Text 1Most scientists agree that the moon was likely formed after a collision between Earth and a large planet named...
GMAT Craft and Structure : (Structure) Questions
Text 1
Most scientists agree that the moon was likely formed after a collision between Earth and a large planet named Theia. This collision likely created a huge debris field, made up of material from both Earth and Theia. Based on models of this event, scientists believe that the moon was formed from this debris over the course of thousands of years.
Text 2
Researchers from NASA's Ames Research Center used a computer to model how the moon could have formed. Although simulations of the moon's formation have been done in the past, the team from NASA ran simulations that were much more detailed. They found that the formation of the moon was likely not a slow process that took many years. Instead, it's probable that the moon's formation happened immediately after impact, taking just a few hours.
Which choice best describes a difference in how the author of Text 1 and the author of Text 2 view the evidence for the formation of the moon?
The author of Text 1 argues that the formation of the moon occurred much earlier than the author of Text 2 argues.
The author of Text 1 suggests there is more evidence confirming the existence of Theia than the author of Text 2 suggests.
The author of Text 1 claims that the moon's surface is more similar to Earth's surface than the author of Text 2 claims.
The author of Text 1 believes that the moon formed more slowly than the author of Text 2 believes.
Step 1: Decode and Map the Passage
Part A: Passage Analysis Table
Text 1:
| Text from Passage | Analysis |
|---|---|
| 'Most scientists agree that the moon was likely formed after a collision between Earth and a large planet named Theia.' |
|
| 'This collision likely created a huge debris field, made up of material from both Earth and Theia.' |
|
| 'Based on models of this event, scientists believe that the moon was formed from this debris over the course of thousands of years.' |
|
Text 2:
| Text from Passage | Analysis |
|---|---|
| 'Researchers from NASA's Ames Research Center used a computer to model how the moon could have formed.' |
|
| 'Although simulations of the moon's formation have been done in the past, the team from NASA ran simulations that were much more detailed.' |
|
| 'They found that the formation of the moon was likely not a slow process that took many years.' |
|
| 'Instead, it's probable that the moon's formation happened immediately after impact, taking just a few hours.' |
|
Part B: Passage Architecture & Core Elements
Main Point: Text 1 presents the established scientific view that moon formation was a slow process taking thousands of years, while Text 2 presents new NASA research suggesting it happened rapidly in just hours.
Argument Flow: Text 1 establishes the conventional understanding of moon formation as a lengthy process spanning thousands of years based on existing models. Text 2 then introduces more detailed NASA computer simulations that challenge this timeline, concluding instead that moon formation was essentially instantaneous after the collision.
Step 2: Interpret the Question Precisely
What's being asked? The question asks about the difference in how the two authors view evidence about moon formation. We need to identify where their perspectives disagree about the evidence.
What type of answer do we need?
- Content Genre: Sciences
- Content Format: Text-only
- Question Type: Simple Inference
- Language Complexity: Accessible
Any limiting keywords? None specified
Step 3: Prethink the Answer
- The key difference we identified is about timing. Text 1 says moon formation took thousands of years while Text 2 says it took just a few hours. This represents fundamentally different views of how quickly the formation process occurred.
- The right answer should capture this difference in timeline/speed of formation.
The author of Text 1 argues that the formation of the moon occurred much earlier than the author of Text 2 argues.
✗ Incorrect
- Incorrect - This suggests they disagree about when the formation occurred in history, but both texts agree the formation happened after the Earth-Theia collision. The difference is not about when in history it occurred, but how long the process took.
The author of Text 1 suggests there is more evidence confirming the existence of Theia than the author of Text 2 suggests.
✗ Incorrect
- Incorrect - This is about evidence for Theia's existence. Text 1 mentions Theia but does not discuss evidence for its existence. Text 2 does not mention Theia at all. Neither text actually discusses evidence for Theia's existence.
The author of Text 1 claims that the moon's surface is more similar to Earth's surface than the author of Text 2 claims.
✗ Incorrect
- Incorrect - This is about surface similarity between Earth and moon. Neither text discusses the moon's surface composition or similarity to Earth. Both texts focus solely on formation process and timeline.
The author of Text 1 believes that the moon formed more slowly than the author of Text 2 believes.
✓ Correct
- Text 1 explicitly states formation took thousands of years. Text 2 explicitly states formation took just a few hours. This directly captures the core difference - one believes slow formation, other believes rapid formation.