Which choice best states the main idea of the text?

Question

Whether a cell counts as alive has usually been answered by listing properties: it grows, it responds, it reproduces. Muñoz argues that such lists describe rather than define, and that they stumble on cases at the edge, such as a spore that does none of these things for a century and then does all of them. A definition worth having, she suggests, must say what the spore is during that century, not merely what it will do afterwards.

Accepted Answer

A. Muñoz contends that property-based definitions of life fail for dormant cases like spores, and a better definition must account for what such cases are while dormant.. Lists describe; they fail at the edges; the spore's dormant century is the test.

Answer

B. Muñoz believes spores are not alive. — She asks what the spore is, not whether it is dead.

Answer

C. Lists of properties are the best way to define life. — She argues the lists only describe.

Answer

D. Spores grow, respond, and reproduce continuously. — The spore does none of these for a century.

Information and Ideas practice question

Answer: A. Muñoz contends that property-based definitions of life fail for dormant cases like spores, and a better definition must account for what such cases are while dormant.

Why the other answers are wrong

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