#3 - Must Be True

[NP59813]

I had some difficulty interpreting lines 47-49 - "For example, these techniques made it possible to confirm that the excavated pieces of clay once considered useless in fact functioned as loom weights."

For #3 I took those lines as evidence for answer choice B - "tracing the sources of raw materials used in the production of certain fabrics."

After reviewing, the only conclusion I can come to is that, the correct answer is objectively BETTER options and clearer. Still, it would be great if someone could help me actively prove why B is wrong.

Thanks for the help,

NP

[Jonathan Evans]

Hi, NP,

Good question. Let's recap the evidence in the passage relevant to answering this question. What was re-creation of ancient techniques used for?

• Confirm excavated clay pieces were loom weights.
• Determine which statue of Athena was decorated with a dress.

Now consider answer choice (B). Does tracing the source of raw materials used in fabrics correspond to determining pieces of clay were used as weights? Not really. For one, this clay was not used in fabrics but instead in weights. Also, we're not really concerned here with the source of the clay but instead in how lumps of it were used.

Also note that the concept of "tracing sources" actually concerns another part of the passage, specifically line 25, "isotope 'fingerprinting' for tracing sources of raw materials."

This answer choice uses the common trap-answer technique of pulling familiar language from elsewhere in the passage to appeal to students through familiarity.

I hope this helps!