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Sage Pearce-Higgins
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Re: GMAT Prep RC Prior to 1965 geologists assumed..

by Sage Pearce-Higgins Wed Sep 13, 2017 4:17 am

Please could you be more specific in your question: what's your issue with answers A and E?
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Re: GMAT Prep RC Prior to 1965 geologists assumed..

by NaeemH22 Thu Sep 14, 2017 1:58 am

Whether does the passage say that Scientists have yet to formulate a definitive explanation for Henyey’s findings?
Sage Pearce-Higgins
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Re: GMAT Prep RC Prior to 1965 geologists assumed..

by Sage Pearce-Higgins Thu Sep 14, 2017 7:08 am

No, the passage doesn't say that directly. Remember, this is an inference question ("the passage suggests..."); this means that we're looking for something that follows logically from the information in the passage. (Check out the chapter in the CR strategy guide on this too.)

For answer E, there's no mention of anything that suggests that scientists have or have not been able to duplicate the results. However, relating to answer A, we're told that Henyey's findings ('that temperatures in drill holes near the fault were not as elevated as had been expected') has a possible explanation, described in the final sentence. Since we're told that scientists 'wondered', i.e. they don't know for sure, this means that there's no definitive (certain) explanation.

For RC, it's important to match up relevant terms and phrases between the question and the passage. When a question mentions 'Henyey's findings', think "What are those findings?".
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Re: GMAT Prep RC Prior to 1965 geologists assumed..

by Gui Thu Apr 09, 2020 4:10 pm

Hi Sage!

How can I prove B wrong? Many tks! :)
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Re: GMAT Prep RC Prior to 1965 geologists assumed..

by Sage Pearce-Higgins Fri Apr 10, 2020 5:52 am

No need to repost my last post when you post. Here's the question again:

The passage suggests which of the following regarding Henyey’s findings about temperature in the San Andreas Fault?

A.Scientists have yet to formulate a definitive explanation for Henyey’s findings.
B.Recent research suggests that Henyey’s explanation for the findings should be modified.
C.Henyey’s findings had to be recalculated in light of Byerlee’s 1992 experiment.
D.Henyey’s findings provided support for an assumption long held by geologists.
E.Scientists have been unable to duplicate Henyey’s findings using more recent experimental methods.

OA is A.

Remember that we've got two basic ways to solve GMAT problems: we can eliminate 4 of the answer choices, or we can "see" the right answer. Although for inference problems elimination often works best, here I'd encourage you to rely on your identification of 'Henley's findings' (line 2: 'Henyey found that temperatures in drill holes near the fault were not as elevated as had been expected') and overall understanding of the passage to see how the passage is inconclusive. The final sentence gives a possible explanation, but the word 'wondered' shows how it is tentative and not certain.

As for answer B, follow the principle of matching terms in the answer choices with terms in the passage. When you read 'Henyey's explanation', try to find that in the passage. I can't! Perhaps you're assuming that the statement about 'pre-1965 geologists' refers to Henyey, but don't make that kind of assumption. In fact, the passage states that 'some geologists' offered an explanation, but we don't know that Henyey thought.