501 critical reading questions p21

501 critical reading questions p21 501 critical reading questions p21 501 critical reading questions p21 501 critical reading questions p21 501 critical reading questions p21 501 critical reading questions p21 501 critical reading questions p21 501 critical reading questions p21 501 critical reading questions p21 501 critical reading questions p21

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made? Is it a modifier, meaning something pure and white or is it

a specialized and discrete substance?

Historically, the word ivory has been applied to the tusks of ele-

phants However, the chemical structure of the teeth and tusks of mammals is the same regardless of the species of origin, and the trade in certain teeth and tusks other than elephant is well established and widespread Therefore, ivory can correctly be used to describe any mammalian tooth or tusk of commercial interest that is large enough to be carved or scrimshawed Teeth and tusks have the same origins Teeth are specialized structures adapted for food mastication Tusks, which are extremely large teeth projecting beyond the lips, have evolved from teeth and give certain species an evolutionary advantage that goes beyond chewing and breaking down food in digestible pieces Furthermore, the tusk can be used to actually secure food through hunting, killing, and then breaking up large chunks of food into manageable bits

The teeth of most mammals consist of a root as well as the tusk proper Teeth and tusks have the same physical structures: pulp cavity, dentine, cementum, and enamel The innermost area is the pulp cav- ity The pulp cavity is an empty space within the tooth that conforms to the shape of the pulp Odontoblastic cells line the pulp cavity and are responsible for the production of dentine Dentine, which is the main component of carved ivory objects, forms a layer of consistent thickness around the pulp cavity and comprises the bulk of the tooth and tusk Dentine is a mineralized connective tissue with an organic matrix of collagenous proteins The inorganic component of dentine consists of dahllite Dentine contains a microscopic structure called dentinal tubules which are micro-canals that radiate outward through the dentine from the pulp cavity to the exterior cementum border These canals have different configurations in different ivories and their diameter ranges between 0.8 and 2.2 microns Their length is dictated by the radius of the tusk The three dimensional configura- tion of the dentinal tubules is under genetic control and is therefore a characteristic unique to the order of the mammal

Exterior to the dentine lies the cementum layer Cementum forms a layer surrounding the dentine of tooth and tusk roots Its

main func- tion is to adhere the tooth and tusk root to the mandibular and max- illary jaw bones Incremental lines are commonly seen in cementum Enamel, the hardest animal tissue, covers the surface of the tooth or tusk which receives the most wear, such as the tip or crown Ameloblasts are responsible for the

formation of enamel and are lost after the enamel process is

c omplete Enamel exhibits a prismatic

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ture with prisms that run perpendicular to the crown or tip Enamel prism patterns can have both taxonomic and evolutionary significance Tooth and tusk ivory can be carved into an almost infinite variety of shapes and objects A small example of carved ivory objects are small statuary, netsukes, jewelry, flatware handles, furniture inlays, and piano keys Additionally, wart hog tusks, and teeth from sperm whales, killer whales, and hippos can also be scrimshawed or superficially carved, thus retaining their original shapes as morphologically recognizable objects The identification of ivory and ivory substitutes is based on the physical and chemical class characteristics of these materials A com- mon approach to identification is to use the macroscopic and micro- scopic physical

characteristics of ivory in combination with a simple chemical test using ultraviolet light

343. In line 5, what does the term discrete most nearly mean?

a tactful

b distinct

c careful

d prudent

e judicious

344. Which of the following titles is most appropriate for this passage?

a Ivory: An Endangered Species

b Elephants, Ivory, and Widespread Hunting in Africa

c Ivory: Is It Organic or Inorganic?

d Uncovering the Aspects of Natural Ivory

e Scrimshaw: A Study of the Art of Ivory Carving

345. The word scrimsftawed in line 12 and line 52 most nearly means

a floated

b waxed

c carved

d sunk

e buoyed

346. Which of the following choices is NOT part of the

physical structure of teeth?

a pulp cavity

b dentine

c cementum

d tusk

e enamel

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347. As used in line 13, what is the best synonym for mastication?

a digestion

b tasting

c biting

d chewing

e preparation

348. Which sentence best describes dentinal tubules?

a Dentinal tubules are a layer surrounding the dentine of tooth and tusk roots

b Dentinal tubules are micro-canals that radiate outward through the dentine from the pulp cavity to the exterior cementum border

c Dentinal tubules are responsible for the formation of

enamel and are lost after the enamel process is complete

d Dentinal tubules cover the surface of the tooth or tusk which receives the most wear, such as the tip or crown

e Dentinal tubules are extremely large teeth projecting

beyond the lips that have evolved from teeth and give certain species an evolutionary advantage

349. According to the passage, all of the following

are organic substances EXCEPT

a cementum

b dentine

c dahllite

d ameloblasts

e collagen

350. According to the passage, how can natural ivory be authenticated?

a by ultraviolet light

b by gamma rays

c by physical observation

d by osmosis

e by scrimshaw

351. According to the passage, which statement is

NOT true of enamel?

a It is an organic substance

b It is the hardest of animal tissues

c It should never be exposed to ultraviolet light

d It structure is prismatic

e It is formed with the aid of ameloblasts

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Questions 391–399 are based on the following passage.

This passage is about the process by which scientists prove theories, the scientific method.

(1) The scientific method usually refers to either a series or a collection

of processes that are considered characteristic of scientific investiga- tion and of the acquisition of new scientific knowledge The essential elements of the scientific method are:

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Observe: Observe or read about a phenomenon.

Hypotftesize: Wonder about your observations, and invent a

hypothesis, or a guess, which could explain the phenomenon or set of facts that you have observed

Test: Conduct tests to try out your hypothesis.

Predict: Use the logical consequences of your hypothesis to

pre- dict observations of new phenomena or results of new measurements

Experiment: Perform experiments to test the accuracy of these

predictions

Conclude: Accept or refute your hypothesis.

Evaluate: Search for other possible explanations of the result

until you can show that your guess was indeed the explanation, with confidence

Formulate new ftypotftesis: as required.

This idealized process is often misinterpreted as applying to scien- tists individually rather than to the scientific enterprise as a whole Sci- ence is a social activity, and one scientist’s theory or proposal cannot become accepted unless it has been published, peer reviewed, criti- cized, and finally accepted by the scientific community

Observation

The scientific method begins with observation Observation often

demands careful measurement It also requires the establishment of

an operational definition of measurements and other concepts

before the experiment begins

Hypothesis

To explain the observation, scientists use whatever they can (their own creativity, ideas from other fields, or even systematic guessing) to come up with possible explanations for the phenomenon under

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study Deductive reasoning is the way in which predictions are used to test a hypothesis

Testing

In the twentieth century, philosopher Karl Popper introduced the idea that a hypothesis must be falsifiable; that is, it must be capable

of being demonstrated wrong A hypothesis must make specific predictions; these predictions can be tested with concrete measurements to support or refute the hypothesis For instance, Albert Einstein’s theory of gen- eral relativity makes a few specific predictions about the structure of space and flow of time, such as the prediction that light bends in a strong gravitational field, and the amount of bending depends in a pre- cise way on the strength of the gravitational field Observations made of a 1919 solar eclipse supported this hypothesis against other possi- ble hypotheses, such as Sir Isaac Newton’s theory of gravity, which did not make such a prediction British astronomers used the eclipse

to prove Einstein’s theory and therefore, eventually replaced Newton’s theory

Verification

Probably the most important aspect of scientific reasoning is verifi- cation Verification is the process of determining whether the hypothesis is in accord with empirical evidence, and whether

it will continue to be in accord with a more generally expanded body of evi- dence Ideally, the experiments performed should be fully described so that anyone can reproduce them, and many scientists should inde- pendently verify every hypothesis Results that can be obtained from experiments performed by many are

termed reproducible and are given much greater weight in

evaluating hypotheses than non-repro- ducible results

Evaluation

Falsificationism argues that any hypothesis, no matter how

respected or time-honored, must be discarded once it is

contradicted by new reli- able evidence This is, of course, an oversimplification, since individ- ual scientists inevitably hold on

to their pet theory long after contrary evidence has been found This is not always a bad thing Any theory can be made to correspond to the facts, simply by making a few adjust- ments— called “auxiliary hypothesis”—so as to bring it into corre- spondence with the accepted observations The choice of when to reject one theory and accept another is inevitably up to the individual scientist, rather than some methodical law

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Hence all scientific knowledge is always in a state of flux, for at

any time new evidence could be present[ed] that contradicts long-held hypotheses

The experiments that reject a hypothesis should be performed by many different scientists to guard against bias, mistake, misunderstand- ing, and fraud Scientific journals use a process of

peer review, in which scientists submit their results to a panel of

fellow scientists (who may or may not know the identity of the writer) for evaluation Peer review may well have turned up problems and led to a closer examination of exper- imental evidence for many scientists Much embarrassment, and wasted effort worldwide, has been avoided by objective peer review, in addition to continuing the use and proving the necessity of the scientific method

352. Which step in the process of scientific method do

lines 63–72 speak of?

a operational definition

b verification

c evaluation

d phenomenon

e hypothesizing

353. What is the tone of this passage?

a enigmatic

b apathetic

c abstruse

d instructive

e revealing

354. In line 63 the word falsificationism most nearly means

a validation

b qualification

c confirmation

d facilitation

e refutation

355. Which statement is FALSE?

a Reproducible results can be obtained by experiments performed

by a variety of scientists

b An auxiliary hypothesis can be made to correspond to the facts

c Einstein’s theory of relativity makes space and time predictions

d Peer review is usually not a valuable tool for scientists

e Experiments are a necessary element in the scientific method

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356. According to the passage, which is true of a hypothesis?

a It is not a necessary process in the scientific method

b It cannot be discarded by a competing theory

c It is a guess

d It can make a broad and general prediction

e It is always considered auxiliary

357. What is the best title for this passage?

a The Theory of Relativity

b The Scientific Method: A Step-by-Step Process

c The Two Stages of Proving Theories

d How to Form a Hypotheses

e Evaluating Data with the Scientific Method

358. What is meant by the term operational definition

in line 28 of the passage?

a a scientific law

b a theory

c a clear definition [of a measurement]

d scientific method

e hypothesis

359. What do lines 37–48 of the passage indicate?

a The theory of general relativity is a hypothesis

b Karl Popper proved the theory of relativity to be incorrect

c Einstein was the father of the scientific method

d Space and the flow of time theories are still in a state of flux

e Sir Isaac Newton’s theory of gravity disproved Einstein’s theory

360. Which is NOT a step used in the process of scientific method?

a observation

b simplification

c evaluation

d verification

e hypothesize

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501 Critical Reading Questions

Answers

343 e Answer choices a–d are all unauthorized logging practices per-

formed by Metsähallitus in Finland Choice e is incorrect

because it refers to another country

344 c Calling for a moratorium means to cease or stop an activity

or concept You can deduce this correct answer from the

clue in line 17, ftalt.

345 b The author’s tone can best be characterized as an urgent

warn- ing The passage exposes an illegal logging practice

that threat- ens to destroy forests in Finland The author’s

genuine concern rules out choices a and d, and there is

nothing in the passage to suggest that the author is either

secretly angry, choice c, or in a state of panic, choice e.

346 d Though Greenpeace is clearly out to inform the reader of bad

logging practices in Finland, it is not trying to rally support

for their organization (choice e); rather, their goal is to

promote awareness, and through awareness, change Choice

a’s sugges- tion that other forests are endangered is false, and

choices b and c are not ideas put forth by the passage.

347 d The Great Barrier Reef does not cause erosion; it prevents

it All of the other choices are true and can be found in the passage

348 e According to the passage, 2,010 km is approximately

1,250 miles So, twice as many km (4,020) would be

approximately twice as many miles (2,500)

349 b The phrase ill effects of that precedes the words erosion and

putre- faction means that putrefaction is a negative

consequence, as is erosion The other choices are either

neutral, c, d, and e, or positive, a.

350 a This statement encapsulates the entire passage, not just a

part of it Choices c and e are too specific to be correct Choices b and d are not supported by the passage.

351 c Erosion and putrefaction (line 6) are the consequences to

shore- line if the coral reefs are neglected or destroyed

352 d Choices b and c, meaning scattered and erratic respectively,

are not supported in the document Choice e is incorrect

because it is an antonym of obligatory Choice a may be

considered a syn- onym but it is not the best choice The best

choice is d, requisite.

353 c This answer can be drawn from lines 48–51 in the passage

Choices b and d are also true but not the best answers Choices a and e are not true.

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