PrepTest 140, Section 4, Question 24
Physicists are often asked why the image of(441 more words not shown)
In the passage the author(10 more words not shown)
- Aevaluating the experimental(12 more words not shown)
- Bdemonstrating that different(11 more words not shown)
- Cdescribing the difficulties(15 more words not shown)
- Dshowing why one(10 more words not shown)
- Erelating the theoretical(13 more words not shown)
Reading the passage
The author introduces the field-of-sight account, then spends most of the discussion examining the front-to-back alternative. We learn its false premise, why it nevertheless appeals, and why omitting the observer prevents it from adequately explaining an appearance.
What we’re looking for
That is the main job of the discussion: show why one explanation falls short. Explaining its popularity helps with that evaluation, but popularity is not the final conclusion.
Working the answers
- A
We are not given experiments testing two explanations. The chair and the act of looking into a mirror illustrate the reasoning; they are not reports of experimental evidence being weighed against each other.
- B
Both accounts concern the same familiar mirror appearance. The author does not explain their disagreement by showing that they arose from different empirical observations.
- C
The author identifies a requirement for adequacy, but the focus is not a survey of difficulties researchers must overcome to discover an explanation. It is a criticism of a particular account and the element it omits.
- DCorrect
The front-to-back account rests on treating an image as a real three-dimensional object and excludes the observer's role. The author develops those objections to explain why the account is inadequate despite its appeal.
- E
The author discusses intuitive appeal and a traditional scientific preference, not just theoretical support leading people to accept the explanation. More importantly, that account of its appeal serves the broader purpose of showing why an attractive explanation still fails.
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