SAT #16 Reading (Questions 30 & 31)

Question

As presented in the passage, the researchers make which assumptions about the bionic leaf that has yet to be substantiated?

Answer 1

Answer Choices B and D are the correct answers because Lines 56-60 say, “‘If you can use enzymes for building chemicals, you open the door to making many of the natural compounds we rely on every day,’ such as antibiotics, pesticides, herbicides, fertilizer, and pharmaceuticals.” The use of the qualifier “if,” tells us that the process of using enzymes to build other chemicals is still a hypothetical and not fully verified. This most closely matches Answer Choice B from Question 30, which says that the researchers make an assumption about the bionic leaf that it “can be used to produce chemical compounds other than isopropanol.” For Question 31, Answer Choice A is incorrect because it only explains the bacteria’s role in the bionic leaf, and doesn’t suggest an assumption that the researchers make. Answer Choice B is incorrect because it only explains the advantage of merging inorganic catalysts with biology, but doesn’t suggest any assumption that the researchers make. Answer Choice C is incorrect because it only explains why using biology in chemical synthesis is so important, but doesn’t offer an assumption that the researchers make. For Question 30, Answer Choice A is incorrect because the Passage already indicates that the bionic leaf has reached the efficiency of plant photosynthesis, and because none of the Texts reference the efficiency of the bionic leaf in comparison to photosynthesis. Answer Choice C is incorrect because neither the Texts nor the Passage suggest that the researchers will attempt to replace the artificial catalysts with natural ones, and actually highlight the importance of using both kinds of catalysts together. Answer Choice D is incorrect because the Passage already indicates that the liquid fuel produced by the bionic leaf can be used similarly to ethanol, and because none of the Texts make a point about the leaf’s generation of fuel. 

How to solve this? Question 30 asks, “As presented in the passage, the researchers make which assumptions about the bionic leaf that has yet to be substantiated?” Because this is a Paired Question, to solve it we should begin by going through the answer choices for Question 31, looking for any texts that tell us about a possible assumption that the researcher makes.