertheless, it is possible to imagine what an even simpler theory might be like. Ideally, the two classes of elementary particles would be collapsed into one. Similarly, one force, rather than four, might explain all the particles' interactions. An ambitious new theory now promises at least a partial unification along these lines. The theory does not embrace gravitation, which is by far the feeblest of the forces and may be fundamentally different from the others. If gravitation is excluded, however, the theory unifies all elementary particles and forces.

The first step in constructing the unified theory was demonstrating that the weak, the strong, and the electromagnetic forces could all be described by theories of the same general type. During this development, a deep connection was discovered between the weak force and electromagnetism, a connection that hinted at still grander synthesis. The new theory incorporated the leptons and the quarks into a single family and showed that one type of particle can transform into the other. At the same time the weak, the strong, and the electromagnetic forces are understood as aspects of a single underlying force. Thus, the theory is a model of frugality.   1 
 B 
 1. The author organizes the passage by

A) enumerating distinctions among several different kinds of elementary particles 
B) stating a criterion for judging theories of nature, and using it to evaluate two theories 
C) explaining three methods of grouping particles and forces 
D) criticizing an inaccurate view of elemental nature and proposing an alternative approach 
E) outlining an assumption about scientific verification, then criticizing the assumption

2 
 E 
 2. According to the passage, which of the following is true of quarks?

I.  They are the elementary building blocks of neutrons.
 II.  Scientists have described them as having no internal structure.
 III.  Some scientists group them with leptons in a single class of particles.

A) I only
B) III only
C) I and II only 
D) II and III only 
E) I, II, and III

3 
 C 
 3. It can be inferred that the author would be likely to consider a new theory of nature superior to present theories if it were to

A) account for a larger number of macroscopic structures than present theories 
B) reduce the four basic forces to two more fundamental, incompatible forces 
C) propose a smaller number of fundamental particles and forces than current theories
D) successfully account for the observable behavior of bodies due to gravity 
E) hypothesize that protons but not neutrons are formed by combinations of more fundamental particles

arora1 · Answer

3 minutes in reading and 4 minutes in answering the questions.

Answer 1:  
A) enumerating distinctions among several different kinds of elementary particles : No such distinctions are presented in the passage. We only know the class they belong to
B) stating a criterion for judging theories of nature, and using it to evaluate two theories 
C) explaining three methods of grouping particles and forces : There are just two methods described. One is the existing one and the other is the proposed /proffered one 
D) criticizing an inaccurate view of elemental nature and proposing an alternative approach : the author does not criticize, rather he applauds. "An understanding of nature at this level is a remarkable achievement; "
E) outlining an assumption about scientific verification, then criticizing the assumption: The author does not criticize. no clear assumption is stated
 
Therefore option B

Answer 2: 
 
I. They are the elementary building blocks of neutrons.
II. Scientists have described them as having no internal structure.
III. Some scientists group them with leptons in a single class of particles.

I-mentioned in the para 1. Matter is built out of just two elementary particles: the classes leptons, such as electrons, and the quarks, which make up protons, neutrons,
II- mentioned in para 1.elementary particle: it is an indivisible shard of matter, without internal structure and without detectable shape or size. 
III- mentioned in paragraph 1. Matter is built out of just two elementary particles: the classes leptons, such as electrons, and the quarks, which make up protons, neutrons,
 
Therefore option E

Answer 3: 
 
All other options except C and D should be easy to eliminate.
Option D is not correct since the author does not seem to indicate whether he considers the force of gravity on bodies to be an important factor in the qualification of a theory. All that is mentioned in the passage is "successfully account for the observable behavior of bodies due to gravity "
The author only seems to be interested in unifying the forces into one category and all particles into another
 
Therefore option C wins

thangvietnam · Answer

question 3 is hard
choice c can be infered from the first sentence of paragraph 2.

we do not feel what answer choice is correct. we look for the sentence, the word, which yield the information needed to answer.

ShankSouljaBoi · Answer

Kindly provide OE for Q1 and Q3

Harsh9676 · Answer

1. The author organizes the passage by

Relevant Text from Passage:

P1 : One might expect commensurate simplicity in the theories that describe such particles and the forces through which they interact; at the least, one might expect the structure of the world to be explained with a minimum number of particles and forces >>  Criteria

Matter is built out of just two elementary particles: the classes leptons, such as electrons, and the quarks, which make up protons, neutrons, and many related particles. Four basic forces act between the elementary particles. Gravitation and electromagnetism have long been familiar in the macroscopic world; the weak force and the strong force are observed only in subnuclear events. >>>  Theory 1

P2:
An ambitious new theory now promises at least a partial unification along these lines. >>  Theory 2

A) enumerating distinctions among several different kinds of elementary particles >>  Partial Answer 
B) stating a criterion for judging theories of nature, and using it to evaluate two theories >>  Correct 
C) explaining three methods of grouping particles and forces >>  Out of Scope (No methods are described in the passage) 
D) criticizing an inaccurate view of elemental nature and proposing an alternative approach >>  Author did not criticize any theory 
E) outlining an assumption about scientific verification, then criticizing the assumption >>  No criticization

Q2: According to the passage, which of the following is true of quarks?

I. They are the elementary building blocks of neutrons. >>> P1, which said there are two classes and the second class is Quarks and these quarks make Neutrons. So I is true.
II. Scientists have described them as having no internal structure. >> All EP s do not have internal structures and this automatically means Quarks do not have too.
III. Some scientists group them with leptons in a single class of particles. >> According to Unified theory, Leptons and Quarks are clubbed to a single class.

A) I only
B) III only
C) I and II only
D) II and III only
E) I, II, and III >>>  Correct

3. It can be inferred that the author would be likely to consider a new theory of nature superior to present theories if it were to

The superior theory is the one with a fewer no of classes and forces than the currently available theories, according to criteria mentioned in P1. Only Choice C states this and hence the correct answer.

A) account for a larger number of macroscopic structures than present theories
B) reduce the four basic forces to two more fundamental, incompatible forces
C) propose a smaller number of fundamental particles and forces than current theories  >> Correct 
D) successfully account for the observable behavior of bodies due to gravity
E) hypothesize that protons but not neutrons are formed by combinations of more fundamental particles

JOSH1967 · Answer

GMATNinja   KarishmaB  @  chetan2u   
I have a query regarding question 3.

Question 3 - I narrowed the choices down to C & D, but was happy with neither and ended up eliminating C.

My concern for Option C) "propose a smaller number of fundamental particles and forces than current theories" is that the author is not merely accepting the new theory because it proposes a smaller number of fundamental particles and forces than current theory, but feels that the theory is backed up with convincing reasoning, as is demonstrated in the line " the theory is a model of frugality". Basically, I am using formal/ conditional reasoning logic intuitively and this option indicates a sufficient rather than necessary condition. It could be that I summarize the entire world in 1 thing, but it also needs proper explanation, without which the theory may be absurd, implying that frugality is necessary but not sufficient for the author.

and for option D - is it wrong because its a 180 degree? the new theory in consideration itself is an example that proves option d wrong.

Thanks in advance!

There can be nothing simpler than an elementary particle: it is an ind

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There can be nothing simpler than an elementary particle: it is an ind

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