Question 6·200 Super-Hard SAT Reading Questions·Expression of Ideas
Because microearthquakes are recorded continuously, their frequency is sometimes used to rank seismic hazard where long rupture histories are unavailable. Along one section of a continental fault, instruments detect hundreds of microearthquakes each year, but satellite measurements show steady creep that releases much of the accumulated strain. An adjacent section is nearly silent; there, satellite measurements show that the fault is locked, and trench records document repeated large ruptures. Neither section’s instrumental record spans a complete rupture cycle, leaving any link between changes in event rate and the timing of a rupture unresolved. ______ the contrast between the creeping, active section and the locked, quiet one rules out treating event counts alone as a direct measure of stored strain across sections.
Which choice completes the text with the most logical transition?
For transition questions with a stated research limitation, separate what the evidence cannot establish from what it still can establish. Then identify whether the next sentence presents a result of the limitation, a restatement, an example, or a conclusion that remains valid despite it.
Hints
Separate the two issues
Distinguish the unresolved question about changes over time from the conclusion about comparisons across different sections.
Assess the evidence’s limits
Ask whether the limitation prevents every conclusion or only the specific conclusion about rupture timing.
Test each relationship
Determine whether the final sentence follows from, restates, illustrates, or remains valid despite the preceding limitation.
Step-by-step Explanation
Identify the limitation
Because the instrumental records do not span a complete rupture cycle, the observations cannot determine whether changes in microearthquake frequency predict when a rupture will occur.
Identify the supported conclusion
The two sections nevertheless show that event counts do not directly correspond to stored strain across sections: the section with many events creeps, while the quiet section is locked.
Determine the relationship
The final claim remains supported despite the unresolved question about rupture timing. A concessive transition is therefore required, making “Even so,” the most logical choice.