#27 - Concept 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!

[elee998]

I am having a hard time understanding why D is the correct answer and not E. The second paragraph mentions that "the basin of attraction for a body of water is the area of land that, whenever water is spilled on it, always directs the spilled water to that body." I chose E because I believed this sentence insinuated that water would flow to the same destination. Answer D seemed like a more broad answer hence why I decided to go with E.

Thank you!

[Luke Haqq]

Hi elee998!

There are only a handful of words at the end of each answer choice that make (D) and (E) different from one another. (D) indicates that a "basin of attraction" refers to "the set of all points on an area of land for which water spilled at each point will travel to a particular body of water." (E) refers to "the set of all points on an area of land for which water spilled at each point will travel to the same exact destination."

One can find support for (D) in the second paragraph. As you note, we're told that "[t]he basin of attraction for a body of water is the area of land that, whenever water is spilled on it, always directs the spilled water to that body" (lines 20-22). This specifically defines a basin of attraction with reference to a particular body of water, and there is further support for this in the paragraph's second sentence (lines 14-20). The next paragraph begins (lines 23-26) by making a distinction between knowing the exact destination versus knowing the body of water in which it will end. But the definition in the second paragraph makes clear that the definition only refers to ending in a body of water, not an exact destination.

[thomas33]

Is B wrong because the author in the 3rd paragraph discusses how the path of water in basins of attraction is near impossible to predict? Therefore B) saying it is possible to predict both the path and destination of water is too high of a bar?

[balikbayan]

I was choosing between A and D and decided to go with A, because it was more specific. D felt too general. I did see the support for D (second paragraph), but then the passage also expanded on certain moments that it is impossible to predict the path due to fractal properties. that led me more to A.

But now that I see my reasoning, just because it is impossible to know the path for certain situations, it doesn't mean that it absolutely cannot predict the path, which is what A is saying. And that makes A wrong.

Is this reasoning correct?

[Jeff Wren]

Hi balikbayan,

Question 27 is asking for the definition of "basin of attraction." Basins of attraction are discussed in paragraph two, and the definition for "basin of attraction" appears at the end of this paragraph (lines 20-22). Answer D is basically a restatement of that sentence and is therefore correct.

The third paragraph is actually about the boundaries between different basins of attraction. The geographical formations where it is impossible to predict where the water will end up that are mentioned at the beginning of this paragraph are not the basins of attraction themselves but the space between them. The reason that it is impossible to predict where the water will end up is that "the boundary between one basin of attraction and another is riddled with fractal properties" (lines 26-28). The discussion of destinations, paths, etc. in this paragraph is not referring to the basins of attractions themselves.