RC-Virtually everything astronomers

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RC-Virtually everything astronomers

by nitya34 » Mon Mar 02, 2009 8:48 pm
Lets Practice 3 RCs per day

I am posting one RC/day

if response is good, will post more
no OE in this passage.only OAs.

Even if i get one response I will post the OAs-promise


so friends
here you go
==============================================================================
Passage 8 (8/63)
Virtually everything astronomers known about objects outside the solar system is based on the detection of photons—quanta of electromagnetic radiation. Yet there is another form of radiation that permeates the universe: neutrinos. With (as its name implies) no electric charge, and negligible mass, the neutrino interacts with other particles so rarely that a neutrino can cross the entire universe, even traversing substantial aggregations of matter, without being absorbed or even deflected. Neutrinos can thus escape from regions of space where light and other kinds of electromagnetic radiation are blocked by matter. Furthermore, neutrinos carry with them information about the site and circumstances of their production: therefore, the detection of cosmic neutrinos could provide new information about a wide variety of cosmic phenomena and about the history of the universe.
But how can scientists detect a particle that interacts so infrequently with other matter? Twenty-five years passed between Pauli’s hypothesis that the neutrino existed and its actual detection: since then virtually all research with neutrinos has been with neutrinos created artificially in large particle accelerators and studied under neutrino microscopes. But a neutrino telescope, capable of detecting cosmic neutrinos, is difficult to construct. No apparatus can detect neutrinos unless it is extremely massive, because great mass is synonymous with huge numbers of nucleons (neutrons and protons), and the more massive the detector, the greater the probability of one of its nucleon’s reacting with a neutrino. In addition, the apparatus must be sufficiently shielded from the interfering effects of other particles.
Fortunately, a group of astrophysicists has proposed a means of detecting cosmic neutrinos by harnessing the mass of the ocean. Named DUMAND, for Deep Underwater Muon and Neutrino Detector, the project calls for placing an array of light sensors at a depth of five kilometers under the ocean surface. The detecting medium is the seawater itself: when a neutrino interacts with a particle in an atom of seawater, the result is a cascade of electrically charged particles and a flash of light that can be detected by the sensors. The five kilometers of seawater above the sensors will shield them from the interfering effects of other high-energy particles raining down through the atmosphere.
The strongest motivation for the DUMAND project is that it will exploit an important source of information about the universe. The extension of astronomy from visible light to radio waves to x-rays and gamma rays never failed to lead to the discovery of unusual objects such as radio galaxies, quasars, and pulsars. Each of these discoveries came as a surprise. Neutrino astronomy will doubtless bring its own share of surprises.
1. Which of the following titles best summarizes the passage as a whole?
(A) At the Threshold of Neutrino Astronomy
(B) Neutrinos and the History of the Universe
(C) The Creation and Study of Neutrinos
(D) The DUMAND System and How It Works
(E) The Properties of the Neutrino
2. With which of the following statements regarding neutrino astronomy would the author be most likely to agree?
(A) Neutrino astronomy will supersede all present forms of astronomy.
(B) Neutrino astronomy will be abandoned if the DUMAND project fails.
(C) Neutrino astronomy can be expected to lead to major breakthroughs in astronomy.
(D) Neutrino astronomy will disclose phenomena that will be more surprising than past discoveries.
(E) Neutrino astronomy will always be characterized by a large time lag between hypothesis and experimental confirmation.
3. In the last paragraph, the author describes the development of astronomy in order to
(A) suggest that the potential findings of neutrino astronomy can be seen as part of a series of astronomical successes
(B) illustrate the role of surprise in scientific discovery
(C) demonstrate the effectiveness of the DUMAND apparatus in detecting neutrinos
(D) name some cosmic phenomena that neutrino astronomy will illuminate
(E) contrast the motivation of earlier astronomers with that of the astrophysicists working on the DUMAND project
4. According to the passage, one advantage that neutrinos have for studies in astronomy is that they
(A) have been detected for the last twenty-five years
(B) possess a variable electric charge
(C) are usually extremely massive
(D) carry information about their history with them
(E) are very similar to other electromagnetic particles
5. According to the passage, the primary use of the apparatus mentioned in lines 24-32 would be to
(A) increase the mass of a neutrino
(B) interpret the information neutrinos carry with them
(C) study the internal structure of a neutrino
(D) see neutrinos in distant regions of space
(E) detect the presence of cosmic neutrinos
6. The passage states that interactions between neutrinos and other matter are
(A) rare
(B) artificial
(C) undetectable
(D) unpredictable
(E) hazardous
7. The passage mentions which of the following as a reason that neutrinos are hard to detect?
(A) Their pervasiveness in the universe
(B) Their ability to escape from different regions of space
(C) Their inability to penetrate dense matter
(D) The similarity of their structure to that of nucleons
(E) The infrequency of their interaction with other matter
8. According to the passage, the interaction of a neutrino with other matter can produce
(A) particles that are neutral and massive
(B) a form of radiation that permeates the universe
(C) inaccurate information about the site and circumstances of the neutrino’s production
(D) charged particles and light
(E) a situation in which light and other forms of electromagnetic radiation are blocked
9. According to the passage, one of the methods used to establish the properties of neutrinos was
(A) detection of photons
(B) observation of the interaction of neutrinos with gamma rays
(C) observation of neutrinos that were artificially created
(D) measurement of neutrinos that interacted with particles of seawater
(E) experiments with electromagnetic radiation
=================================================================
Source: — Reading Comprehension |

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by cramya » Mon Mar 02, 2009 8:57 pm
1) C

2) C

Each of these discoveries came as a surprise. Neutrino astronomy will doubtless bring its own share of surprises

3) A

The extension of astronomy -> neutrino study or research

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by nitya34 » Mon Mar 02, 2009 9:05 pm
Thanks for attempting
pls re-visit 1 and 3
cramya wrote:1) C

2) C

Each of these discoveries came as a surprise. Neutrino astronomy will doubtless bring its own share of surprises

3) A

The extension of astronomy -> neutrino study or research

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by cramya » Mon Mar 02, 2009 9:09 pm
4) D

The detecting medium is the seawater itself: when a neutrino interacts with a particle in an atom of seawater, the result is a cascade of electrically charged particles and a flash of light that can be detected by the sensors

5) E -> Appararus need to be large so that oen of the nucleons can react wiht the neutrino thereby detecting it.

6) A (first para)

7) E-> hence they are hard to detect

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by cramya » Mon Mar 02, 2009 9:14 pm
I need to revisit them.

I would go with B for 1 and E for 3

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by Uri » Tue Mar 03, 2009 12:31 pm
My answers:
1. (B)
2. (D)
3. (A)
4. (D)
5. (E)
6. (A)
7. (E)
8. (D)
9. (C)

I know that 1 and 2 are wrong. I just put it as I answered when attempting the first time.

Although 1000 Series provides with a lot of questions, I doubt how useful they are now from the perspective of GMAT. Can anybody throw some light on this aspect? Moreoever, many times in this forum I have come across threads that declared that the OA in the 1000 Series is wrong. Should we still follow this source? I appreciate the initiative of solving 3 passages daily. But at the same time, I would like some comments on this also.

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by nitya34 » Tue Mar 03, 2009 6:25 pm
Agreed!!!
But OAs are mostly RIGHT
prob is OEs are not there
here goes the ans
ACAD EAED C

Q1's ans is most confusing :shock:

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by Uri » Wed Mar 04, 2009 3:01 am
fine. but how can we identify the wrong OAs? the only way out is perhaps to blindly believe in the OAs provided unless some expert sorts out any potential issue.

any way, where is the next one?

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by money19885 » Wed Mar 04, 2009 1:07 pm
I found the first question tough as well. I chose A because they mentioned finding the neutrino will help determine the history of the universe but the astronomers have to detect the neutrino first. However, astronomers are only at the beginning of their discovery. So, in order for the passage to be about the neutrino and the universe, it would state the neutrino's contribution to the history of the universe. Sounds confusing, but thats how I derived at my answer.

Also, how can I find the RC posts by nitya34?

Thanks

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by Uri » Wed Mar 04, 2009 1:30 pm
money19885 wrote:I found the first question tough as well. I chose A because they mentioned finding the neutrino will help determine the history of the universe but the astronomers have to detect the neutrino first. However, astronomers are only at the beginning of their discovery. So, in order for the passage to be about the neutrino and the universe, it would state the neutrino's contribution to the history of the universe. Sounds confusing, but thats how I derived at my answer.

Also, how can I find the RC posts by nitya34?

Thanks

(B) is definitely an attractive choice. But finding (A) and justifying it is not very tough! The passage says that Neutrino can reveal a lot of information about the history of the universe. But that is only one part of the passage. Through out the passage, it is discussed how Neutrino can help in finding new information related to astronomy, how it can be done and a lot of other things. So, (A) is a better choice. Hope this helps.

My initial answer to 1 was a silly mistake and I probably did not give that question enough time.

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by money19885 » Wed Mar 04, 2009 1:36 pm
Thanks, I'm not good at explaining things and didn't know how to quite put it.



Uri wrote:
money19885 wrote:I found the first question tough as well. I chose A because they mentioned finding the neutrino will help determine the history of the universe but the astronomers have to detect the neutrino first. However, astronomers are only at the beginning of their discovery. So, in order for the passage to be about the neutrino and the universe, it would state the neutrino's contribution to the history of the universe. Sounds confusing, but thats how I derived at my answer.

Also, how can I find the RC posts by nitya34?

Thanks

(B) is definitely an attractive choice. But finding (A) and justifying it is not very tough! The passage says that Neutrino can reveal a lot of information about the history of the universe. But that is only one part of the passage. Through out the passage, it is discussed how Neutrino can help in finding new information related to astronomy, how it can be done and a lot of other things. So, (A) is a better choice. Hope this helps.

My initial answer to 1 was a silly mistake and I probably did not give that question enough time.

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Request to the mods

by krishnakumarhod » Fri Mar 06, 2009 7:32 pm
The Advertisement on the right side of the webpage is no doubt informative but it would be extremely good if it does not cover/supress the posts of the forum.

Keeping it at the the top or increasing the size of the web page to accommodate it could help
:)

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Re: Request to the mods

by lav » Fri Mar 06, 2009 9:30 pm
First of all a very good move , I am really really looking forward to practice 3 RC a day... but why post just one RC a day ... lets post 3 RC a day .. talking of good response even if 5-6 of us can give time to solve good enough. what say ?
As there are no OE ( original explanations ) probably we may create same as time goes on.

Why not add time taken to solve the whole RC . just to see how much time each of us is taking. I took 19 minutes to solve the probs. but as i am just getting started and i am weak in RC, i not trying to be quick , but trying to be right.

I happen to be a science graduate, am used to such articles. I find it really tough for any type of RC except scientific article.

My answers with explanation ( why i choose them )
1)
D : one can easily remove D , the whole para is not talking of DuMAND system its just one of the ways author/scientist knows.
E : can easily remove E only 1st para talks of properties
C : can remove it also because besides "creation and study" there are also uses of Neutrinos ( like in astronomy )
Final choice between B and A.
B : History of universe ? para never states how was universe formed.
just mentions briefly in 1st para "the detection of cosmic neutrinos
could provide new information about a wide variety of
cosmic phenomena and about the history of the uni-verse."

Only option left is A.

2)
E : No where in para this is stated ... para 2 talks of Pauli's hypothesis
D : para not talking of past discoveries , these neutrino experiment may show facts that were known , but no proof existed before.
C : at first read of this option was unable to rule out immediately
B : too extreme, with so many possibilities from this type of astronomy , its LOGICAL to try more rather than abandon after 1st fail. moreover scientist are habitual of trying and retrying
A : looks like option

final choice between A and C
talking of option A sounds logical , but cant be concluded from passage. as we are not supposed to bring outside knoweldge so choose C

3)
A : could not rule out in first read
B : illogical ? what surprise ?
C : could not rule out in first read
D : not talking of naming
E : not talking of earlier astronomy

final choice between A and C. A is more logical.

4) D got this straight, from 1st para

5) A , got this straight

6) A : got this straight

7) E : go this straight

8) D : go this straight

9) C : go this straight
Kid in Verbal :(

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by moorthy76 » Mon Mar 09, 2009 11:20 pm
good passage.... except 5 i got everything right..... :D pls post more passages....
Best Regards,
Surya

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by kobel51 » Tue Apr 07, 2009 8:30 pm
Where is the passage from plz? thanks for taking the time to share.