For decades, many paleontologists hypothesized that the extinction of non-avian dinosaurs was a gradual, protracted process driven primarily by long-term volcanic eruptions that slowly altered the global climate. However, recent analyses of high-resolution sediment cores from the end of the Cretaceous period have ______ this theory. These geologic records reveal a sudden, global layer of iridium and shock-deformed quartz—telltale signatures of a massive asteroid impact—that coincides precisely with the sudden disappearance of these species from the fossil record.
Which choice completes the text with the most logical and precise word or phrase?
- Acorroborated
- underminedCevap
- Cscrutinized
- Dintroduced
Cevap
undermined
The correct option is 'undermined'. The passage contrasts the long-held hypothesis that dinosaur extinction was a gradual volcanic process with new evidence of a sudden asteroid impact. The transition word 'However' signals that the new findings challenge or weaken the established theory, which is precisely what 'undermined' means.
Adım Adım Çözüm
Anahtar Kavram
Identifying contextual clues, such as contrast transitions and evidence, to determine the most precise word that describes the relationship between scientific hypotheses.
Tahmini Süre:1m 0s