Question

while researching a topic, a student has taken the following notes:
most, but not all, of the moon’s oxygen comes from the sun, via solar wind.
cosmochemist kentaro terada from osaka university wondered if some of the unaccounted - for oxygen could be coming from earth. in 2008, he analyzed data from the japanese satellite kaguya. kaguya gathered data about gases and particles it encountered while orbiting the moon. based on the kaguya data, terada confirmed his suspicion that earth is sending oxygen to the moon.
the student wants to emphasize the aim of the research study.
which choice most effectively uses relevant information from the notes to accomplish this goal?
a. as it orbited the moon, the kaguya satellite collected data that was later analyzed by cosmochemist kentaro terada.
b. before 2008, kentaro terada wondered if the moon was receiving some of its oxygen from earth.
c. cosmochemist kentaro terada set out to determine whether some of the moon’s oxygen was coming from earth.
d. kentaro terada’s study determined that earth is sending a small amount of oxygen to the moon.

Explanation:

The goal is to identify the option that emphasizes the research's aim. Option A only describes data collection, not the aim. Option B states a pre-research wonder but does not frame it as a formal research aim. Option D focuses on the study's conclusion, not the aim. Option C clearly states the intentional purpose of Terada's research to test if Earth is a source of the Moon's unaccounted-for oxygen.

Answer:

C. Cosmochemist Kentaro Terada set out to determine whether some of the Moon’s oxygen was coming from Earth.