SAT #17 Reading (Questions 47 & 48)

Question

Based on Passage 2, Meltzer and his team relied on what evidence to challenge the Younger Dryas impact hypothesis?

Answer 1

Answer Choices A and D are the correct answers because Lines 62-69 say, “The team argues that when the quality and accuracy of the dating — which was based on radiocarbon and other techniques — is examined closely, only three of the 29 sites actually fall within the time frame of the Younger Dryas onset [...].” These Lines most clearly tell us about evidence that Meltzer and his team used to challenge the impact hypothesis and tell us that some of the sites used to support the hypothesis actually have a later date than previously realized. This most closely matches Answer Choice A which says that Meltzer and his team found evidence to challenge the Younger Dryas impact hypothesis after “a reevaluation of the dates assigned to sites thought to display signs of the proposed impact.” For Question 48, Answer Choice A is incorrect because these Lines only make the claim that supporters of the impact hypothesis have various evidence to support their theory. Answer Choice B is incorrect because these Lines give general evidence for why other scientists don’t believe the impact hypothesis, but don’t specifically focus on the reasons used by Meltzer and his team. Answer Choice C is incorrect because these Lines also give evidence from other scientists and not specifically from Meltzer and his team.