SAT Question a86c0b1b: Answer & Explanation

While researching a topic, a student has taken the following notes:

• Ancient Native American and Australian Aboriginal cultures described the Pleiades star cluster as having seven stars.
• It was referred to as the Seven Sisters in the mythology of ancient Greece.
• Today, the cluster appears to have only six stars.
• Two of the stars have moved so close together that they now appear as one.

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Difficulty:Medium

The student wants to specify the reason the Pleiades’ appearance changed. Which choice most effectively uses relevant information from the notes to accomplish this goal?

Ancient Native American and Australian Aboriginal cultures described the Pleiades, which was referred to in Greek mythology as the Seven Sisters, as having seven stars.

Although once referred to as the Seven Sisters, the Pleiades appears to have only six stars today.

In the time since ancient cultures described the Pleiades as having seven stars, two of the cluster’s stars have moved so close together that they now appear as one.

The Pleiades has seven stars, but two are so close together that they appear to be a single star.

SAT Question a86c0b1b: Rhetorical Synthesis answer and explanation

Explanation

Why the other choices are wrong