# Foundation questions

Start here. The context clue is close to the blank and points one way.

6 question(s), with answers and distractor explanations.

### The second team repeated the experiment in order to ____ the original result before publication.

*foundation · science*

0. corroborate  **← answer**
1. contest
2. circumvent
3. extrapolate

**Why it fits:** Repeating an experiment before publishing is done to confirm the finding with independent evidence.

**Why the others fail:**
- *contest* — "Contest" means to dispute. Nothing suggests the second team set out to disagree.
- *circumvent* — "Circumvent" means to get around something, which does not apply to a result.
- *extrapolate* — "Extrapolate" means to extend a finding beyond the observed range — that is a different activity from confirming it.

### Her field notes were ____: every specimen was logged with its location, the weather, and the hour it was found.

*foundation · science*

0. meticulous  **← answer**
1. perfunctory
2. anecdotal
3. ambivalent

**Why it fits:** The colon introduces evidence of extreme care and completeness, which is what "meticulous" names.

**Why the others fail:**
- *perfunctory* — "Perfunctory" means done with minimum effort — the opposite of the detail listed.
- *anecdotal* — "Anecdotal" means based on informal stories rather than systematic record, which contradicts the careful logging.
- *ambivalent* — "Ambivalent" describes mixed feelings, not a quality of notes.

### Neither explanation has been confirmed, but both remain ____ given what is currently known.

*foundation · science*

0. plausible  **← answer**
1. verified
2. untenable
3. redundant

**Why it fits:** Unconfirmed but still worth entertaining is exactly the space "plausible" occupies.

**Why the others fail:**
- *verified* — "Verified" means confirmed, which the first clause explicitly denies.
- *untenable* — "Untenable" means impossible to defend — but the sentence says both survive.
- *redundant* — "Redundant" means unnecessarily repetitive, which does not follow from being unconfirmed.

### Once the predator was removed, the smaller fish began to ____, doubling in number each season.

*foundation · science*

0. proliferate  **← answer**
1. diminish
2. stagnate
3. migrate

**Why it fits:** Doubling each season is rapid increase in number, which is what proliferate means.

**Why the others fail:**
- *diminish* — "Diminish" means to decrease, contradicting the doubling.
- *stagnate* — "Stagnate" means to stop changing, which the numbers clearly do not.
- *migrate* — "Migrate" means to move location, and the sentence describes quantity, not movement.

### The material is now so ____ that it turns up in soil samples from the deep ocean to the high Arctic.

*foundation · science*

0. ubiquitous  **← answer**
1. volatile
2. inert
3. scarce

**Why it fits:** Appearing everywhere from the deep ocean to the Arctic is the definition of being present everywhere.

**Why the others fail:**
- *volatile* — "Volatile" means unstable or evaporating easily, which is about behaviour, not distribution.
- *inert* — "Inert" means chemically unreactive — again a property, not a matter of where it is found.
- *scarce* — "Scarce" means rare, contradicting the range described.

### Given the rate of erosion, the collapse of the arch was ____; the only question was when.

*foundation · science*

0. inevitable  **← answer**
1. improbable
2. reversible
3. imperceptible

**Why it fits:** "The only question was when" means the event itself is certain, only its timing is open.

**Why the others fail:**
- *improbable* — "Improbable" means unlikely, contradicting the certainty.
- *reversible* — "Reversible" means able to be undone, which the sentence does not address.
- *imperceptible* — "Imperceptible" means too small to notice, but a collapse is the opposite.

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