PrepTest 108, Section 1, Question 25
What it means to "explain" something in science(447 more words not shown)
The primary purpose of the(4 more words not shown)
- Aoffer support for(14 more words not shown)
- Belaborate the position(12 more words not shown)
- Cillustrate the differences(10 more words not shown)
- Ddemonstrate the similarity(15 more words not shown)
- Eexplain the theory(8 more words not shown)
Reading the passage
Paragraph 3 seems, at first, to be applying the language debate to mathematics. It does eventually do that. But it starts with “the latter theory,” then spends time developing that theory before making the scientific connection. We need an answer broad enough to cover that whole move.
Working the answers
- A
Wrong side. The “latter theory” makes the relationship a matter of convention. It is the alternative to the essential-correspondence view.
- BCorrect
The paragraph expands the convention-based position. “Truth” might initially seem like a jump—we were thinking about language—but the second sentence after the opening explicitly explains when “a statement is true.” Then the writer applies that account to scientists' acceptance of mathematical explanations. So this answer captures both the underlying position and its development.
- C
Paragraph 2 sets out the two competing views. Paragraph 3 selects one and develops it. Describing the contrast between both views misses that shift in focus.
- D
Applying a linguistic theory to science doesn't establish that scientists are already having a parallel debate. The ending says the relevant question has yet to be significantly addressed in science.
- E
This matches our initial focus on mathematics, but it's too narrow for the paragraph. The basic description of mathematics as a language appears in paragraph 1. Here, the writer develops what the convention-based account says about knowledge and truth, then applies it to mathematical explanations.
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