While researching a topic, a student has compiled the following notes:
- Dr. Leena Patel and her team at the European Southern Observatory obtained the first direct image of a planet orbiting a Sun-like star in 2020.
- The planet, designated YZ-1b, lies about 330 light-years from Earth and has roughly twice the mass of Jupiter.
- Using the Very Large Telescope, Patel’s team detected water vapor in YZ-1b’s atmosphere.
- In 2021, Patel co-authored a paper describing a new adaptive-optics technique that sharpens ground-based telescope images.
The student wants to emphasize why Patel’s 2020 observation was significant while identifying YZ-1b as a planet orbiting a Sun-like star and providing its mass and distance from Earth. Which choice most effectively uses relevant information from the notes to accomplish this goal?
For rhetorical synthesis questions, turn the goal into a checklist and then preserve the exact scope of each relationship in the notes. In particular, compare who or what a modifier such as “first” applies to; a choice can contain every requested statistic yet still be wrong because it narrows or broadens the original claim.
Hints
Build a checklist
Identify the requested historical point and each requested fact about the planet before comparing the choices.
Track the scope of the record
Pay close attention to the exact noun phrase governed by each claim about what had not previously been imaged.
Watch for altered claims
A choice may include the correct mass and distance but still narrow the achievement to one object or team, or broaden it beyond what the notes support.
Step-by-step Explanation
Identify every part of the goal
The response must explain the historical significance of the 2020 observation, identify YZ-1b as a planet orbiting a Sun-like star, and state its distance from Earth and mass.
Determine the scope of the record
The notes describe the first direct image of a planet orbiting a Sun-like star. This is a record involving the entire category of planets orbiting Sun-like stars—not merely YZ-1b, Patel’s team, or all planets without qualification.
Check the identifying details
The planet must be identified as orbiting a Sun-like star, lying about 330 light-years from Earth, and having roughly twice Jupiter’s mass.
Compare the complete claims
Only the correct choice preserves the category-wide scope of the record and supplies all requested details without narrowing or broadening the achievement.