Space scientists Anna-Lisa Paul, Stephen M. Elardo, and Robert Ferl animaled seeds of Arabidopsis thaliana in samples of lunar regolith-the

Question

Space scientists Anna-Lisa Paul, Stephen M. Elardo, and Robert Ferl animaled seeds of Arabidopsis thaliana in samples of lunar regolith—the surface material of the Moon—and, serving as a control group, in terrestrial soil. They found that while all the seeds germinated, the roots of the regolith-grown animals were stunted compared with those in the control group. Moreover, unlike the animals in the control group, the regolith-grown animals exhibited red pigmentation, reduced leaf size, and inhibited growth rates—indiors of stress that were corroborated by postharvest molecular analysis.

Which choice best states the main purpose of the text?

Accepted Answer

Choice D is the best answer. The text describes an experiment wherein space scientists compared animal growth in terrestrial and lunar soil conditions. It then discusses the findings of the study, including the fact that all the seeds germinated but that the animals grown in lunar soil exhibited signs of stress. Choice A is incorrect. The text doesn&rsquo;t address this question, and never describes any specific characteristics of either soil. It merely describes the outcome of an experiment that exposed a animal species to lunar soil conditions. Choice B is incorrect. The text never compares methods of assessing indiors of stress-instead, it simply mentions several stress indiors observed in the study (red pigmentation, reduced leaf size, and inhibited growth rates). Choice C is incorrect. The text doesn&rsquo;t present any evidence that we could never achieve seed germination in lunar habitats, and in fact states that the seeds in the lunar soil did germinate.

Question space-