Zachary: The term “fresco” refers to paint that has been applied to wet plaster. Once dried, a fresco indelibly preserves the paint that a painter has applied in this way. Unfortunately, additions known to have been made by later painters have obscured the original fresco work done by Michelangelo in the Sistine Chapel. Therefore, in order to restore Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel paintings to the appearance that Michelangelo intended them to have, everything except the original fresco work must be stripped away.
Stephen: But it was extremely common for painters of Michelangelo’s era to add painted details to their own fresco work after the frescos had dried.
Summary
Zachary: Fresco refers to paint applied to wet plaster. Fresco will preserve the paint as applied by the painter. Later painters made additions to Michelangelo’s fresco in the Sistine Chapel. To restore the Sistine Chapel’s paintings to Michelangelo’s intentions, all but the original fresco must be removed.
Stephen: Painters around Michelangelo’s era commonly added paint to their own work after the original fresco had dried.
Strongly Supported Conclusions
Stripping away all of the additions to the original fresco may also strip away additions Michelangelo made to his own work. Removing all of these additions may make the work less in line with Michelangelo’s intentions.
A
It is impossible to distinguish the later painted additions made to Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel paintings from the original fresco work.
This is unsupported because the authors leave out information regarding the noticeable differences between Michelangelo’s work and additions made by later artists.
B
Stripping away everything except Michelangelo’s original fresco work from the Sistine Chapel paintings would be unlikely to restore them to the appearance Michelangelo intended them to have.
This is strongly supported because stripping away everything but the original fresco may result in some of Michelangelo’s own intended additions also being removed.
C
The painted details that painters of Michelangelo’s era added to their own fresco work were not an integral part of the completed paintings’ overall design.
This is unsupported because the stimulus avoids offering information on the components of a work’s design or the impact that additional details have on design.
D
None of the painters of Michelangelo’s era who made additions to the Sistine Chapel paintings was an important artist in his or her own right.
This is unsupported because the painters who made additions may themselves have been important artists. The stimulus does not specify who made additions to the Sistine Chapel paintings.
E
Michelangelo was rarely satisfied with the appearance of his finished works.
This is unsupported because we don’t know how often Michelangelo made additions to his entire body of works or whether or not those additions reflect dissatisfaction with the original work.
A
It is used to disprove evidence against these theories.
B
It is used to override some considerations against these theories.
C
It is used to suggest that popular psychological theories are actually better scientific explanations than are their rivals.
D
It is used to illustrate what the critic takes to be the most important aspect of scientific theories.
E
It is used to suggest that the popular theories may not be as devoid of explanatory power as one may be led to believe.
Science journalist: Brown dwarfs are celestial objects with more mass than planets but less mass than stars. They are identified by their mass and whether or not lithium is present in their atmospheres. Stars at least as massive as the Sun have lithium remaining in their atmospheres because the mixing of elements in their internal nuclear furnaces is incomplete. Stars with less mass than the Sun have no lithium because the element has been fully mixed into their nuclear furnaces and consumed. A brown dwarf does not have a fully functional nuclear furnace and so its lithium cannot be consumed.
Summary
Brown dwarfs are more massive than planets but less massive than stars. They are identified by their mass and whether or not lithium is present in their atmospheres. A brown dwarf’s lithium cannot be consumed because they do not have a functional nuclear furnace.
Strongly Supported Conclusions
If a celestial object does not have lithium in its atmosphere, then it is not a brown dwarf.
A
Any celestial object without lithium in its atmosphere is a star with less mass than the Sun.
This answer is unsupported. We don’t know from the stimulus that any celestial object without lithium must be a star. We only know from the stimulus that some stars do have lithium in their atmospheres.
B
Any celestial object with lithium in its atmosphere has a nuclear furnace that has incompletely mixed the object’s elements.
This answer is unsupported. We know that this is true of stars at least as massive as the sun, but saying this is true of any celestial object is too strong.
C
No celestial object that has no lithium in its atmosphere is a brown dwarf.
This answer is strongly supported. We know that brown dwarf’s must have lithium in their atmospheres because it cannot be consumed by a nuclear furnace.
D
No celestial object with lithium in its atmosphere has less mass than the Sun.
This answer is unsupported. This is the reverse relationship from the stimulus. The stimulus tells us that if a star is at least as massive as the sun, then there is lithium in that star’s atmosphere.
E
No celestial object less massive than a brown dwarf has lithium in its atmosphere.
This answer is unsupported. We don’t know anything about celestial objects with less mass than brown dwarfs from the stimulus. The stimulus is limited to brown dwarfs and celestial objects with greater mass.
A
In Rhiago, where asthmagon had been the most widely prescribed of the beta-2 agonists, the number of asthma deaths increased between 1981 and 1987.
B
Many of the patients under observation to whom asthmagon was administered had not previously taken a beta-2 agonist.
C
Despite the growing concern about the drug, many physicians in Rhiago still prescribe asthmagon to asthma sufferers.
D
Among the patients observed, only those who had very high cholesterol counts suffered side effects after taking asthmagon.
E
Asthmagon increases the severity of asthma attacks in some people because the drug can cause damage to heart tissues.