Reading comp PrepTest 136 · Section 1 · Question 25

Topic: Science

Paragraph 1

• Paragraph note
  • Generalization (scientific advancements made long after evidence acquired) and example introduced (Meitner, nuclear fission)
• Views, minor Meta-Structures, and the author's attitude
  • Author's view:
    • Science advances aren't direct or smooth, and sometimes breakthroughs are based on long-available evidence (first sentence)
  • Example of the author's view:
    • Discovery of nuclear fission occurred long after Meitner, Fermi and others had compiled evidence that they were splitting nuclei (second and last sentences)
  • Author's attitude: "often do not" (first sentence); "it may seem strange" (first sentence); "crucial theoretical connection" (last sentence); "compiled increasing evidence" (last sentence)

Paragraph 2

• Paragraph note
  • Theoretical physicists' view and why Meitner didn't make discovery earlier (didn't believe nuclear fission was possible)
• Views, minor Meta-Structures, and the author's attitude
  • Theoretical physicists' view:
    • Calculations show that atoms could be split (first sentence)
  • Experimental physicists' view:
    • Not receptive to the possibility that atoms could be split, and neutron bombardment of uranium was not aimed at achieving that result (second sentence)
  • Comparison, according to experimental physicists:
    • A neutron breaking apart a uranium nucleus would be like a pebble causing a house to collapse (last sentence)
  • Author's attitude: "were not even receptive" (second sentence)

Paragraph 3

• Paragraph note
  • Surprising results of Meitner et al.'s 30s experiments (couldn't identify products, then Hahn discovered barium and technetium)
• Views, minor Meta-Structures, and the author's attitude
  • Cause-and-effect relationships, according to the author:
    • Using minute quantities due to the dangers of radioactivity partly caused the results of neutron bombardment to go unidentified (third sentence)
    • The expectation that the results would be similar to uranium was the more significant cause of why the results of neutron bombardment went unidentified (third sentence)
  • Otto Hahn's view:
    • The results of the neutron bombardment produced barium and technetium, which was puzzling and went "against all previous experiences of nuclear physics" (fifth and last sentences)
  • Author's attitude: "partly" (third sentence); "more significantly" (third sentence)

Paragraph 4

• Paragraph note
  • Meitner's delayed discovery of nuclear fission (findings corroborated, but they had the evidence for some time)
• Views, minor Meta-Structures, and the author's attitude
  • Author's attitude: "finally recognized the significance" (first sentence); "became clear" (last sentence); "lacking mainly" (last sentence)

Main Point: Scientific breakthroughs sometimes come from evidence that was available for a while, as exemplified by Meitner's discovery of nuclear fission.

Generalization/Example: This passage utilizes the Generalization/Example Meta-Structure.* In these passages, the generalization generally appears as one or two sentences, usually at the beginning or the end of the passage. Here, the first sentence sets up the generalization, the second sets up the example, and then the last clause of the last sentence brings them back together.

When a passage uses a Generalization/Example Meta-Structure, the main point is typically the generalization or a variation of "[The specific example] illustrates [generalization]." So, we made the main point: "Scientific breakthroughs sometimes come from evidence that was available for a while, as exemplified by Meitner's discovery of nuclear fission."

*One could also argue that this is a Phenomenon/Explanation passage (phenomenon: puzzling results of uranium bombardment experiments; explanation: splitting uranium atoms) or Old Approach/New Approach passage (old approach: can't split atoms; new approach: you can split them!), but the word "case in point" following the first sentence strongly suggests that this passage is best thought of as a Generalization/Example passage.

There are a lot of details in the passage, and a lot of them involve science (Do you even remember what the second element with barium was? Did you remember barium?!). As such, we're going to have to rely on our notes to find these details when they're asked about. Don't try to learn nuclear physics while taking the LSAT! It's hard.