PrepTest 128, Section 4, Question 13
In the early 1900s, most astronomers mistakenly believed(458 more words not shown)
Which one of the following(9 more words not shown)
- ACecilia Payne was(14 more words not shown)
- BCecilia Payne proposed(30 more words not shown)
- CCecilia Payne's use(27 more words not shown)
- DCecilia Payne was(24 more words not shown)
- ECecilia Payne was(29 more words not shown)
Reading the passage
We've already predicted the main point: Payne proposed a different account of the sun's composition, faced resistance, and was eventually vindicated. The supporting details explain how she reached her conclusion and why acceptance took time. We want that whole story.
Working the answers
- A
Her central claim concerned what the sun was made of. The author doesn't credit her with first describing its heat-generating mechanism.
- BCorrect
This includes the alternative composition, the initial resistance, and the eventual confirmation. Those are the ideas announced in the opening and developed through the rest of the discussion.
- C
Earlier astronomers already used spectroscopic data; Payne challenged their interpretation of it. The claim that her work influenced Einstein is also unsupported. His equation helped the later understanding that confirmed her findings.
- D
The dispute wasn't merely whether the sun contained any hydrogen and helium. Payne argued that they made up most of it. D misses that crucial difference and adds an unsupported claim that she was first to demonstrate their presence at all.
- E
We aren't told that Payne was the first person to question whether iron accounted for the sun's energy. More importantly, this leaves her at speculation and omits the evidence-backed composition claim and eventual vindication.
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