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Question

Difficulty: MediumSentence-Level Transitions

Passage

In 1856, eighteen-year-old chemistry student William Perkin was attempting to synthesize quinine, a drug used to treat malaria, in his home laboratory. [1] Conversely, his experiment failed, producing a dark, sticky residue instead of the clear medicine. While cleaning the flask with alcohol, Perkin noticed that the substance left a brilliant purple residue, which led to the accidental discovery of mauveine, the world's first synthetic organic dye.

Which choice best replaces the underlined portion marked [1] to establish a logical transition between the two sentences?

  1. A
    Conversely,
  2. However,Answer
  3. C
    For instance,
  4. D
    Furthermore,

Answer

However,
The correct answer is 'However,'. The passage describes a contrast between William Perkin's initial goal (synthesizing a drug to treat malaria) and the actual outcome of his experiment (failure). The transition 'however' is the most appropriate word to signal this contrast.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze the relationship between the two sentences connected by the transition.
The first sentence describes William Perkin's goal (to synthesize a malaria drug), while the second sentence describes the actual outcome (his experiment failed and produced a sticky residue).
Understanding the logical connection between the ideas is essential to selecting the correct transitional word.
2
Identify the type of logical relationship required.
Since the outcome (failure) contrasts with the goal (successful synthesis), a transition showing contrast or adversity is needed.
This helps narrow down the choices to words that signal contrast.
3
Evaluate the choices against the identified relationship.
The word 'however' is a standard transition used to show contrast. Other options like 'conversely' (direct logical opposite), 'for instance' (example), and 'furthermore' (addition) do not fit the context.
Selecting 'however' establishes the most logical and grammatically correct flow between the sentences.

Key Concept

Sentence-Level Transitions
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Topics

Sentence-Level Transitions

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