While researching a topic, a student has taken the following notes:
- Astronomers estimate that the number of comets orbiting the Sun is in the billions.
- 81P/Wild is one of many comets whose orbit has changed over time.
- 81P/Wild’s orbit once lay between the orbits of Uranus and Jupiter.
- The comet’s orbit is now positioned between the orbits of Jupiter and Mars.
The student wants to make and support a generalization about the orbits of comets. Which choice most effectively uses relevant information from the notes to accomplish these goals?
Correct answer: D
Explanation
Choice D is the best answer. The sentence makes a generalization—that a comet’s orbit around the Sun may change over time—and supports the generalization with the example of the orbit of comet 81P/Wild, which once lay between the orbits of Uranus and Jupiter but is now positioned between the orbits of Jupiter and Mars.
Choice A is incorrect. The sentence emphasizes the number of comets orbiting the Sun and makes a generalization about their orbits, but it doesn’t support the generalization with an example. Choice B is incorrect. The sentence makes a generalization about comets and compares them to the planets Uranus, Jupiter, and Mars; it doesn’t make and support a generalization about comets’ orbits. Choice C is incorrect. While the sentence provides an example of a comet whose orbit has changed, it doesn’t make a generalization about the orbits of comets.
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