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Mar 23, 2024
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Number and Origin of Clamshell Tools Found at Different Depths below the Surface in Neanderthal Cave
Depth of tools found below the surface in a cave (meters)Clamshells that Neanderthals collected from the beachClamshells that Neanderthals harvested from the seafloor
2-370
3-49933
4-520
5-6187
6-710


Two kinds of clamshell tools used by Neanderthals were dug up in a cave on the western coast of Italy. Archaeologist Paola Villa and her colleagues studied the tools and determined that Neanderthals either collected clams that had washed onto the beach or harvested clams from the seafloor and then sharpened the shells to make tools. The highest number of tools made from clamshells that were collected from the beach was found at a depth of _______

Which choice most effectively uses data from the table to complete the text?
Difficulty: Easy
A:

5-6 meters below the surface.

B:

4-5 meters below the surface.

C:

3-4 meters below the surface.

D:

6-7 meters below the surface.

Given that stars and planets initially form from the same gas and dust in space, some astronomers have posited that host stars (such as the Sun) and their planets (such as those in our solar system) are composed of the same materials, with the planets containing equal or smaller quantities of the materials that make up the host star. This idea is also supported by evidence that rocky planets in our solar system are composed of some of the same materials as the Sun.

Which finding, if true, would most directly weaken the astronomers' claim?
Difficulty: Hard
A:

Most stars are made of hydrogen and helium, but when cooled they are revealed to contain small amounts of iron and silicate.

B:

A nearby host star is observed to contain the same proportion of hydrogen and helium as that of the Sun.

C:

Evidence emerges that the amount of iron in some rocky planets is considerably higher than the amount in their host star.

D:

The method for determining the composition of rocky planets is discovered to be less effective when used to analyze other kinds of planets.

Some animal-behavior studies involve observing wild animals in their natural habitat, and some involve capturing wild animals and observing them in a laboratory. Each approach has advantages over the other. In wild studies, researchers can more easily presume that the animals are behaving normally, and in lab studies, researchers can more easily control factors that might affect the results. But if, for example, the results from a wild study and a lab study of Western scrub-jays (Aphelocoma californica) contradict each other, one or both of the studies must have failed to account for some factor that was relevant to the birds' behavior.

Which choice best states the main idea of the text?
Difficulty: Hard
A:

When the results of a natural-habitat study and those from a lab study of a wild animal such as the Western scrub-jay conflict, the study in the natural habitat is more likely than the lab study to have accurate results.

B:

Studying wild animals such as the Western scrub-jay in both their natural habitat and lab settings is likely to yield conflicting results that researchers cannot fully resolve.

C:

Wild animals such as the Western scrub-jay can be effectively studied in their natural habitat and in the lab, but each approach has drawbacks that could affect the accuracy of the findings.

D:

Differing results between natural-habitat and lab studies of wild animals such as the Western scrub-jay are a strong indication that both of the studies had design flaws that affected the accuracy of their results.

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