SAT Question ee51ad04: Answer & Explanation

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

• The nautical mile (6,076 feet) is the measure of distance used in seafaring navigation.
• A nautical mile directly correlates to one minute (1/60th of a degree) of latitude.
• The curvature of Earth affects the accurate measurement of long distances when using flat maps.
• Measuring distances with latitude and longitude coordinates takes into account Earth’s curvature.
• Mariners use nautical charts marked with latitude and longitude to quickly calculate distances and positions.

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Difficulty:Hard

The student wants to explain why nautical miles are used to measure distances in seafaring navigation. Which choice most effectively uses relevant information from the notes to accomplish this goal?

Nautical miles are a measure of distance equal to one minute of latitude, which is a feature nautical charts use to calculate distances and positions.

Since they directly correlate to the coordinates on nautical charts, which take into account Earth’s curvature, nautical miles are an efficient way to calculate distances at sea.

Using nautical miles for navigation at sea takes Earth’s curvature into account, whereas measuring distances with latitude and longitude coordinates does not.

Nautical charts use latitude and longitude to measure long distances; these charts are more accurate than flat maps for measuring distances in seafaring navigation because they account for Earth’s curvature.

SAT Question ee51ad04: Rhetorical Synthesis answer and explanation

Explanation

Why the other choices are wrong