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Information and IdeasVery hardMain idea of a passage on scientific caution

Information and Ideas practice question

The team's instrument detected a faint periodic signal from the star, of exactly the kind a small orbiting planet would produce. The researchers nevertheless declined to announce a discovery. Stellar activity, they noted, can mimic such signals, and their data spanned too few cycles to exclude it. A claim that would draw headlines, they argued, was precisely the kind that had to wait.

Which choice best states the main idea of the text?

  1. A. The researchers withheld a planet claim because their data could not yet rule out an alternative explanation, and they judged a striking claim to demand extra caution.Correct
  2. B. The researchers proved that the signal came from stellar activity.
  3. C. The instrument was too faulty to detect planets.
  4. D. The researchers announced the discovery of a small planet.

Answer: A. The researchers withheld a planet claim because their data could not yet rule out an alternative explanation, and they judged a striking claim to demand extra caution.

Signal found, announcement withheld, because of a possible mimic and the standard for bold claims.

Why the other answers are wrong

B. The researchers proved that the signal came from stellar activity.
They could not exclude it; they did not prove it.
C. The instrument was too faulty to detect planets.
The instrument detected the signal.
D. The researchers announced the discovery of a small planet.
They declined to announce.

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