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Difficulty: Very hardMust Be True / Most Strongly Supported

Under the updated nomenclature established by the interstellar taxonomy committee, any celestial body that has a mass less than 13 Jupiter masses and is not gravitationally bound to a star is designated a planetary-mass isolated object (PMIO). No PMIOs have internal temperatures sufficient to ignite deuterium fusion. Furthermore, every celestial body possessing a detectable circumplanetary dust disk either has an internal temperature sufficient to ignite deuterium fusion or is actively accreting mass from a surrounding stellar nursery. Astronomers recently identified three celestial bodies in the Orion Molecular Cloud that are designated as PMIOs and possess detectable circumplanetary dust disks.

Which of the following must be true based on the information provided above?

  1. A
    The three recently identified celestial bodies in the Orion Molecular Cloud are not gravitationally bound to a star.
  2. B
    Any celestial body in the Orion Molecular Cloud that is actively accreting mass from a surrounding stellar nursery possesses a detectable circumplanetary dust disk.
  3. The three recently identified celestial bodies in the Orion Molecular Cloud are actively accreting mass from a surrounding stellar nursery.Answer
  4. D
    There are no celestial bodies in the Orion Molecular Cloud that have internal temperatures sufficient to ignite deuterium fusion.
  5. E
    A celestial body cannot simultaneously have an internal temperature sufficient to ignite deuterium fusion and actively accrete mass from a surrounding stellar nursery.

Answer

The correct answer is the one stating that the three recently identified celestial bodies in the Orion Molecular Cloud are actively accreting mass from a surrounding stellar nursery.
The correct answer accurately traces a multi-step conditional chain. We are told the three bodies are PMIOs, meaning they lack deuterium fusion. We are also told they have disks, meaning they must either have deuterium fusion or be actively accreting mass. Since we know they lack deuterium fusion, they are logically forced into the second category: they must be actively accreting mass.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze the conditions applied to the three newly identified celestial bodies.
The three bodies are designated as PMIOs and possess detectable circumplanetary dust disks.
This establishes the factual starting point to trigger the conditional rules.
2
Apply the rule regarding PMIOs to the three bodies.
Because they are PMIOs, the three bodies do not have internal temperatures sufficient to ignite deuterium fusion.
The stimulus categorically states 'No PMIOs have internal temperatures sufficient to ignite deuterium fusion.'
3
Apply the rule regarding circumplanetary dust disks.
Because they have detectable circumplanetary dust disks, the bodies must either ignite deuterium fusion OR actively accrete mass.
The stimulus dictates a mandatory 'either/or' requirement for any object possessing a detectable circumplanetary dust disk.
4
Synthesize the results from Step 2 and Step 3.
Since the bodies cannot ignite deuterium fusion (Step 2), they must satisfy the other half of the 'either/or' condition: they must be actively accreting mass from a surrounding stellar nursery.
When one option of a mandatory binary requirement is definitively eliminated, the remaining option becomes a logical certainty.

Key Concept

Formal Logic Deductions with Inclusive Disjunctions and Conditionals
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Topics

Must Be True / Most Strongly Supported

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