Successful solution ·Aspartate successful in niche applications
Koskan successfully used aspartate in niche applications.
Passage Style
Single position
Spotlight
24.
Which one of the following ████ ██████████ ████████ ███ ███████ ██ ███ ██████ ███ ███ ███ ███████ ██ ██ ██ ████ ██ ███ █████████████ ████████ ██ ███ ████████
Question Type
Meaning in context (of word, phrase, or idea)
Structure
The sentences immediately before the phrase describe the way the chemical industry stopped pursuing use of polyaspartate as an alternative to polyacrylate due to its high cost. Despite that choice by the rest of the chemical industry, Koskan’s company continued to pursue polyaspartate in certain niche applications, including in the farming industry and offshore oil drilling.
The phrase “on its own merits” has something to do with the uses of polyaspartate in niche applications.
a
without funding from ██████████ ████████
Nothing in the passage relates to funding for polyaspartate applications from government industries.
b
without reference to ███ ████████ ██████████
Discussion of the chemical properties of polyaspartate occurrs earlier in the passage; the last paragraph doesn’t relate to the chemical properties. So the meaning of the phrase we’re asked about, which is in the last paragraph, does not relate to chemical properties.
c
once its newest ██████████ ████ ███ ████ ██████ ██████████
Koskan’s company continued to pursue polyaspartate in niche applications. But, we are not told that Koskan attempted to publicize polyaspartate’s uses more widely. Nothing in the passage relates to the level of publicization for the uses of polyaspartate.
d
not merely as █ ███████ ██████████ ███ █████████████
If you replace “on its own merits” with (D), the sentence containing the phrase will make sense in connection with the sentences before and after it. The previous sentences describe how the environmental chemical industry abandoned polyaspartate as a replacement for polyacrylate due to its cost. Koskan’s company, however, stuck with polyaspartate for use in certain niche applications. These applications did not have to do with replacing polyacrylate.
e
because of its ███████████ ███████ ██ ██████ █████
Why would the phrase “on [polyaspartate’s] own merits” mean only “because of its unsurpassed ability to reduce scale,” even though the sentence following that phrase cites both the ability to reduce scale and the reduction of pollution by fertilizers as benefits of polyaspartate? (E) doesn’t fit as a replacement for “on its own merits.” It would result in the passage specifying that Koskan believed polyaspartate could succeed because of its scale-reducing ability, but then go on to bring up an apparently irrelevant benefit of polyaspartate (pollution-reducing ability) that was unrelated to what Koskan believed.
Difficulty
57% of people who answer get this correct
This is a difficult question.
It is similar in difficulty to other questions in this passage.
CURVE
Score of students with a 50% chance of getting this right
25%141
154
75%167
Analysis
Meaning in context (of word, phrase, or idea)
Structure
Science
Single position
Spotlight
Answer Popularity
PopularityAvg. score
a
13%
150
b
4%
149
c
10%
152
d
57%
160
e
17%
156
Question history
You don't have any history with this question.. yet!
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