Practice Test 10
•20 QuestionsRead the passage and answer the question.
(1) In 1943, a 17-year-old named George Carruthers looked through a telescope in Cincinnati, Ohio, and wondered why the Moon had no air to breathe. That curiosity stayed with him and helped shape his future as a scientist. Years later, he became an engineer and inventor who designed tools to study space.
(2) Carruthers worked at the Naval Research Laboratory in Washington, D.C. There, he focused on ultraviolet (UV) light, a type of light people cannot see. UV light can reveal information about hot gases and stars. However, Earth’s atmosphere blocks much of it, so scientists often need instruments above the atmosphere to collect UV data.
(3) For example, Carruthers invented a special UV camera called a far-ultraviolet camera/spectrograph. A spectrograph spreads light into a “fingerprint” of colors so scientists can identify what something is made of. His device was designed to be compact and strong enough for space travel.
(4) In 1972, astronauts carried Carruthers’s instrument to the Moon during Apollo 16. From the lunar surface, it took images and measurements of Earth’s upper atmosphere and of distant stars. The passage explains that the camera helped scientists learn about hydrogen in space and about glowing gases called auroras.
(5) Carruthers’s work mattered beyond one mission. As a result of better UV instruments, scientists gained new ways to study comets, star formation, and the thin layers of gases around planets. In addition, his achievements showed students that careful observation and creative problem-solving can lead to discoveries.
(6) Today, many space telescopes still use spectrographs to analyze light. Carruthers’s story connects a teenager’s questions to real scientific tools, reminding readers that big discoveries often begin with simple wonder.
Question: How does the author develop the key individual George Carruthers throughout the passage?
Read the passage and answer the question.
(1) In 1943, a 17-year-old named George Carruthers looked through a telescope in Cincinnati, Ohio, and wondered why the Moon had no air to breathe. That curiosity stayed with him and helped shape his future as a scientist. Years later, he became an engineer and inventor who designed tools to study space.
(2) Carruthers worked at the Naval Research Laboratory in Washington, D.C. There, he focused on ultraviolet (UV) light, a type of light people cannot see. UV light can reveal information about hot gases and stars. However, Earth’s atmosphere blocks much of it, so scientists often need instruments above the atmosphere to collect UV data.
(3) For example, Carruthers invented a special UV camera called a far-ultraviolet camera/spectrograph. A spectrograph spreads light into a “fingerprint” of colors so scientists can identify what something is made of. His device was designed to be compact and strong enough for space travel.
(4) In 1972, astronauts carried Carruthers’s instrument to the Moon during Apollo 16. From the lunar surface, it took images and measurements of Earth’s upper atmosphere and of distant stars. The passage explains that the camera helped scientists learn about hydrogen in space and about glowing gases called auroras.
(5) Carruthers’s work mattered beyond one mission. As a result of better UV instruments, scientists gained new ways to study comets, star formation, and the thin layers of gases around planets. In addition, his achievements showed students that careful observation and creative problem-solving can lead to discoveries.
(6) Today, many space telescopes still use spectrographs to analyze light. Carruthers’s story connects a teenager’s questions to real scientific tools, reminding readers that big discoveries often begin with simple wonder.
Question: How does the author develop the key individual George Carruthers throughout the passage?