#26 - Global Reference, Must Be True, Purpose/Function

[lathlee]

Hi. question 26, the answer sheet says it is b) . but shouldn't this be a) ,

considering in line 11, according to this alternative theory, the excited neuron, (isn't this a way to introducing a new theory ?)

[Shannon Parker]

Hi. question 26, the answer sheet says it is b) . but shouldn't this be a) ,

considering in line 11, according to this alternative theory, the excited neuron, (isn't this a way to introducing a new theory ?)

The correct answer to question 26 is "D." You are correct that the "alternative theory" is a way to introduce a new theory. The passage then goes on to establish that the theory "has gradually won acceptance in the scientific community, " thus indicating that it is a "widely accepted theory." It then discusses recently discovered evidence.

Therefore, the primary purpose of the passage is to "discuss new support" for that theory.

I hope this helps.

Shannon

[T.B.Justin]

What is the text citation for "widely accepted."

[Adam Tyson]

Lines 20-21:

This theory has gradually won acceptance in the scientific community

If the theory has won acceptance, that strongly suggests that more than half of the scientific community accepts it. Less than that wouldn't be much of a win! More than half is enough to say "widely".

Consider this, if you're not convinced: if the theory was not widely accepted, would the author have used these words? Or would he instead have said something more like "has begun to find some support" or "is starting to find some acceptance"?

It may be hard to say how much acceptance is "wide", but one last thing to consider here is that there is no better answer choice, and we are supposed to pick the best one. It's not hard to challenge answer D here as being less than perfect, but that's not the standard we should apply to answer choices on this test. The best answer, even if you don't love it, is still the best one!

[snowy]

Why is E wrong? Is it too narrow? I thought that while the main point should be applicable to most parts of the passage, the purpose didn't have to be - so I chose E since that's the point that is made in the last paragraph, that the whole rest of the passage seems to be leading up to.

Thank you in advance!

[Brook Miscoski]

Snowy,

The reason that (E) is wrong is that it is both too broad and too narrow. (E) is a claim about brain science in general. The passage did not discuss neurotransmitter theory to make a point about brain science in general; it discussed neurotransmitter theory to make a point about neurotransmitter theory. To pick (E), there would need to be explicit statements in the passage generalizing to other areas of brain science. In that regard, be careful to interpret lines 45-60 correctly--these do illustrate utility in studying neurotransmitter theory, but that is too narrow with respect to the passage purpose re that theory, and again too broad because (E) is a reference to brain science in general.

[haileymarkt]

I chose B because I though the "widely accepted theory" being described was the original theory that the neuro-transmissions was exclusive to electrical transmission and the challenge to that was the idea that it has a chemical component. I'm just wondering where I went wrong in assuming this and how to be more exacting in the future!

[gavelgirl]

I have the same concern as Hailey above, please help

[Adam Tyson]

Hey there hailey and gavelgirl, thanks for asking! As discussed earlier in this thread, the author has described the chemical theory, which has been around since at least 1904, as having won acceptance. The problem hasn't been that scientists didn't accept the theory, but that they didn't have a great idea about how it actually worked, and this passage is all about the recently gathered evidence that supports that longstanding, accepted theory (notwithstanding that a few scientists remained skeptical). For support, see the first sentence of the second paragraph!

[ashpine17]

is there any difference between A and B for this question>