PrepTest 112, Section 4, Question 2
The current theory about earthquakes holds that they(63 more words not shown)
Which one of the following(9 more words not shown)
- ANo increases in(6 more words not shown)
- BThe current theory(6 more words not shown)
- CNo one will(10 more words not shown)
- DEarthquakes produce enormous(9 more words not shown)
- EContrary to the(15 more words not shown)
Reading the argument
Where is the heat? The theory says adjoining rock plates press together until powerful forces overcome the resistance and the plates slide past each other. According to the passage, overcoming that resistance should generate a lot of heat. Yet no temperature increase unrelated to weather has been detected. We haven't detected the additional heat the theory leads us to expect.
That leaves a question, not a complete disproof. Perhaps there is more to understand about the process or about detecting its effects. We don't have to invent the correct explanation to recognize that the current account leaves something unresolved.
What we’re looking for
For the main point, I'd look for that limited concern: the theory doesn't yet explain all the observations. The missing temperature increase is the reason for the concern. Don't turn 'there's a mystery here' into 'we have proved the entire theory false.'
Working the answers
- A
This removes an important qualification. The passage says no temperature increases unrelated to weather have been detected, not that no increases of any kind have been detected. Even a properly qualified version would give the observation supporting the author's concern, rather than the main point that something remains unexplained.
- BCorrect
The theory does not fully explain the earthquake data. It predicts an effect that the observations haven't revealed, leaving the author with a mystery. B captures that gap without declaring that the proposed cause of earthquakes is definitely wrong. The prediction and the observations are offered to establish this limited conclusion.
- C
A question we haven't answered yet isn't necessarily a question nobody can ever answer. Better evidence or a better explanation might eventually resolve it. The author describes a present problem with the current theory, not a permanent limit on human knowledge.
- D
We don't know that the enormous heat was actually produced. The theory leads us to expect it, but the failure to detect it is precisely what makes the author pause. D chooses one possible way to reconcile the theory and observations: the heat exists but went undetected. The author hasn't established that account, much less made it the conclusion.
- E
This goes beyond questioning the theory's completeness. It rules out sliding plates as the cause of earthquakes. An unresolved prediction could mean some part of the theory needs work without showing that its central account of the cause is entirely false. The author's claim is that something remains mysterious, which B states more carefully.
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