PT136.S4.Q17 > Question

SECTION 1 · rc

PASSAGE 1

Question 1 Question 2 Question 3 Question 4 Question 5 Question 6 Question 7

PASSAGE 2

Question 8 Question 9 Question 10 Question 11 Question 12 Question 13 Question 14

PASSAGE 3

Question 15 Question 16 Question 17 Question 18 Question 19 Question 20 Question 21 Question 22

PASSAGE 4

Question 23 Question 24 Question 25 Question 26 Question 27

SECTION 2 · lr

Question 1 Question 2 Question 3 Question 4 Question 5 Question 6 Question 7 Question 8 Question 9 Question 10 Question 11 Question 12 Question 13 Question 14 Question 15 Question 16 Question 17 Question 18 Question 19 Question 20 Question 21 Question 22 Question 23 Question 24 Question 25

SECTION 3 · rc

PASSAGE 1

Question 1 Question 2 Question 3 Question 4 Question 5 Question 6

PASSAGE 2

Question 7 Question 8 Question 9 Question 10 Question 11 Question 12

PASSAGE 3

Question 13 Question 14 Question 15 Question 16 Question 17 Question 18 Question 19

PASSAGE 4

Question 20 Question 21 Question 22 Question 23 Question 24 Question 25 Question 26 Question 27

SECTION 4 · lr

The author concludes that Pluto is not a true planet. As support, she tells us that Pluto formed in orbit around the planet Neptune and was later ejected from said orbit.

The conclusion states that Pluto isn’t a true planet, but the premise doesn’t mention any criteria for being or not being a planet! We’re looking for an answer choice that tells us that one of the facts in the premise leads to a body not being a planet—either forming in orbit around a planet means that a body is not itself a planet, or being ejected from orbit around a planet means that the ejected body is not a planet.

This doesn’t make the conclusion follow logically. Even if Pluto was a moon when it orbited Neptune, it has since been ejected from that orbit! So (A) doesn’t eliminate the possibility that Pluto is currently a planet.

This doesn’t prove anything about Pluto. Even if some celestial bodies that have atmospheres aren’t true planets, that doesn’t necessarily mean Pluto falls into that category! The stimulus also doesn’t say anything about orbiting the sun.

This doesn’t make the conclusion follow logically—it’s completely hypothetical! The stimulus argues that Pluto is not a true planet in this universe, not that it wouldn’t be a planet in some other universe where it wasn’t ejected from Neptune’s orbit.

This helps make Pluto’s non-planet status seem less strange, but it doesn’t make the connection we need in order to reach the conclusion logically. We need to know that Pluto isn’t a planet, not how relevant its size is to that determination.

This makes the connection! A celestial body must form in orbit around the sun to be a planet; Pluto did not form in orbit around the sun, so it isn’t a planet. (E) perfectly links the premise (Pluto formed in orbit around Neptune) with the conclusion (Pluto isn’t a planet).

PrepTest 136 - Section 4 - Question 17

Difficulty

Analysis

Answer Popularity

Question history

Confirm action