#8 - Winds, the movement of gases in the atmosphere of a

[Administrator]

Please post your questions below!

[MillsV]

Can you explain why A is correct rather than B?

I thought that answer B which says "Jupiter's atmosphere is composed of several gases..." explains Jupiter's winds & links to the first sentence: "Winds, the movement of gases in the atmosphere of a planet, are ultimately due to differences in atmospheric temperature." I also thought that this first sentence was the conclusion. Can you clarify?

[Frank Peter]

Hi Mills,

The problem with (B) is that it doesn't address the issue of temperature difference. Remember that the author attributes the phenomena of wind to "differences in atmospheric temperature." Then we're told that wind on earth is the result of heat from the Sun, but the Sun cannot affect on the temperature of Jupiter's atmosphere. So we need some other factor that could cause differences in atmospheric temperature. So, if Jupiter's atmosphere is heated by an internal heat source, that could potentially explain why Jupiter has high winds even though the Sun doesn't heat its atmosphere. (A) addresses this central paradox; (B) doesn't because it only talks about the atmosphere being comprised of several gases that are rare in Earth's atmosphere, which tells us nothing about the issue of differences in temperature.

[MillsV]

Thank you Frank! Also, what was the conclusion in this stimulus? I had a hard time identifying

[Jeremy Press]

Hi Mills,

This is a Resolve the Paradox question, where we're asked to "explain" an unusual or surprising fact (it's surprising that Jupiter has such high wind speeds because the Sun isn't close enough to affect its wind speeds). In Resolve questions, we're given a set of facts, but there is no argument (no premises; no conclusion). So there's no conclusion to identify here! Instead, you have to focus on what you're being asked to explain (Jupiter's high wind speeds relative to Earth's) and why it's surprising (because the Sun isn't a close enough heat source to have any effect on Jupiter's wind speeds). Find an answer that explains how all those facts could simultaneously be true, and you're home free. That's answer choice A, for the reasons Frank mentioned!

Hope this helps!

[MillsV]

Got it - thanks so much Jeremy!

[CJ12345:]

Hi, Powerscore,
I have two questions. The first is about answer choice A and potentially my comprehension of the stimulus:
I keep A as my contender but eliminate it eventually because the stimulus said that winds are due to differences in atmospheric temperature and winds are the result of heat from the sun. This makes me make a reasonable assumption that the atmospheric difference it refers to might be the differences between the sun's and Earth's internal temperature. If not, what is the purpose of talking about the atmospheric temperature difference? When reading A, it mentions Jupiter's internal heat source but I expect an answer that talks about an external heat source.
Why is my reasoning for eliminating A not correct? what protocol I should correct in my reading of stimulus?

Secondly, could you explain why C is wrong? it is not a perfect answer choice but it explains why we still see winds on Jupiter even sun is far away from it---because it is a gaseous planet.

Thanks

[Luke Haqq]

Hi CJ12345:!

You mention that "winds are the result of heat from the sun." This is close to correct. However, the stimulus specifically states that "Winds on Earth are the result of heat from the Sun." The stimulus is thus making a more limited claim about wind on Earth rather than wind in general.

The stimulus tells us that there is wind on Jupiter, but it is too far from the Sun for the Sun to have any significant impact on its atmosphere. Answer choice (A) provides an explanation that accounts for how Jupiter could still have wide reaching the speed of winds on Earth--if an internal heat source warmed Jupiter's atmosphere, this explains how it could have differences in atmospheric temperature (and thus wind) even though it is too far to be warmed by the Sun.

Regarding answer choice (C), it's not clear how this resolves the paradox. Even if gaseous planets like Jupiter sometimes have stronger winds than Earth, one is still left wondering--how can this be possible? Jupiter is too far from the Sun for the Sun to produce such winds. (C) is pretty much just a restatement of the final sentence of the stimulus (it just adds that sometimes the winds can be stronger) and doesn't add anything that resolves the paradox.

[CJ12345:]

Hi, Luke,
Thanks for your explanation. it is very helpful. However, I am still a little bit confused about how answer choice A points out the temperature difference the stimulus talking about in the premise. If the heat in Jupiter is from its internal heat source, Jupiter would not be able to have a temperature difference. If answer choice A mentions another heat source other than its internal heat, it would make me feel much more comfortable to choose. thanks

[Rachael Wilkenfeld]

Hi CJ,

Think about how the heat would come from the internal source in Jupiter. Would it be consistent throughout the atmosphere? No, it would be warmest at the source, then decrease in warmth as it dissipates through the atmosphere. Imagine a bonfire---heat gets less intense as you move away from it. So on Jupiter, the atmosphere closer to the internal heat source would be hotter than the atmosphere up higher, further from the heat source. The difference in heat would cause the wind. It's just on Jupiter the heat source isn't the same as on Earth.

Hope that helps!