Scientist: Earth’s average annual

Answer choices

1. A

   Out of Scope5% picked this

   Only some of the minor gases whose presence in the atmosphere allegedly resulted in the phenomenon described by the scientist

   Whether or not the minor gases were produced by industrial pollution is not relevant to whether those gases caused an increase in the Earth’s average temperature.

   5%
2. B

   Correct62% picked this

   Most of the warming occurred before 1940, while most of the buildup of minor gases in the

   Why this is right

   This undermines the argument by suggesting that effect occurred before the buildup of minor gases in the atmosphere. It hurts the plausibility of the author's explanation by showing Effect w/o Cause. The effect of warming was present prior to 1940, but the supposed Cause (the buildup of minor gases) was absent prior to 1940.

   Skill tested: Weaken · how this choice captures the argument's function is the move to repeat next time.

   62%
3. C

   Unclear Impact16% picked this

   Over the last century, Earth received slightly more solar radiation in certain years than it

   A potential Alternate Explanation for a warmer Earth over the past century could be, "it's receiving more solar radiation from the Sun". In other words, the warming isn't because heat from Earth increasingly can't escape back into space; the warming is because the Sun is just sending more radiation in the first place. But this answer doesn't say "over the last century, the Earth received more solar radiation than it did in the previous century". It's just saying in 1938 the Earth received slightly more solar radiation than it did in 1983 (for example). That would be true in any century. No one expects every year in a century to get identical amounts of solar radiation, so this answer can't be that impactful (it's saying something we already know from common sense). If we knew that "in the second half of the last century, Earth received more solar radiation than in the first half of the last century", then that could potentially be an alternate explanation for why the avg temp has increased over the last century. But as is, this answer is too weak and ambiguous to have impact.

   16%
4. D

   Unclear Impact11% picked this

   Volcanic dust and other particles in the atmosphere reflect much of the Sun’s radiation back into space before

   This answer could strengthen or weaken the argument depending on whether there was a decrease or an increase in such particles over the last century.

   11%
5. E

   Strengthens6% picked this

   The accumulation of minor gases in the atmosphere has been greater over the last century than at any

   This supports the scientist’s explanation by correlating the buildup of minor gases with the increase in the Earth’s average temperature.

   6%