CAT 2025 Slot 2 VARC Question & Solution

Reading ComprehensionHard

Passage

The passage below is accompanied by four questions. Based on the passage, choose the best answer for each question.

Different sciences exhibit different science cultures and practices. For example, in astronomy, observation - until what is today called the new astronomy - had always been limited to what could be seen within the limits of optical light. Indeed, until early modernity the limits to optical light were also limits of what humans could themselves see within their limited and relative perceptual spectrum of human vision. With early modernity and the invention of lensed optical instruments - telescopes - astronomers could begin to observe phenomena never seen before. Magnification and resolution began to allow what was previously imperceptible to be perceived - but within the familiar limits of optical vision. Galileo, having learned of the Dutch invention of a telescope by Hans Lippershey, went on to build some hundred of his own, improving from the Dutch 3x to nearly 30x telescopes - which turn out to be the limit of magnificational power without chromatic distortion. And it was with his own telescopes that he made the observations launching early modern astronomy (phases of Venus, satellites of Jupiter, etc.). Isaac Newton’s later improvement with reflecting telescopes expanded upon the magnificational-resolution capacity of optical observation; and, from Newton to the twentieth century, improvement continued on to the later very large array of light telescopes today - following the usual technological trajectory of “more-is-better” but still remaining within the limits of the light spectrum.

Today’s astronomy has now had the benefit of some four centuries of optical telescopy. The “new astronomy,” however, opens the full known electromagnetic spectrum to observation, beginning with the accidental discovery of radio astronomy early in the twentieth century, and leading today to the diverse variety of EMS telescopes which can explore the range from gamma to radio waves. Thus, astronomy, now outfitted with new instruments, “smart” adaptive optics, very large arrays, etc., illustrates one style of instrumentally embodied science - a technoscience. Of course astronomy, with the very recent exceptions of probes to solar system bodies (Moon, Mars, Venus, asteroids), remains largely a “receptive” science, dependent upon instrumentation which can detect and receive emissions.

Contemporary biology displays a quite different instrument array and, according to Evelyn Fox- Keller, also a different scientific culture. She cites her own experience, coming from mathematical physics into microbiology, and takes account of the distinctive instrumental culture in her Making Sense of Life (2002). Here, particularly with the development of biotechnology, instrumentation is far more interventional than in the astronomy case. Microscopic instrumentation can be and often is interventional in style: “gene-splicing” and other techniques of biotechnology, while still in their infancy, are clearly part of the interventional trajectory of biological instrumentation. Yet, in both disciplines, the sciences involved are today highly instrumentalized and could not progress successfully without constant improvements upon the respective instrumental trajectories. So, minimalistically, one may conclude that the sciences are technologically, instrumentally embodied. But the styles of embodiment differ, and perhaps the last of the scientific disciplines to move into such technical embodiment is mathematics, which only contemporarily has come to rely more and more upon the computational machinery now in common use.

Question 1

None of the following statements, if true, contradicts the arguments in the passage EXCEPT:

some scientific instruments may be classified as both receptive and interventional in their functions.

because of the relatively recent entry of computational machinery in mathematics, the field is only now beginning to develop a scientific culture.

like telescopy, microscopy has also sought to move beyond the visible spectrum to be able to detect objects that are invisible in that spectrum.

Isaac Newton’s discovery of gravity was accomplished without the help of instruments.

Solution:

Main Idea of the Passage

The passage compares different scientific fields by examining how they use instruments and technology. It highlights that:

Some sciences are largely receptive (e.g. astronomy), where instruments observe phenomena
Others are more interventional (e.g. biology), where instruments actively manipulate objects of study
Despite these differences, all modern sciences rely heavily on instruments and technology
Even fields like mathematics are increasingly shaped by technical and computational tools

Explanation of the Correct Answer

Why Option B Contradicts the Passage

Option B goes against the passage’s argument because:

The passage states that mathematics is “perhaps the last of the scientific disciplines to move into such technical embodiment”
It also says that mathematics has only recently begun to rely heavily on computational machinery
This discussion is about the use of instruments and technology, not about the existence of a scientific culture

Option B incorrectly claims that mathematics is only now beginning to develop a scientific culture, which the passage never suggests.

Thus, Option B misrepresents the author’s point and directly contradicts the passage.

Why the Other Options Do Not Contradict the Passage

Option A:
- The passage describes astronomy as largely receptive and biology as more interventional
- The wording allows for overlap, so this option fits the argument
Option C:
- The passage notes astronomy’s expansion beyond visible light
- It does not explicitly limit microscopy to the visible spectrum
- Since this claim goes beyond the text rather than opposing it, it does not contradict the passage
Option D:
- The passage mentions Newton’s work with telescopes in astronomy
- It does not claim that all of Newton’s discoveries depended on instruments
- Discovering gravity without instruments does not conflict with the discussion

Final Answer

Statement That Contradicts the Passage: Option B

Question 2

All of the following statements may be rejected as valid inferences from the passage EXCEPT:

interventionist instruments, or instruments that intervene directly in scientific inquiry, are different from embodied instruments, or instruments that embody scientific inquiry.

the advances in telescopy made by Newton with reflecting telescopes allowed early modern astronomers to observe the phases of Venus and the satellites of Jupiter.

the author distinguishes between the receptive and interventionist uses of instruments in the sciences by comparing astronomy and biology, respectively.

Isaac Newton’s experiments with reflecting telescopes were the earliest versions of the “new astronomy” referred to in the passage.

Solution:

Main Idea of the Passage

The passage explains that different sciences develop different instrumental cultures.
Although all modern sciences rely on technology and instruments, the way instruments are used varies:

Astronomy depends mainly on receptive instruments that observe and receive signals from nature (for example, telescopes).
Biology increasingly relies on interventionist instruments that actively manipulate and alter natural processes (such as gene-editing tools).

Explanation: Why Option C Is Correct

Option C correctly reflects the author’s central contrast between astronomy and biology.

The passage explicitly describes astronomy as largely receptive, using instruments to observe what already exists.
Biology, on the other hand, is described as interventionist, where instruments directly interfere with and modify biological phenomena.
This contrast is used to show how different sciences develop distinct styles of instrumentation, even though all are technologically embodied.

Because this distinction lies at the heart of the author’s argument, Option C is the only inference that fully aligns with the passage and cannot be rejected.

Why the Other Options Are Incorrect

Option A
This option misunderstands the argument. The passage says all sciences are instrumentally embodied. “Receptive” and “interventionist” describe styles of instrumentation, not alternatives to embodiment itself.
Option B
This option contains a factual error. It was Galileo, not Newton, who made early telescopic observations such as the phases of Venus and the moons of Jupiter.
Option D
The phrase “new astronomy” refers to twentieth-century, multi-spectrum astronomy, not to Newton’s development of reflecting telescopes.

Final Answer

Correct Answer: Option C

Question 3

To which one of the following instruments would the characterisations of instruments in the passage be least applicable?

Milestone

Kitchen oven

Scalpel

Saxophone

Solution:

Main Idea of the Passage

The passage defines instruments as active, technology-based tools that play an important role in practice. It explains that instruments:

Are not passive
Help us perceive, intervene, or perform skilled actions
Shape what we can notice, do, and understand

Whether they receive information (like telescopes) or enable intervention (like biotechnological tools), instruments actively mediate human engagement with the world.

Explanation of the Correct Answer

Why Option A Is Correct

Option A (milestone) is the only choice that does not fit the passage’s definition of an active mediator.

A milestone is a fixed marker
It merely indicates distance
It does not:
- Detect information
- Enable intervention
- Require skill-based interaction
- Influence perception or action

Since it plays no active role in mediation or practice, the concept of an instrument is least applicable to a milestone.

Why the Other Options Fit the Passage

Option B (kitchen oven):
- Actively changes materials by controlling conditions like heat
- Clearly functions as an interventional tool
Option C (scalpel):
- Acts directly on biological matter
- Requires skilled use and enables intervention
Option D (saxophone):
- Produces music only through human skill and technique
- Actively mediates expression and perception

All these tools participate in active processes, matching the passage’s definition of instruments.

Final Answer

Least Applicable to the Idea of an “Active Mediator”: Option A

Question 4

Which one of the following observations is a valid conclusion to draw from the statement that “the sciences involved are today highly instrumentalised and could not progress successfully
without constant improvements upon the respective instrumental trajectories”?

The use of instruments in scientific trajectories must be respected in order to see successful progress in them.

The growth of scientific technologies has led to the embodiment of progress in the trajectories of improvement.

In both astronomy and microbiology, progress has been the consequence of improvements in the instruments they use.

Highly instrumentalised work in the sciences has resulted in the progressive improvement of scientific constants.

Solution:

Main Idea of the Passage

The passage argues that modern sciences are deeply dependent on instruments and that scientific progress is closely tied to the continuous improvement of these tools. It shows that:

Sciences are technologically and instrumentally embodied
Instruments are not optional aids but central to scientific practice
Advances in science often follow advances in instrumentation

Any valid conclusion must therefore preserve this direct link between instruments and scientific progress, without introducing unrelated ideas.

Explanation of the Correct Answer

Why Option C Is Correct

Option C is a valid conclusion because it directly follows from the passage’s argument:

The passage gives clear examples:
- Astronomy advancing from Newton’s telescopes to modern large telescope arrays
- Biology progressing through microscopes and biotechnological tools
In both cases, scientific development is shown to depend on improvements in instruments

Option C accurately captures the passage’s core claim that scientific progress follows the advancement of instruments.

Why the Other Options Are Incorrect

Option A:
- Introduces the idea that instruments “must be respected”
- The passage does not make any value-based or moral claim
- It focuses on necessity and dependence, not obligation
Option B:
- Reverses the relationship described in the passage
- The passage says science is embodied in instruments, not that progress is embodied in instruments
- This misrepresents the author’s argument
Option D:
- Mentions scientific constants, which are never discussed
- Adds an idea that cannot be inferred from the passage