The spacing of the four holes on a fragment of a bone flute excavated at a Neanderthal campsite is just what is required to play the third through sixth notes of the diatonic scale-the seven-note musical scale used in much of Western music since the Renaissance. Musicologists therefore hypothesize that the diatonic musical scale was developed and used thousands of years before it was adopted by Western musicians.

Which of the following, if true, most strongly supports the hypothesis?

(A) Bone flutes were probably the only musical instrument made by Neanderthals.
(B) No musical instrument that is known to have used a diatonic scale is of an earlier date than the flute found at the Neanderthal campsite.
(C) The flute was made from a cave-bear bone and the campsite at which the flute fragment was excavated was in a cave that also contained skeletal remains of cave bears.
(D) Flutes are the simplest wind instrument that can be constructed to allow playing a diatonic scale.
(E) The cave-bear leg bone used to make the Neanderthal flute would have been long enough to make a flute capable of playing a complete diatonic scale.

dear experts,

I am sunk in D and E.

please help how to distinguish D and E.

and point out my fault


my reasoning as following:
The spacing of the four holes on a fragment of a bone flute excavated at a Neanderthal campsite is just what is required to play the third through sixth notes of the diatonic scale-the seven-note musical scale used in much of Western music since the Renaissance. Musicologists therefore hypothesize that the diatonic musical scale was developed and used thousands of years before it was adopted by Western musicians.

Which of the following, if true, most strongly supports the hypothesis?


4 hole fragment flute is required to play 3~6 notes of diatonic scale,
because the flute is fragment, we don't whether the whole fragment can play another musical scale which is overlap 3-6 notes with diatonic scale.
so if strengthen , we need a premise that can prove the whole flute can play diatonic scale


(A) Bone flutes were probably the only musical instrument made by Neanderthals.

flute is only musical instrument, this is cannot prove the whole flute can play diatonic scale -- OUT

(B) No musical instrument that is known to have used a diatonic scale is of an earlier date than the flute found at the Neanderthal campsite.

no musical instrument before can use diatonic scale , this is cannot prove the whole flute can play diatonic scale -- OUT


(C) The flute was made from a cave-bear bone and the campsite at which the flute fragment was excavated was in a cave that also contained skeletal remains of cave bears.

this one only can prove the flute is thousands years old, cannot prove the whole flute can play diatonic scale -- OUT



(D) Flutes are the simplest wind instrument that can be constructed to allow playing a diatonic scale.

seems this is can prove the whole flute can play diatonic scale, it states flutes are the wind instrument that can be played a diatonic scales and the flutes are the simplest instrument --- keep it


(E) The cave-bear leg bone used to make the Neanderthal flute would have been long enough to make a flute capable of playing a complete diatonic scale.

seems this is can prove the whole flute can play diatonic scale ,it states the flute can play a complete diatonic scale --- keep it


thank a lot
have a nice day
>_~