RC Question 9 Explanation
DISCUSSION: Remember that the judge likes fingerprint analysis, while the second author is skeptical. But, the judge admits fingerprint analysis has some weaknesses.
___________
- See lines 19-21. Though the judge likes fingerprint evidence, they admit that more consistent standards would be desirable.
- CORRECT. The judge thinks errors are rare (line 35). The author of passage B thinks that we don’t know the error rate (lines 59-62).
- The judge doesn’t think fingerprint identification is scientific law (lines 16-18). The author of passage B definitely doesn’t think fingerprint analysis is a science.
- Neither author says which method is better.
- Neither author is specific about how agencies regulate fingerprint matching.
I think E is wrong for a different reason–they actually agree. Passage A explicitly says, “While it may be true that different agencies require different degrees of correlation before permitting a positive identification…” (Lines 24-26). Passage B says, “There is simply no consensus about what constitutes a sufficient basis for identification” (Lines 37-39).
I was initially attracted to this answer because I focused on the “vary in degree” and thought it was talking about *how much* the agencies vary. THIS is what neither passage is specific about (so it would have been wrong anyway.) However, the choice says, WHETHER the agencies vary and they both say that agencies do vary.
I think?
Yes, that’s correct — thanks for pointing this out! I’d only add that if we want to get a bit more specific about agencies whose practices differ, we should also use lines 39-43 of Passage B, which talk about varying local practices. The page will be updated shortly.