Question 33

The passage given below is followed by four alternate summaries. Choose the option that best captures the essence of the passage.

Physics is a pure science that seeks to understand the behavior of matter without regard to whether it will afford any practical benefit. Engineering is the correlative applied science in which physical theories are put to some specific use, such as building a bridge or a nuclear reactor. Engineers obviously rely heavily on the discoveries of physicists, but an engineer's knowledge of the world is not the same as
the physicist's knowledge. In fact, an engineer's know-how will often depend on physical theories that, from the point of view of pure physics, are false. There are some reasons for this. First, theories that are false in the purest and strictest sense are still sometimes very good approximations to the true ones, and often have the added virtue of being much easier to work with. Second, sometimes the true theories
apply only under highly idealized conditions which can only be created under controlled experimental situations. The engineer finds that in the real world, theories rejected by physicists yield more accurate predictions than the ones that they accept.

Solution

The passage says that pure science intends to discover without any end-goal in mind. While engineers use these benefits for practical applications. The author says that the science behind these practical applications are often considered false by pure science since they are approximated or not applied as per ideal conditions. In any case, even though they are rejected, these approximated science theories find lot of practical applications in everyday life.

Option A is correct. By diluting science, these theories are put into practical benefits. Hence, option A is correct

Option B is incorrect as no such implication can be drawn from the passage

Option C is incorrect. Linear relationship indicates that, if a certain theory is rejected by pure science, it is bound to be rejected by applied science too. This is clearly not the case as engineers use rejected theories for practical benefits.

Option D speaks only about engineers and has no reference to sciences or the main point of the paragraph. The paragraph intends to compare the functionalities of scientists and engineers while option D is specific to engineers and does not encapsulate the essence of the paragraph.

Hence, by way of elimination Option A is the most suitable summary

Video Solution

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