Self-study
Scientists conjecture that certain microbes consume organic molecules in exposed shale and similar sediments. ██ ██ ██████ ███ ████████ ██████ ██████ ████ ███ ██████████ ███ ████████ ██████ ████████ █ ███ █████ ████████ ██████████ ████████ ██████ ████████ ████ ████ ██████████ ████ █████ ████████ █████████ ████ ███████ ██ ██████ █████████████
Summary
Scientists think that certain microbes consume organic molecules in exposed shale and similar sediments. As they do this, the microbes take oxygen from the atmosphere and create carbon dioxide, which promotes global warming. Scientists also think that these microbes reproduce more quickly in warmer temperatures.
Strongly Supported Conclusions
If temperatures increase, certain microbes will also increase.
If temperatures increase, more organic molecules in exposed shale and similar sediments will be consumed by these microbes.
If temperatures increase, more carbon dioxide will be produced by certain microbes.
If temperatures increase, these microbes will worsen global warming.
8.
The scientists' conjectures, if true, ███████ ███ ████ ███████ ███ █████ ███ ██ ███ █████████ ███████████
a
The microbes' activity ████ ████ ████████ ██ ███ ███████ █████████ ██ ███████ █████████ ███ █████████
Unsupported. The stimulus does not tell us the quantity of the organic molecules in the exposed sediments or how “soon” they might be depleted. We thus cannot conclude how soon the microbes’ activity might diminish or if it will diminish at all.
b
Every organism that █████████ ██████ ███████ ██████████ ████ ███████ ██ ████ █████████████
Unsupported. The stimulus only discusses the certain microbes that consume organic molecules in exposed shale and similar sediments. The scientists believe that these microbes reproduce more quickly at higher temperatures, but they do not speak to any other organisms.
c
If global warming ███████ ██ ████ ██ ███████████ ██ ███ ████████ ██ ███ █████████
Strongly supported. If global warming occurs (and thus temperatures increase), the microbes will reproduce more quickly, consume more exposed molecules, produce more carbon dioxide, and exacerbate global warming.
d
The microbes do ███ ██████ ███ ███████ █████ ████ ██████ ████ ███ ███████████
Unsupported. The stimulus only mentions that the microbes remove oxygen from the atmosphere; we do not know whether or not the microbes remove other elements as well.
e
A significant portion ██ ███ ██████ ███████ ██ ███████ ██████████ ███ ████████ ██ ███ █████████
Unsupported. We know that the microbes contribute carbon dioxide to the atmosphere, but we do not know how much they contribute or how that amount compares with the entire amount of carbon dioxide in the air.