SAT OwlQuestion bank / Text Structure and Purpose
Paleontologists once assumed that the colors of dinosaurs could never be known, since skin and feathers rarely fossilize and pigments break down quickly. In 2010, however, researchers examining fossilized feathers under powerful microscopes identified melanosomes, tiny structures that hold the pigment melanin. Because melanosomes of different shapes are associated with different colors in living birds, the team inferred that the small dinosaur Sinosauropteryx had a tail banded in reddish brown and white. The method cannot detect every kind of pigment, but it has turned a question once considered unanswerable into one that can be investigated.
Which choice best states the main purpose of the text?
To argue that the colors of all dinosaurs can now be determined with certainty
To describe the appearance of Sinosauropteryx in detail
To criticize paleontologists for not examining fossilized feathers sooner
To explain how a discovery made it possible to study a question that scientists had considered unanswerable
Show answer and explanation
Answer: D
The text starts with the old assumption that dinosaur colors could never be known, explains how finding melanosomes in fossil feathers let researchers infer color, and ends by saying the question can now be investigated. Choice D captures that purpose. Sinosauropteryx is only the example.
Choice A overstates the claim: the text says the method "cannot detect every kind of pigment," so it does not promise certainty about all dinosaurs.
Why the other choices are wrong
- A. The text states the method cannot detect every pigment, so it does not claim certainty for all dinosaurs. This choice overstates the scope of the discovery.
- B. Sinosauropteryx is only used as a specific example to illustrate the method. The text does not focus on describing this dinosaur's full appearance in detail.
- C. The passage presents the initial assumption as a reasonable belief given the evidence at the time. It does not criticize paleontologists for their earlier lack of investigation.
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