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Difficulty: EasyIdentifying Core Claims and Hypotheses

### Origin of Saturn's Rings

Two astronomers present opposing hypotheses regarding the origin of Saturn's ring system.

Astronomer 1
Saturn's rings are relatively young, having formed less than 100100 million years ago. They are the remnants of a large, icy moon that migrated too close to Saturn. The planet's powerful gravitational tidal forces tore the moon apart once it crossed the Roche limit. The resulting icy debris spread out to form the current ring system.

Astronomer 2
Saturn's rings are ancient, having formed approximately 4.54.5 billion years ago at the same time as Saturn itself. As the planet condensed from the primordial solar nebula, a surrounding disk of gas and dust also condensed. The ice and rock particles in this disk could not coalesce into a moon due to tidal forces, remaining as rings instead.

Based on the passage, which of the following statements best summarizes Astronomer 2's core claim about the formation of Saturn's rings?

  1. A
    The rings are composed of debris from a destroyed icy moon that migrated too close to the planet.
  2. B
    The rings consist of cometary material captured by Saturn's gravity long after the planet formed.
  3. The rings formed concurrently with Saturn from the condensation of the primordial nebula.Answer
  4. D
    The rings were created by active volcanic plumes ejecting ice particles from Saturn's inner moons.

Answer

The rings formed concurrently with Saturn from the condensation of the primordial nebula.
Astronomer 2 states that Saturn's rings formed at the same time as Saturn itself, approximately 4.54.5 billion years ago, from the condensation of the surrounding disk of gas and dust. This corresponds to the statement that the rings formed concurrently with the planet from the primordial nebula.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Identify which astronomer's viewpoint is queried.
The question asks for the core claim of Astronomer 2.
This focuses the search on the specific paragraph containing Astronomer 2's hypothesis.
2
Analyze the description of Astronomer 2's viewpoint in the passage.
Astronomer 2 states that the rings formed approximately 4.54.5 billion years ago at the same time as Saturn from the condensation of the surrounding disk of gas and dust.
This establishes the factual basis for the correct summary of the hypothesis.
3
Evaluate the choices to find the one that matches Astronomer 2's description.
The statement that the rings formed concurrently with Saturn from the condensation of the primordial nebula matches Astronomer 2's claim.
This identifies the correct option based on direct text evidence.

Key Concept

Identifying Core Claims and Hypotheses
Estimated Time:45s
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Topics

Identifying Core Claims and Hypotheses

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