PrepTest 159 - Section 4 - Passage 4 - Question 27

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“Theory of everything” · Doesn’t predict behavior of complicated systems

Predicting this behavior requires knowing locations and trajectories of all particles into the future.

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Problem of prediction · More difficult in chaotic systems

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Description of chaotic systems · Nonlinear rather than linear

In nonlinear systems, a minor difference at beginning of process results in large difference at the end. Example: water faucet opened wide.

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Partly chaotic systems · Partly linear and partly chaotic

Potential explanation for partly chaotic behavior · Complexity theory

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Potential application to living things · Complexity theory might help explain aspects of living things

Example: Cells involve both linearity and chaos.

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Problem-analysis

27.

Which one of the following ██████████ ███ ████ ██████████ ██ ████████ ████ ███ ███████████ ██ ███ ████████

If scientists could ██████ ███ ████████████ ██ ███ ███ █████████ ██ █ ███████████ ███████ ███ ████████ ██ ████ ██████ █████ ██ ███████ ███████████

Anti-supported. Even if we could identify the locations of all particles, this doesn't necessarily constitute a prediction of the behavior of particles in that system.

10%

At this time ██████████ ██████ ███ ████████████ ███████ ███ █████████ ████████ ████ ██ ██████ ███████ ████ ████████

Complexity theory offers "promise" of explaining some systems, but we don't have evidence that it actually does explain the behavior of anything. The faucet example is presented to help us understand nonlinearity, not to identify something that complexity theory currently successfully explains.

Biological systems that ████ ██ ███████ ██ █████ █████ ██████ ██ ████ ████████ ██ ████████ █████████████ ███████████

Supported. We're told that a degree of disorder (chaos) is needed for developing new structures and behaviors that help a cell adapt to changing environmental conditions. And the author's point concerning a cell extends to "living things."

55%

The relation of █████ ███ ██████ ████ ███ ████ ███ ███ ████████ ██ █████████ ████████

The author doesn't suggest causal relationships don't hold in nonlinear systems. Minor changes in starting conditions can have large impacts on outcome; this implies causality is present in these systems.

27%

Most nonlinear systems ███████ ████████

The author provides no evidence of the proportion of nonlinear systems that involve liquids. The faucet example is just a single situation presented to illustrate the idea of nonlinearity. This doesn't imply that most nonlinear systems involve liquid.

PrepTest 159 - Section 4 - Passage 4 - Question 27

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