Explanation
Correct answer: B.
Choice B is the best answer because it most logically completes the text’s discussion of pre-Mariner 2 ideas about Venus. In this context, “conjectures” means guesses or inferences formed without sufficient evidence. The text indicates that before the successful 1962 flyby, Earth-based observations of Venus had produced “very little information” because of the planet’s thick atmosphere. The limited scope of astronomers’ earlier knowledge of Venus is also emphasized by the text’s description of their ideas as being “little more than” something before the flyby. This context conveys that before Mariner 2 flew close to Venus, astronomers lacked the evidence needed for their ideas about the planet to be much more than conjectures, or guesses.
Why the other choices are wrong
Choice A
Choice A is incorrect. In this context, “summations” would be final conclusions reached by putting all information together. Because the text emphasizes that very little information about Venus was available before the 1962 flyby, it wouldn’t make sense to describe astronomers’ pre-Mariner 2 ideas about Venus as summations; the text suggests that astronomers didn’t have enough information to draw solid conclusions about Venus.
Choice C
Choice C is incorrect. In this context, “conclusions” would be reasoned final judgments or outcomes. Because the text emphasizes that very little information about Venus was available before the 1962 flyby, it wouldn’t make sense to describe astronomers’ pre-Mariner 2 ideas about Venus as conclusions; the text suggests that astronomers didn’t have what they would have needed to make informed judgments about Venus.
Choice D
Choice D is incorrect because it wouldn’t make sense to describe astronomers’ pre-Mariner 2 ideas about Venus as “exemplifications,” or examples that illustrate something; people’s ideas about a subject are the ideas themselves, not illustrations. Further, the text emphasizes that the astronomers had little information before 1962, suggesting they didn’t have much to work with to form examples.
Student discussion
marcosat 0 likes
The ideas where theoretical (Ie conjectures).