#24 - Specific Reference, Must Be True

[Administrator]

Complete Question Explanation

The correct answer choice is (D).

Answer choice (A):

Answer choice (B):

Answer choice (C):

Answer choice (D): This is the correct answer choice.

Answer choice (E):

This explanation is still in progress. Please post any questions below!

[dragonfly]

Hi there!

I'm having trouble understanding how D ("not merely as a general substitute for polyacrylates") is similar at all to the meaning of "on its own merits." I can see how, if plugged into the sentence, D makes sense in context and fits with the rest fo the passage, but it seems dissimilar from the meaning of the phrase "on its own merits." I'm just beginning to study, so maybe I'm misinterpreting the overall function of meaning in context questions. Any help would be appreciated!

[Luke Haqq]

Hi dragonfly!

For this type of question, you'll want to look at a phrase like "on its own merits" as it occurs within the passage, rather than removed from its context. Taken out of that context, you're right that the two phrases don't really substitute for each other.

However, within the context of the third paragraph, "on its own merits" does function similar to the language in answer choice (D). In particular, look a couple sentences before where that language occurs. We're told there that, "Unfortunately, as with many emerging technologies that lack a supporting infrastructure, polyaspartate’s price was estimated to be four to five times that of the high-volume-production alternative [i.e., polyacrylates]." So in that context, polyaspartate is being considered as an alternative to polyacrylates. The quoted sentence then contrasts with that--Koshkan believed that polyaspartate could still "be market competitive on its own merits," that is, it could still have uses and be marketable beyond its substitutability for polyacrylates.