Question

Read the following sentences and choose the option that best arranges them in a logical order.
1. As chroniclers of an incremental process, they discover that additional research makes it harder, not easier, to answer questions like: When was oxygen discovered? Who first conceived of energy conservation?
2. Simultaneously, these same historians confront growing difficulties in distinguishing the "scientific" component of past observation and belief from what their predecessors had readily labeled "error" and "superstition."
3. Increasingly, a few of them suspect that these are simply the wrong sorts of questions to ask. Perhaps science does not develop by the accumulation of individual discoveries and inventions.
4. In recent years, however, a few historians of science have been finding it more and more difficult to fulfill the functions that the concept of development-by-accumulation assigns to them.

• A. 2, 1, 3, 4
• B. 4, 3, 1, 2
• C. 4, 2, 3, 1
• D. 4, 3, 2, 1
• E. 4, 1, 3, 2

Hint:

When arranging sentences, look for a clear introductory sentence that sets up the issue, followed by elaboration, reflection, and conclusion.

Answer 1

Answer: (E)

Step 1: Understand the logical sequence.
- Sentence 4 introduces the issue faced by historians of science, giving the context for the rest of the passage.
- Sentence 1 provides a description of the questions historians try to answer, setting up the challenges.
- Sentence 3 follows by suggesting that the questions themselves may be flawed, leading to the conclusion in Sentence 2, where historians struggle to differentiate between scientific observation and belief.
Therefore: The correct order is \boxed{4, 1, 3, 2}.