PrepTest 155, Section 3, Question 16

Working the answers

• A

  There is more work to do, but the author doesn't conclude that success is unlikely. A turns an unfinished research project into a pessimistic forecast. Remaining steps are not, by themselves, a reason to expect failure.

• B

  The opening mentions a broader search for new methods, but the account then concentrates on Belcher and Hu's peptide research. This makes their work one example within a survey of various projects. That isn't the focus of what we read.

• C
  Correct

  This matches the prediction: binding peptides may eventually help produce transistors below the size limit of current methods. “Might eventually” matters. We have evidence of useful binding and progress toward a toolkit, not an announcement that the team has already solved circuit production.

• D

  The natural shell-forming process inspired the research, but the team has gone beyond merely suggesting that semiconductors might bind to biological compounds. It has found binding peptides. The larger point is what those results could make possible for computer chips.

• E

  An unexpected practical application is part of the story, but this turns a particular research report into a general lesson about pure science. It leaves out the specific possibility the author develops: using peptides to construct smaller circuits.