CLAT 2008

Since Venus rotates slowly, Fred Whipple thought that like Mercury, Venus keeps one face always towards the Sun. If so, he said that the dark side would be very cold. However, he knew with the help of earlier study carried out by Petit and Nicholson that it was not the case. So, he concluded that the planet must rotate fairly often to keep the darker side warmer. Which of the following is the original premise?

Before formulating the laws of motion, Galileo distinguished between mathematical study and empirical study. He, first, theoretically derived the relation between distances and times for uniformly accelerating motion by letting the bail roll a quarter, then half, then two-thirds and so on of the length of the groove and then measured the times on each occasion, which he repeated hundred times. He calculated, based on this study, that the distance travelled equalled the square of the time on all occasions.
Which one of the following characterizes Galileo's method?

Read carefully a brief summary of one of the investigations of Sherlock Holmes: "While investigating the murders of Stangerson and Enoch Drebber he got into conversation with fellow detectives which runs as follows: "The last link. My case is complete.... Could you lay your hands upon those pills". After he got those pills, Holmes cut one of them, dissolved it in water and placed it in front of the terrier. Contrary to his expectations, the animal survived. Though disappointed a bit, he thought for a while and then cut the other pill, dissolved
it, added milk and placed before the animal. The moment it licked, the animal died. Those were the pills present at the scenes of crime.
Which one of the following aptly describes the method which this passage indicates?

There has been much speculation concerning the origin of lunar craters. One hypothesis is that they are the results of the impact of heavy meteors on the surface of the moon while still soft. The most probable explanation is that they were produced by the gases liberated from the rocky matter. "While solidification was taking place these gases and water vapours steadily escaped through viscous surface, raising giant bubbles". The reader can easily visualize the process that took place by watching frying of pancakes and noticing the formation of bubbles and craters on their surface. Which one of the following actually helps us to determine the origin of lunar craters?

'Perhaps the earliest work of Archimedes that we have is that on planet Equilibrium. In this, some fundamental principles of mechanics are set forth as rigorous geometric propositions. The work opens with famous postulate 'Equal weights at equal distances are in equilibrium; equal weights at unequal distances are not in equilibrium, but incline toward the weight at the greater distance'. According to this passage, which factor or factors determine equilibrium?

According to the above passage, which one of the following values can be assigned to the statement "inequal weights at equal distances are in disequilibrium"?

According to the above passage, which one of the following values can be assigned to the statement "inequal weights at inequal distances are in disequilibrium"?

Gregor Mendel in examining tea-plants found two sharply marked races, the tall and the short. He experimentally fertilized flowers of tall plants with pollen of short. The off spring were tall plants. He next let the flowers of this first generation be fertilized with their own pollen. In the following generation, shortness reappeared. Tallness and shortness were distributed not at random but in a definite, constant, and simple ratio: three dominant tails to one recessive short.
Which one of the following aptly describes the distribution of dominant and recessive characteristics?

It is said that in his strongly worded reaction to quantum Physics, Einstein remarks 'God does not play dice' to which Bohr, another great physicist, reacted saying 'Do not tell God what to do'. Bohr, earlier had argued that we can never know what the properties of an isolated quantum system are, though we can know the properties of macrocosmic objects.
Which one of the following is the focus of their debate?

An efficient and diesel-independent public transport system is essential to the economic development of nation. Suppose that the government adopts a policy to that effect then there is another favourable result. The pollution of environment is reduced to a greater extent. But, then it has two-pronged backlash. The sale and consequently the production of two and four wheelers reduce to the minimum which in turn render a large number of people jobless. Cash flow to the treasury also is adversely affected. Such a step, therefore, is self-defeating unless the government evolves a counter-strategy to nullify the adverse effects.
Which one of the following accurately projects the opinion of an imaginary speaker or author, as the case may be, of this passage?