Aerogels are highly porous foams consisting mainly of tiny air pockets within a solidified gel. These lightweight materials are often...
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Aerogels are highly porous foams consisting mainly of tiny air pockets within a solidified gel. These lightweight materials are often applied to spacecraft and other equipment required to withstand extreme conditions, as they provide excellent insulation despite typically being brittle and eventually fracturing due to degradation from repeated exposure to high heat. Now, Xiangfeng Duan of the University of California, Los Angeles, and colleagues have developed an aerogel with uniquely flexible properties. Unlike earlier aerogels, Duan's team's material contracts rather than expands when heated and fully recovers after compressing to just 5% of its original volume, suggesting that ______
Which choice most logically completes the text?
A
the aerogel's remarkable flexibility results from its higher proportion of air pockets to solidified gel as compared to other aerogels.
B
the aerogel's overall strength is greater than that of other insulators but its ability to withstand exposure to intense heat is lower.
C
the aerogel will be more effective as an insulator for uses that involve gradual temperature shifts than for those that involve rapid heat increases.
D
the aerogel will be less prone to the structural weakness that ultimately causes most other aerogels to break down with use.
Solution
Step 1: Decode and Map the Passage
Passage Analysis Table
| Text from Passage | Analysis |
|---|---|
| "Aerogels are highly porous foams consisting mainly of tiny air pockets within a solidified gel." |
|
| "These lightweight materials are often applied to spacecraft and other equipment required to withstand extreme conditions, as they provide excellent insulation despite typically being brittle and eventually fracturing due to degradation from repeated exposure to high heat." |
|
| "Now, Xiangfeng Duan of the University of California, Los Angeles, and colleagues have developed an aerogel with uniquely flexible properties." |
|
| "Unlike earlier aerogels, Duan's team's material contracts rather than expands when heated and fully recovers after compressing to just 5% of its original volume," |
|
Passage Architecture & Core Elements
Main Point: Researchers have developed a new type of aerogel with flexible properties that could solve the brittleness problem that plagues traditional aerogels.
Step 2: Interpret the Question Precisely
This is a fill-in-the-blank question asking us to choose the best logical connector. The answer must create the right relationship between what comes before and after the blank.
Step 3: Prethink the Answer
- The passage sets up a clear contrast: traditional aerogels are brittle and fracture from heat exposure, but Duan's new aerogel shows remarkable flexibility
- The logical conclusion should connect this flexibility to solving the original brittleness problem
- The right answer should suggest that this flexibility means the new aerogel will be more durable and less likely to break down like traditional aerogels do
Answer Choices Explained
A
the aerogel's remarkable flexibility results from its higher proportion of air pockets to solidified gel as compared to other aerogels.
✗ Incorrect
- Claims the flexibility results from having more air pockets relative to solidified gel. This explains a cause for the flexibility, but the passage asks what the flexibility suggests (an effect/implication). Reverses the logical direction.
B
the aerogel's overall strength is greater than that of other insulators but its ability to withstand exposure to intense heat is lower.
✗ Incorrect
- Makes a claim about overall strength vs. heat resistance that contradicts the evidence about heat performance shown in the passage.
C
the aerogel will be more effective as an insulator for uses that involve gradual temperature shifts than for those that involve rapid heat increases.
✗ Incorrect
- Distinguishes between gradual vs. rapid temperature changes. The passage doesn't provide any information about different rates of temperature change.
D
the aerogel will be less prone to the structural weakness that ultimately causes most other aerogels to break down with use.
✓ Correct
- Directly connects the flexibility evidence to the brittleness problem established earlier. The contracting and recovery properties logically suggest resistance to structural breakdown.
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