Multiple choice

In the beginning of the twentieth century, Georges Lemaître proposed what finally came to be known as the Big Bang theory. His ideas were vehemently opposed because he could propose no reason good enough to explain the expansion of the universe. We have come to accept the Big Bang theory, not because we have determined such a reason, but because new experiments and instruments have allowed us to confirm the expansion of the universe by observation. The passage best illustrates which one of the following statements about science?

  1. The objective of science is to outline the various aspects of nature with the help of a single unified theory.

  2. In providing a mathematically precise account of nature, science has become quite accurate at identifying underlying reasons.

  3. The irony of the scientific method is that every improvement in its measuring techniques seems to make acceptable theories more difficult to work out.

  4. Science, using various tools of mathematical analysis, is not focused on any single outcome but a detailed and complete model.

  5. When some events predicted by a theory are discovered, the theory is affirmed even without a precise explanation of the reason behind the event.

Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
E Correct answer
Explanation

Lemaître proposed the Big Bang theory which was opposed because he could not spell out the exact reason associated with the events proposed by his theory. Today also the reason is not very clear but the theory is accepted because of the observation of the effects that it had proposed. This is what option (5) states. Hence (5)