Question 154·Hard·Rhetorical Synthesis
While researching a topic, a student has recorded the following notes:
- OSIRIS-REx is a NASA spacecraft launched in 2016 to study the near-Earth asteroid Bennu.
- On October 20, 2020, OSIRIS-REx collected a surface sample from Bennu—the first U.S. mission to retrieve material from an asteroid.
- Bennu contains abundant carbon-rich minerals, making it a window into the early solar system and the origins of organic molecules.
- Astronomers estimate Bennu has a 1-in-2,700 chance of impacting Earth in the late 2100s.
The student wants to craft an opening sentence for a public-outreach article that highlights the mission’s unprecedented accomplishment and its scientific value. Which choice most effectively uses relevant information from the notes to accomplish this goal?
For rhetorical synthesis questions, turn the goal into a short checklist (here: “first-ever accomplishment” + “scientific value”), then verify each choice against the notes for (1) completeness (does it meet both requirements?) and (2) fidelity (does it avoid adding or distorting information, including timing and scientific claims?). Choose the option that hits both requirements in a clear, purpose-appropriate opening-sentence style.
Hints
Identify the two must-have ideas
One part of the sentence should capture what made OSIRIS-REx a first for the United States, and another part should capture what Bennu’s material can teach scientists.
Watch for accuracy in timing
The notes say the sample was collected on a specific date in 2020. Prefer wording that matches that event as something that already happened.
Don’t let the impact-risk note take over
The impact probability is included in the notes, but the question’s goal is to foreground the accomplishment and the scientific value of the sample.
Check for added claims
Eliminate any option that adds or changes scientific claims beyond the notes (for example, stating that organic molecules are already confirmed to be present).
Step-by-step Explanation
Restate the goal as two required elements
The opening sentence needs to do both of the following, using only what’s supported by the notes:
- Emphasize OSIRIS-REx’s unprecedented accomplishment (a first for the United States).
- Emphasize the mission’s scientific value (what Bennu’s carbon-rich material can reveal about the early solar system/origins of organic molecules).
Match the notes to the requirements
From the notes, the key supporting details are:
- Accomplishment: On October 20, 2020, OSIRIS-REx collected a surface sample—the first U.S. mission to retrieve material from an asteroid.
- Scientific value: Bennu has abundant carbon-rich minerals, providing insight into the early solar system and the origins of organic molecules.
Eliminate choices that miss a requirement or go beyond the notes
- Choice 1 highlights the historic first but focuses on impact probability rather than the scientific value of Bennu’s carbon-rich material.
- Choice 2 captures scientific value (carbon-rich minerals and early solar system) but does not highlight the mission’s unprecedented sample-collection accomplishment.
- Choice 3 is close, but it adds an unsupported claim by saying the sample contains organic molecules; the notes say Bennu is a window into the origins of organic molecules, not that organic molecules are confirmed to be present.
Select the option that satisfies both requirements accurately
Choice 4 accurately presents a historic first (unprecedented accomplishment) and ties the carbon-rich sample to insight about the early solar system (scientific value), making it the most effective opening sentence.
Answer: In a historic first for the United States, NASA’s OSIRIS-REx collected a sample from Bennu’s carbon-rich surface, material that could illuminate the solar system’s earliest history.