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Difficulty: MediumExplicit Details

The single-celled slime mold *Physarum polycephalum* lacks a central nervous system, yet it exhibits complex decision-making behavior. In a study led by biophysicist Toshiyuki Nakagaki, researchers placed the organism in a maze with two food sources—oat flakes—positioned at the entrance and exit. The slime mold initially expanded its body to occupy the entire maze. Over several hours, however, the organism retracted its tubular networks from dead ends and consolidated its cytoplasm into a single, thick tube connecting the two food sources. This pathway represented the shortest possible route through the maze, demonstrating that the cell could compute mathematical optimizations through physical feedback loops.

Based on the text, what did *Physarum polycephalum* do when first introduced to the maze?

  1. A
    It immediately retracted its tubular networks from dead ends to conserve energy.
  2. B
    It used a rudimentary neural network to locate the oat flakes at the entrance and exit.
  3. It spread its body across the entirety of the maze.Answer
  4. D
    It consolidated its cytoplasm into a single tube immediately upon encountering the first food source.

Answer

It spread its body across the entirety of the maze.
The correct answer is supported by the third sentence of the passage, which explicitly states that the slime mold 'initially expanded its body to occupy the entire maze' upon being placed in the maze.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze the prompt to determine the target information.
The prompt asks for what *Physarum polycephalum* did when it was first introduced to the maze (initially).
Identifying the target information allows the reader to scan the passage for temporal markers such as 'initially' or 'first'.
2
Locate the relevant detail in the passage.
The passage states: 'The slime mold initially expanded its body to occupy the entire maze.'
This sentence directly describes the initial state of the organism in the maze.
3
Evaluate the choices against the located detail.
The choice stating that it spread its body across the entirety of the maze directly matches the detail that it 'initially expanded its body to occupy the entire maze.'
Comparing the options to the exact text ensures that the chosen option is explicitly supported without unwarranted inferences.

Key Concept

Explicit Details
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Explicit Details

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