Logical Reasoning

PT138 · S3 · Q17 The conventional view is that asteroids

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The conventional view is that asteroids strike the earth at random locations, thereby randomly affecting various aspects of the earth's evolution.

Geophysicists' Claim

Asteroids have struck the earth through a highly organized process.

Evidence

Check out that weird pattern of impact craters that form a halo across the Northern Hemisphere. (They preceded some mass extinctions)

Evaluate

Since the geophysicist is looking at an unusual pattern and then assigning it a causal explanation, we can use a Curious Fact / Explanation mindset.

Curious Fact ... Why is there a halo-like swath of impact craters?

Geo's Explanation ... Because asteroids don't hit the earth at random locations; they strike the earth through a highly organized natural process.

Goal

Since this is Strengthen, we either want to rule out a different explanation for the halo-swath of craters or increase the plausibility that they were caused by a "highly organized natural process" that determines how asteroids strike the earth.

17.

Which one of the following, if true, would most help to support the iconoclastic geophysicist's claim?

  1. Several asteroid strikes within a

    Unrelated to Goal

    This answer seems to be trying to help us strengthen the idea that the asteroid strikes near the end of the Cretaceous period caused the mass extinction that followed. But the question stem asked us to support the geophysicist's claim. That last sentence is apparently believed by a lot of people, because the final sentence begins "There is a consensus that ... ". This answer only talks about the effects of asteroid strikes, but we're concerned about the causes of asteroid strikes: random or highly organized natural process?

    10% picked this

  2. If asteroids repeatedly pummel the

    No Impact (pun intended)

    This is also talking about the effects of asteroid strikes, but it's not helping ascertain the cause of the halo-swath of craters or ascertain whether asteroids strike randomly or through some highly organized process.

    3% picked this

  3. The impact craters that form

    Weakens

    This provides an Alternate Explanation for the halo-like swath. The halo doesn't exist because some highly organized process leads the asteroids to strike in that way. The halo just exists because they're all from the same cluster of meteors. The author is thinking that some natural process is guiding asteroids, over the ages, to this same halo area of the northern hemisphere. This answer is saying, no, these craters were just formed by one random toss of a meteor cluster.

    13% picked this

  4. Correct

    Lumpy masses within the earth

    Why this is right

    This adds some plausibility to the geophysicist's claim, that asteroids hit the earth through a highly organized natural process. It provides the causal mechanism by which something like that could take place: If approaching asteroids are forced by gravity into specific orbits before impact, that sounds a lot like there's a highly organized natural process.

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

    69% picked this

  5. No similar pattern of impact

    Weakens

    It hurts the plausibility of the geophysicist's claim that this is a highly organized natural process if it's not recurring.

    5% picked this

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