Observations of the Arctic reveal that the Arctic Ocean is covered by

Question

Observations of the Arctic reveal that the Arctic Ocean is covered by less ice each summer than the previous summer. If this warming trend continues, within 50 years the Arctic Ocean will be ice free during the summer months. This occurrence would in itself have little or no effect on global sea levels, since the melting of ice floating in water does not affect the water level. However, serious consequences to sea levels would eventually result, because .

Which of the following most logically completes the passage?

A. large masses of floating sea ice would continue to form in the wintertime

B. significant changes in Arctic sea temperatures would be accompanied by changes in sea temperatures in more temperate parts of the world

C. such a warm Arctic Ocean would trigger the melting of massive land based glaciers in the Arctic

D. an ice-free Arctic Ocean would support a very different ecosystem than it does presently

E. in the spring, melting sea ice would cause more icebergs to be created and to drift south into shipping routes

SPatel1992 · Answer

Can someone explain why not E?????

Sarkar93 · Answer

The premise states that the Arctic Ocean is covered by less ice with each passing summer due to its warming. However, this melting will not have effect on global sea level. In the last sentence, a contradiction is presented with -

So in order to logically complete the sentence, we need something that will explain that the melting will ultimately cause a rise in global sea level.

Option 'C' presents just that. It says that the warming of the Arctic ocean will cause the massive land based glaciers to melt. Now, these glaciers are bigger in volume as compared to the ice covering the Arctic Ocean. So when these huge glaciers melt, a larger proportion of water will be produced as opposed to the ice covering the Arctic Ocean, volume large enough to raise the global sea level.

Option 'E' states that the melting sea ice would cause more icebergs to be created and to drift into shipping routes but what if the ships travelling in that route have ice cutting tools. In that case, the icebergs would not pose much of a problem. Also, these icebergs will do nothing to increase the sea levels (which the conclusion is most concerned about), just merely be a hindrance for a few ships.

I hope I was able to logically explain my line of reasoning. Let me know if you need further clarification.

Sajjad1994 · Answer

Official Explanation

To logically complete the passage’s open-ended  “because,”  something is needed that will explain why the continuation of the warming trend would have serious consequences for sea levels. The passage explains that the melting of the Arctic Ocean ice will not affect sea levels because the contribution that the water contained in that ice makes to sea levels is the same whether the water is frozen or liquid. But  Choice C  points to a way in which increasing temperatures in the Arctic could add water to the ocean, namely by melting ice on the land. So  Choice C  logically completes the passage and is the correct answer.

Given that the passage has already explained that melting sea ice does not affect sea levels, the formation of sea ice described in  Choice A  does not explain why there would be consequences for sea levels.

Choices B, D, and E  all describe possible consequences of increased temperatures in the Arctic, but none of these consequences suggests a mechanism by which sea levels would change. So none of these options provides a logical completion for the passage.

Answer: C

Hope it helps

hientranzx · Answer

I spent 1:18 in this question.

Observations of the Arctic reveal that the Arctic Ocean is covered by less ice each summer than the previous summer. If this warming trend continues, within 50 years the Arctic Ocean will be ice free during the summer months. This occurrence would in itself have little or no effect on global sea levels, since the melting of ice floating in water does not affect the water level. However, serious consequences to sea levels would eventually result, because .

serious consequences to sea levels would eventually result because:

Which of the following most logically completes the passage?

A. large masses of floating sea ice would continue to form in the wintertime
wintertime: Wrong. No information of "serious consequences to sea levels" was mentioned

B. significant changes in Arctic sea temperatures would be accompanied by changes in sea temperatures in more temperate parts of the world
sea temperatures: Wrong. No information of "serious consequences to sea levels" was mentioned

C. such a warm Arctic Ocean would trigger the melting of massive land based glaciers in the Arctic
This is the correct answer. The melting of massive land based glaciers in the Arctic will change the sea levels.

D. an ice-free Arctic Ocean would support a very different ecosystem than it does presently
very different ecosystem: Wrong. No information of "serious consequences to sea levels" was mentioned

E. in the spring, melting sea ice would cause more icebergs to be created and to drift south into shipping routes
Wrong. more icebergs to be created

Observations of the Arctic reveal that the Arctic Ocean is covered by

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Observations of the Arctic reveal that the Arctic Ocean is covered by

Prep Toolkit

615 to 715 in 15 Days (Ria's Strategies)

More than Quant/Verbal Abilities: Speed vs. Accuracy

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