ShmoopTube

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Shmoop... there it is...

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If you haven't yet used brain osmosis to commit this passage to memory,

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hit pause and give it a look...

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What is the key feature that defines this experimental apparatus?

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And here are your potential answers...

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So... what is this question asking?

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What in the world is an "experimental apparatus?"

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The first sentence of the experiment states that the scientists developed the experimental

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apparatus depicted in Figure 1.

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So, using our fabulous deducing skills...

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the apparatus is probably the set-up for the experiment.

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Here's an even more precise definition: the apparatus is the way the experiment is set

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up so that it can serve a particular purpose.

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So...for example, this apparatus does not include a ball of cotton candy stuck to the

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end of the tube because it wouldn't serve a purpose in the experiment.

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The ants would no doubt enjoy the addition.

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Anyway, the question is asking us to identify the key feature...the most important part

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of the set-up that helps the scientists find what they're looking for.

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According to the passage, the scientists wanted to see whether or not the ants could return

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to their nest on a different path.

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What part of the apparatus makes sure that the ants are using a different

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path on the journey home?

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Well, options A and B are indicating the actual tubes that the ants are crawling on.

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But...the feature that's stopping the ants from using the SAME tube is the fact that

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the ingoing bridge is elevated 4.5 cm off the ground.

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The poor ants can't reach the tube that they came from,

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so they're forced to go home via a different route.

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The scientists have successfully designed the apparatus to satisfy their purpose.

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And we've figured out our answer to the problem... it has to be option C.

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