BREAKING: Target Test Prep releases Brand New 2026 On Demand GMAT prep course

Redeem

Target Test Prep · GMAT

Choose how you want to prepare

Learn live with an expert or move at your own pace. Every option includes the complete TTP study system.

★★★★★5.0559 reviews
Vote for Target Test Prep, Newsweek Readers’ Choice Awards 2026
NEWSWEEK READERS’ CHOICE 2026

BIG NEWS! Target Test Prep has been nominated, and they’d love your vote!

TTP has worked incredibly hard to build the best test prep experience possible, and winning Newsweek’s 2026 Readers’ Choice Award for Best Test Prep would mean a lot to them. If TTP has helped you, they’d be incredibly grateful for your vote. You can vote once each day through September 9.

Vote for TTP
GMATLiveTeach 7 seats left
Chris Peckover
NEXT LIVE COHORT

Oct 13 to Jan 7, 2027

with Chris Peckover

Schedule
Tue, Thu · 8:00 to 10:00 PM ET
Included
40 live hours + 6 months of GMAT OnDemand
  • Live instruction and real-time questions
  • Class recordings and assigned practice
View class & enroll
Limited cohort · enrollment openTarget Test Prep
EALiveTeach 5 seats left
Logan Thompson
EXECUTIVE ASSESSMENT

Sep 6 to Dec 6, 2026

with Logan Thompson

Schedule
Sun · 9:30 AM to 12:30 PM ET
Included
40 hours of live online classes plus six months of access to the complete TTP EA OnDemand course.
  • 165+ EA Score Guarantee
  • 4,100+ Quant, Verbal, and Integrated Reasoning practice questions
  • 400+ hours of in-depth video lessons
  • 3,000+ step-by-step video solutions
View EA class & enroll
Limited cohort · enrollment openTarget Test Prep
GMATOnDemand Start anytime
SELF-PACED MASTERCLASS

Target Test Prep GMAT OnDemand

Complete access from day one. Study on your schedule.

715+ score guarantee
$0to start then $127/mo
  • Personalized study plan and analytics
  • Thousands of lessons and practice questions

Compare the format, schedule, and included access before enrolling. Prices and seat counts shown reflect the supplied offer details.

Meteorite explosions in the Earth’s....

Expert replies
by abhi332 » Tue Feb 09, 2010 1:06 pm
Meteorite explosions in the Earth's atmosphere as large as the one that destroyed forests in Siberia, with
approximately the force of a twelve-megaton nuclear blast, occur about once a century.
The response of highly automated systems controlled by complex computer programs to unexpected
circumstances is unpredictable.

Which of the following conclusions can most properly be drawn, if the statements above are true, about a highly
automated nuclear-missile defense system controlled by a complex computer program?

A. Within a century after its construction, the system would react inappropriately and might accidentally start a
nuclear war.
B. The system would be destroyed if an explosion of a large meteorite occurred in the Earth's atmosphere.
C. It would be impossible for the system to distinguish the explosion of a large meteorite from the explosion of a
nuclear weapon.
D. Whether the system would respond inappropriately to the explosion of a large meteorite would depend on
the location of the blast.
E. It is not certain what the system's response to the explosion of a large meteorite would be, if its designers
did not plan for such a contingency.


Ans is E

I have a confusion with choice A
Join the discussion
Source: — Critical Reasoning |

by komal » Tue Feb 09, 2010 6:45 pm
abhi332 wrote:Meteorite explosions in the Earth's atmosphere as large as the one that destroyed forests in Siberia, with
approximately the force of a twelve-megaton nuclear blast, occur about once a century.
The response of highly automated systems controlled by complex computer programs to unexpected
circumstances is unpredictable.

Which of the following conclusions can most properly be drawn, if the statements above are true, about a highly
automated nuclear-missile defense system controlled by a complex computer program?

A. Within a century after its construction, the system would react inappropriately and might accidentally start a
nuclear war.
Incorrect : In a 'Main Point' question, the information in the stimulus is a given - no additional info. can be considered. There is nothing in the stimulus that even remotely implies 'nuclear war'. Hence Eliminated.

B. The system would be destroyed if an explosion of a large meteorite occurred in the Earth's atmosphere.
Incorrect : Such assumption cannot be made. The system could be stored underground for all we know. Eliminated.

C. It would be impossible for the system to distinguish the explosion of a large meteorite from the explosion of a
nuclear weapon.
Incorrect : This statement is way to extreme and goes to far in stating that it is IMPOSSIBLE for the system to distinguish between the two. UNPREDICTABLE cannot be confused as IMPOSSIBLE. Eliminated.

D. Whether the system would respond inappropriately to the explosion of a large meteorite would depend on
the location of the blast.
Incorrect : Location of the blast is irrelevant to the scope of the stimulus.

E. It is not certain what the system's response to the explosion of a large meteorite would be, if its designers
did not plan for such a contingency.
Correct : This statement reinforces clearly n concisely what is stated in the stimulus above.
Hope this helps : )
Join the discussion

by abhi332 » Tue Feb 09, 2010 10:44 pm
Thanks for the great explanation.
Join the discussion