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Help in clarifying..answer.

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by mav800rick » Mon Jun 16, 2008 2:15 pm
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 diatomic 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.

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Gievn answer is (E)..am not convinced though,
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Source: — Critical Reasoning |

by loki.gmat » Mon Jun 16, 2008 10:51 pm
i think B should be the correct answer.
although E provideds some support to the argument, the answer should be the one which most strongly supports the argument.
hence IMO B.


Thanks!
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by durgesh79 » Mon Jun 16, 2008 11:28 pm
Apply negation and see if the option statemmet goes agianst the hypotehsis.

A - Bone flutes were not the only musical instrument made by Neanderthals - Doesnt goes against

B - There was a musical instrument that is known to have used a diatomic scale is of an earlier date than the flute found at the Neanderthal campsite.
Hypothesis has used a period of "thousand of years" it doesnt say that diatonic scale was developed only at Neanderthals' time.

C - Cleasrly out of scope

D - Flutes are not the simplest ....... - Drop it

E - The cave-bear leg bone used to make the Neanderthal flute wasn't long enough to make a flute capable of playing a complete diatonic scale.

If the bone wasnt long enough, its not possible to produce diatonic scale .... goes against the hypothesis.

Answer is E
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by peter.p.81 » Wed May 11, 2016 12:12 am
I believe the correct answer should be E.
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