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Difficulty: MediumPart-to-Whole Rhetorical Function

In 2009, NASA launched the Kepler space telescope to search for Earth-sized exoplanets. While computer algorithms successfully analyzed the vast majority of light curves—dips in starlight indicating a passing planet—certain complex orbital patterns proved difficult for automated systems to detect. To address this, astronomers established the Planet Hunters project, allowing citizen science volunteers to visually inspect the data. Although professional researchers initially doubted that amateurs could rival sophisticated software, the volunteers quickly identified several multi-planet systems that computers had overlooked. This success demonstrated that human visual pattern recognition remains an invaluable supplement to machine-learning algorithms in astronomical data analysis.

Which choice best describes the function of the underlined sentence in the text as a whole?

  1. A
    It states the overall conclusion of the passage that human pattern recognition is superior to machine-learning algorithms.
  2. B
    It suggests that astronomers will eventually phase out automated analysis in favor of volunteer crowdsourcing.
  3. It contrasts initial skepticism about the volunteers' capabilities with their actual success to support the passage's main claim.Answer
  4. D
    It outlines the specific data analysis procedures that the volunteers used to analyze Kepler light curves.

Answer

The choice that states the underlined sentence contrasts initial skepticism about the volunteers' capabilities with their actual success to support the passage's main claim is correct.
The correct option correctly identifies that the underlined sentence functions to contrast the initial doubts of professional researchers with the volunteers' actual success (finding systems computers missed), which serves as evidence to support the passage's final claim that human visual analysis remains an invaluable supplement to machine-learning algorithms.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze the passage to identify the main claim.
The main claim is stated at the end: human visual pattern recognition is a valuable supplement to machine-learning algorithms in astronomical data analysis.
Understanding the passage's conclusion helps determine how the underlined sentence contributes to it.
2
Examine the underlined sentence to identify its specific components.
The sentence contains two contrasting parts: the initial doubt of professional researchers ('initially doubted') and the subsequent success of the volunteers ('quickly identified several multi-planet systems').
This identifies the internal rhetorical structure of the sentence.
3
Determine the relationship between the underlined sentence and the rest of the text.
By showing that volunteers succeeded despite initial doubts, the sentence provides the concrete evidence needed to justify the conclusion that human recognition is a valuable supplement.
This establishes the part-to-whole relationship required by the question.

Key Concept

Identifying how a specific sentence or section of a text functions to develop or support the author's primary argument.
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Topics

Part-to-Whole Rhetorical Function

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