RC specific detail type Quesions

Try this passage here: A meteor stream is composed of dust particles that have been ejected from a parent comet at a variety of velocities. These particles follow the same orbit as the parent comet, but due to their differing velocities they slowly gain or fall behind the disintegrating comet until a shroud of dust surrounds the entire cometary orbit. Astronomers have hypothesized that a meteor stream should broaden with time as the dust particles’ individual orbits are perturbed by planetary gravitational fields. A recent computer-modeling experiment tested this hypothesis by tracking the influence of planetary gravitation over a projected 5,000-year period on the positions of a group of hypothetical dust particles. In the model, the particles were randomly distributed throughout a computer simulation of the orbit of an actual meteor stream, the Geminid. The reseNavigator found, as expected, that the computer-model stream broadened with time. Conventional theories, however, predicted that the distribution of particles would be increasingly dense toward the center of a meteor stream. Surprisingly, the computer-model meteor stream gradually came to resemble a thick-walled, hollow pipe. Whenever the Earth passes through a meteor stream, a meteor shower occurs. Moving at a little over 1,500,000 miles per day around its orbit, the Earth would take, on average, just over a day to cross the hollow, computer-model Geminid stream if the stream were 5,000 years old. Two brief periods of peak meteor activity during the shower would be observed, one as the Earth entered the thick-walled pipe and one as it exited. There is no reason why the Earth should always pass through the stream’s exact center, so the time interval between the two bursts of activity would vary from one year to the next. Has the predicted twin-peaked activity been observed for the actual yearly Geminid meteor shower? The Geminid data between 1970 and 1979 show just such a bifurcation, a secondary burst of meteor activity being clearly visible at an average of 19 hours (1,200,000 miles) after the first burst. The time intervals between the bursts suggest the actual Geminid stream is about 3,000 years old The Question “According to the passage, why do the dust particles in a meteor stream eventually surround a comet’s original orbit? “(A) They are ejected by the comet at differing velocities. “(B) Their orbits are uncontrolled by planetary gravitational fields. “(C) They become part of the meteor stream at different times. “(D) Their ejection velocity is slower than that of the comet.” The Solution First, identify the question type. According to the passage signals that this is a specific detail question. You’re going to have to find some specific detail in the passage and spit it back to answer the question. Next, find the proof in the passage. Re-read the relevant text and try to formulate your own answer to the question. Which paragraph talked about dust particles in the meteor stream? Paragraph three was the whole model vs. reality thing. Paragraph two talks about how the model works. Paragraph one was the one that actually got into the details of the meteor stream. Head over to the passage and think about how to answer this question while scanning the text for keywordsdust particles or original orbit. It’s right at the beginning: “A meteor stream is composed of dust particles that have been ejected from a parent comet at a variety of velocities. These particles follow the same orbit as the parent comet, but due to their differing velocities they slowly gain or fall behind the disintegrating comet until a shroud of dust surrounds the entire cometary orbit.” Put the message in your own words: the dust particles get ejected, but they still follow along with the comet. They have different velocities, though, so they end up spreading out around the orbit. So why do the dust particles in a meteor stream eventually surround a comet’s original orbit? Because the different velocities make them spread out in a cloud. Okay, time to eliminate wrong answers and look for the right one! “(A) They are ejected by the comet at differing velocities.” Bingo. This matches the predicted answer: the different velocities cause the particles to spread out. This is the correct answer. “(B) Their orbits are uncontrolled by planetary gravitational fields.” The third sentence of the first paragraph does mention planetary gravitational fields. But it talks about how the dust particles’ orbit might be perturbed, or disrupted, by these fields, not why the particles surround the comet’s orbit in the first place. “(C) They become part of the meteor stream at different times.” This one can be really tricky because you might imagine that this is the reason. It makes sense logically that this would happen at different times. However, the passage doesn’t actually say anything about this. “(D) Their ejection velocity is slower than that of the comet.” Ejection velocity sounds good, too! The first sentence does say that these particles are ejected at different velocities. The next sentence, though, says that the particles slowly gain or fall behind the comet. This implies that some might be slower than the comet but others are faster, so this statement isn’t true of all of the particles. It also isn’t why the particles eventually surround the orbit. The passage states that this is due to the different velocities. The correct answer is (A). Were you tempted by one of the other answers? Here’s how to learn from the trap that the test writers were setting for you. First, articulate why you thought that wrong answer was (or might be) right. For instance, answer (E) matches some detail language closely (ejection velocity), so that would likely catch your eye. Next, articulate why that answer was actually wrong. In this case, the passage specifically cites a variety of velocities as the cause, not just slower velocities. Finally, articulate why the right answer seemed like it could be wrong, and then don’t forget to articulate why it’s actually right. Answer (A) may not look as good as (ED) because it doesn’t feature that language match from the passage. Answer (A) says differing velocities instead of a variety of velocities. These two phrases are synonyms, though—they mean the same thing! Key Takeaways for RC Specific Detail Questions (1) Make sure you go back to the passage to find the proof. As much as you can, try to predict (in your own words!) what the correct answer should say before you read through the five answers. This will help you to understand the meaning that you need, and you’ll be less likely to fall for a “false language match” trap, as described above. (2) For all verbal questions (not just RC!), analyze the problem when you’re done. If you were tempted by a wrong answer, ask yourself 4 things: (1) Why did this answer look good (even though it’s wrong)? (2) Why is it actually wrong? (3) Why did the right answer not look good in some way (ie, why would I consider crossing it off)? (4) Why is the right answer right?