Answer Key - Reading, Set 1

ReQ1-Answer: The best answer is C. Lines 15-17 directly support this answer, and the entire passage makes reference to the mass of a particle; the Higgs field is in fact defined in those terms. Charge-essentially, the net amount of positive or negative electric potential- and velocity-the time rate of change of position of a body in a specified direction- are variable quantities which can be altered without changing the fundamental nature of the particle, thus making either property an illogical choice in the context of the passage, and are not mentioned or alluded to in the passage. Spin, or the angular momentum of a particle, is also not mentioned or alluded to in this passage; thus, only option C is suitable.

ReQ2-Answer: The best answer is D. While CERN, one of the premier European scientific research consortiums, is based in Switzerland, its presence there is not sufficient evidence to come to the conclusion in option A; that and the incidental nature of the geographic information indicates that option A is not correct. No reference is made in the first paragraph to its applications, practical or otherwise, so option B is incorrect. Lines 2-3 indicate that physicists hope the LHC will unlock the universe's secrets, not that they had done so, so option C is incorrect. Lines 3-5, however, specifically indicate the cost ($8 billion) and the number of collaborating nations (60) involved in the LHC project, so option D is the correct answer.

ReQ3-Answer: The best answer is C. Lines 10-11 and 35-37 specifically discuss the stated goal of discovering whether the Higgs boson exists or not, stating that the LHC is the first accelerator capable of examining the energy ranges where the Higgs boson is thought to exist. Lines 35-38 specifically discuss the role of the Higgs boson in the framework of the standard model, and the fact that the standard model will have to be heavily revised if the Higgs boson is not found to exist. Despite the LHC's stated sweep and mission, however, how accelerators are run or used will not be materially affected by it, at least not as described anywhere in this passage. Therefore, III is not applicable to this passage, while I and II are, and so option C is the correct answer.

ReQ4-Answer: The best answer is A. Lines 23-28 specifically use this analogy, quoted from scientist John Ellis, to explain the effect of the Higgs field on material objects to explain the quality of mass in terms of the Higgs boson. None of the other terms are mentioned in the passage, although option B is a commonly used metaphor to describe the effect of mass on the space-time continuum and explain concepts such as black holes. However, it does not have any direct relevance on the material in the passage. Options C and D, neither are common metaphors in physics, nor are they mentioned in the passage, so option A is the only suitable answer.

ReQ5-Answer: The best answer is C. Lines 13-16 directly state this property of the Higgs field in relation to the electromagnetic and gravitational fields. The ability to measure any field on a macroscopic scale (meaning in general parlance the observable universe) is not mentioned anywhere in the passage, so option A is not relevant. Besides not being mentioned in the passage, option B is redundant, as the search for the Higgs boson is a search for a subatomic particle, and the field's existence would be inferred from the boson. Option C is not suitable for the same reasons option A was not. Thus, only option C is relevant, and therefore the correct answer.

ReQ6-Answer: The best answer is D. Lines 16-20 directly discuss the relative masses of subatomic particles, while lines 31-34 discuss the mass requirements of the Higgs boson relative to the other particles. As stated in the passage, photons are massless particles, which automatically eliminate options B and C from further consideration. As stated in lines 16-20, electrons are relatively light subatomic particles, compared to protons and neutrons; thus, option A can be eliminated. By dint of elimination, option D is the only remaining possibility, and as it lists protons and neutrons, which are identified as being heavy particles from the reading of lines 16-20, option D is assuredly the correct answer.

ReQ7-Answer: The best answer is B. Lines 40-43 specifically discuss the warning and safety material the author was handed at the beginning of the facility tour, at which point the guide warned the author of bicycles. Due to the size of the facility as stated in earlier paragraphs, it is reasonable to assume transportation to various sections of the LHC is done on bicycles. Of the other three options, neither stray particles nor falling wrenches are mentioned (nor would they reasonably be expected), which eliminates options A and C. While scientists would reasonably be expected to be seen at an accelerator facility, they would not be considered an industrial hazard, so option D is eliminated, leaving option B as the correct answer.

ReQ8-Answer: The best answer is C. Lines 35-39 discuss the ramifications of discovering the Higgs boson and what it would mean for the standard model, one of the most venerable theories in physics. The standard model predicts a particle like the Higgs boson, so if it is discovered, it will simply confirm the present theory; despite answering some other questions, the confirmation will have less of a long-term impact, which means option A is less likely to be correct. However, if the Higgs boson is not found, then the standard model will have to be modified extensively, throwing a great deal of work into question over the last several decades. The discovery of a lighter particle will not have the same effect, making option B not relevant, and not discovering something that isn't being searched for won't have a long-term effect either, making D not relevant. Thus, option C is correct.

ReQ9-Answer: The best answer is B. Lines 26-28 explain the attribute as allowing particles to traverse the Higgs field as if it were a field of snow; particles with snowshoes or skis could slide across the surface of the field, whereas particles without such attributes-in this sense, heavier-would sink and thus traverse the field more slowly. Since skates are not mentioned in this metaphor, both options C and D would not be relevant and can be discarded. Since both snowshoes and skis are mentioned, option A, which only lists one of those, is incorrect, which means option B is the correct choice, as it is the only one that correctly lists the two choices mentioned in the metaphoric construction.

ReQ10-Answer: The best answer is A. Line 8 specifically states the Large Hadron Collider traverses the border of Switzerland and France, near Lake Geneva. The fact that the LHC is near Lake Geneva (which is where the headquarters of CERN is located) would eliminate the other options even if the specific identification of the border location was not present, as Lake Geneva is inside the western border of Switzerland-which would eliminate options C and D, as neither of those mentions Switzerland-and since Lake Geneva does not touch or approach Italy, option B is therefore eliminated. As a result, only option A has the relevant information, and therefore is the correct answer.