Which one of the following inferences about when the enzyme theory of life was formulated can be drawn from the pass...

shunhe on August 7, 2020

Hi @ankita96,

Thanks for the question! So we’re asked here for which inference about when the enzyme theory of life was formulated can be drawn from the passage. (E) tells us that the theory was formulated at the same time as the beginning of the debate over the nature of protoplasm.

I’m assuming you found the support for this line around lines 26, which tell us that “they stood apart from the debate then ranging over whether protoplasm…is homogeneous, networklike, granular, or foamlike. So we can certainly say that the debate was raging on when the theory was formulated. But the debating raging on at that time and the beginning of the debate are two different things. The debate could’ve been going for a while, and the beginning could’ve been earlier. For example, I could say that right now, there’s a debate raging on about whether or not we should believe in a given religion. Does that mean the debate began just now? No, these debates have been going on for a long time, and started way earlier. The passage does tell us that the debate was raging on when the theory was formulated, but we can’t say based on this that the debate began at the same time as the theory. And that’s why (E) is wrong.

Hope this helps! Feel free to ask any other questions that you might have.

ankita96 on August 8, 2020

Okay yeah, that makes sense, so it makes the answer to specific as opposed to the correct answer . Thanks , this was helpful!

shunhe on August 10, 2020

Glad I was able to help!