Question 105·200 Super-Hard SAT Reading Questions·Craft and Structure
Data from early 20th-century seismographs suggested that Earth’s inner core rotates at a slightly different rate than its mantle, yet for decades most geophysicists dismissed the finding as ______, attributing the discrepant readings to imprecise instruments rather than planetary dynamics.
Which choice completes the text with the most logical and precise word or phrase?
For SAT Words-in-Context questions, always read a bit before and after the blank, then restate the sentence in your own words to capture the author’s attitude (positive/negative, accepting/rejecting). Next, decide what role the missing word plays (describing a result, a person, a tone, etc.) and roughly what it must mean. Finally, test each option by plugging it back into the sentence: eliminate choices that clash with key verbs (like “dismissed”) or with the explanation given in nearby phrases, and pick the word that matches both the meaning and the tone most precisely.
Hints
Look closely at the verbs and clauses around the blank
Focus on the words “dismissed” and the phrase that follows the comma: “attributing the discrepant readings to imprecise instruments rather than planetary dynamics.” What does that show about how the scientists viewed the finding?
Check the tone: positive, negative, or neutral?
Ask yourself whether the scientists respected the finding or pushed it aside. A word that fits after “dismissed the finding as” should match that attitude.
Eliminate words that don’t fit the role of the finding
The blank is describing the finding itself. Cross out choices that describe a person’s carefulness or someone’s ability to predict the future, rather than the quality or status of a scientific result.
Step-by-step Explanation
Understand the situation in the sentence
Read the whole sentence and put it in your own words. Early seismograph data suggested something surprising: Earth’s inner core might rotate at a different rate than its mantle. However, for decades, most geophysicists did not accept this; they dismissed the finding and said the odd readings came from imprecise instruments, not from actual planetary dynamics. So they treated the finding as wrong or not trustworthy.
Identify the kind of word that fits the blank
The blank comes after “dismissed the finding as ____,” followed by an explanation that they blamed the instruments. That means we need a word that describes a finding they reject as invalid, something they think doesn’t reflect reality. The tone is clearly negative, not neutral or positive.
Test each answer choice against that meaning
Now compare each option to the meaning you inferred:
- (A) speculative means based on guesses or incomplete evidence. You can dismiss an idea as speculative, but here the scientists aren’t saying “this might be true but we don’t know yet”; they’re saying the readings are just instrument errors. That’s stronger than “speculative,” so this doesn’t fit well.
- (C) prescient means having foresight or knowing something before it’s generally recognized. That’s positive and doesn’t go with “dismissed,” so it doesn’t fit the tone.
- (D) meticulous means very careful and detailed. “Dismissed the finding as meticulous” makes no sense; meticulous describes a method or person, not a result that is being rejected.
- (B) spurious means false, not genuine, or based on faulty reasoning or data. That exactly matches the idea that they blamed the readings on imprecise instruments instead of real planetary dynamics.
So the best choice is (B) spurious.