SAT OwlQuestion bank / Rhetorical Synthesis
While researching a topic, a student has taken the following notes:
• Snow leopards live in the mountain ranges of Central and South Asia.
• They are rarely seen, which makes them difficult to count.
• In one study in Mongolia, researchers placed motion-activated cameras along trails used by snow leopards.
• Each snow leopard has a unique pattern of spots.
• The researchers compared spot patterns in the photographs to tell individual cats apart.
The student wants to explain how the researchers distinguished one snow leopard from another. Which choice most effectively uses relevant information from the notes to accomplish this goal?
Since every snow leopard has a unique spot pattern, the researchers compared the patterns in camera photos to tell individual cats apart.
Researchers in Mongolia placed motion-activated cameras along trails used by snow leopards.
Snow leopards, which live in the mountains of Central and South Asia, are rarely seen.
Because snow leopards are rarely seen, they are difficult for researchers to count.
Show answer and explanation
Answer: A
The goal is about how individual leopards were told apart. Choice A explains the method: each cat's spot pattern is unique, so the researchers compared patterns in the photos. Choice B describes how the photos were taken but not how the cats were identified from them.
Choice B describes part of the method, the cameras, but leaves out the step that actually told one cat from another.
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