Question while-
While researching a topic, a student has taken the following notes:
- Chinese Tibetan mastiffs are large dogs native to the Himalayas.
- A mutation in their EPAS1 gene prevents excess hemoglobin production.
- A mutation in their HBB gene boosts hemoglobin’s oxygen-carrying ability.
- These mutations enable the dogs to withstand hypoxic (low-oxygen) conditions at high altitudes.
- In a 2016 study, Zhen Wang and colleagues noted that Chinese Tibetan wolves’ DNA has the same EPAS1 and HBB mutations.
- Wang and colleagues determined that the dogs first acquired these mutations by interbreeding with Chinese Tibetan wolves around 24,000 years ago.
The student wants to present the conclusion of Zhen Wang and colleagues’ 2016 study. Which choice most effectively uses relevant information from the notes to accomplish this goal?
Like Chinese Tibetan mastiffs, Chinese Tibetan wolves can withstand hypoxic conditions at high altitudes.
Both Chinese Tibetan mastiffs and Chinese Tibetan wolves have mutations in their EPAS1 and HBB genes, which prevent excess hemoglobin production and boost hemoglobin’s oxygen-carrying ability, respectively.
In addition to preventing excess hemoglobin production, a mutation in Chinese Tibetan mastiffs’ HBB gene boosts hemoglobin’s oxygen-carrying ability.
By interbreeding with Chinese Tibetan wolves around 24,000 years ago, Chinese Tibetan mastiffs acquired the genetic mutations that enable them to withstand hypoxic conditions.
While researching a topic, a student has taken the following notes: Chinese Tibetan mastiffs are large
Hard-difficulty · SAT Reading & Writing · Rhetorical Synthesis — Selecting a claim supported by multiple findings. Read the question above, select your answer, and check the full explanation below to understand exactly why the correct choice works.
Answer explanation
Choice D is the best answer. The sentence presents the conclusion of Zhen Wang and colleagues’ 2016 study: Chinese Tibetan mastiffs are able to withstand hypoxic conditions due to their interbreeding with Chinese Tibetan wolves 24,000 years ago (which allowed the mastiffs to acquire the necessary genetic mutations).
Choice A is incorrect. The sentence emphasizes a similarity between Chinese Tibetan mastiffs and Chinese Tibetan wolves; it doesn’t present the conclusions of the 2016 study. Choice B is incorrect. The sentence emphasizes a similarity between the genes of Chinese Tibetan mastiffs and Chinese Tibetan wolves; it doesn’t present the conclusions of the 2016 study. Choice C is incorrect. The sentence misrepresents information from the notes by indiing that a mutation in mastiffs’ HBB gene prevents excess hemoglobin production; moreover, it doesn’t present the conclusions of the 2016 study.
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