Question

landmass had broken into pieces that slowly moved apart, forming the continents.
2 wegeners continental drift theory was revolutionary. however, his idea was greeted with hostility and ridicule by most researchers. geologists viewed wegener as an outsider intruding on their academic territory. more importantly, the closed - minded scientists were already wedded to a rival explanation for the similarities in species on continents separated by oceans. scholars at the time explained such similarities by arguing that land bridges had once linked distant continents. resistant researchers also pointed out that wegener did not have a full explanation for how the continents had moved. did they simply plow through the oceanic crust?
3 wegeners idea did not gain wide acceptance until the 1950s when scientists analyzed the magnetic minerals in ancient
based on paragraph 2, which sentence best expresses the authors point of view about wegeners theory?

• it was rejected primarily because he lacked an explanation for the process of continental drift.
• it was rejected primarily because other scientists believed it was not based on solid evidence.
• it was rejected primarily because he was not considered to be a research scientist.
• it was rejected primarily because other scientists were unaccepting of new ideas.

Explanation:

To solve this, we analyze the relevant paragraph (paragraph 2) and each option:

• Option 1: The paragraph says "Resistant researchers also pointed out that Wegener did not have a full explanation for how the continents had moved" as one reason, but also mentions other reasons (hostility as an outsider, rival explanation). So "primarily" due to lack of explanation is incorrect.
• Option 2: The paragraph does not say the theory lacked solid evidence; it says researchers were wedded to a rival explanation and saw him as an outsider, so this is incorrect.
• Option 3: The paragraph says "Geologists viewed Wegener as an outsider intruding on their academic territory" but does not say he was not considered a research scientist, so this is incorrect.
• Option 4: The paragraph states "his idea was greeted with hostility and ridicule by most researchers", "closed - minded scientists were already wedded to a rival explanation", and they resisted his new idea. This shows other scientists were unaccepting of new ideas, making this the best choice.

Answer:

D. It was rejected primarily because other scientists were unaccepting of new ideas.