ParadoxDiff: Medium

Logic Breakdown

Passage Summary: Astronomers found out there are 50 billion galaxies instead of 10 billion, but their guess for the total weight of the universe hasn't changed at all.

Reasoning: No reasoning provided.

Analysis: We are faced with a numerical paradox: the quantity of galaxies quintupled, yet the total mass remained stable. To resolve this, we need a piece of information that explains how you can add 40 billion galaxies without adding significant weight. Perhaps these new galaxies are much smaller than the ones we already knew about, or perhaps the original 10 billion were previously thought to be much heavier than they actually are. Look for an answer that reconciles the increase in count with the stagnation in mass.

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13.

Which one of the following, if true, does most to explain why the estimates remain virtually unchanged?

Correct Answer
A
If galaxies contribute only a tiny percentage of the universe’s total mass, then discovering more of them would have little to no effect on total mass estimates. That directly resolves why estimates remain unchanged.
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