Question

read the passage. there are several questions about this passage.
linus pauling (1901-1994) was an american scientist. he studied dna, the material that carries a living organism’s genetic information.
from the shape of dna
1
like most other scientists, pauling was not interested in dna until 1952, even though swiss biologist friedrich miescher had discovered dna in 1869. but what was dna? scientists knew only a little. it came in long strands, and each strand had a phosphorus-sugar backbone. there were also nucleic bases, which stuck out from the backbone like knobs on a spine. but the shape of the strands and how they linked up were mysteries—important mysteries. as pauling showed with hemoglobin, shape can affect how molecules work. soon the shape of dna became the most important question in biology.
2
and pauling, like many others, assumed he was the only one smart enough to answer this question. this wasn’t, or at least wasn’t only, arrogance: pauling had simply never been beaten before. so in 1952, pauling sat down at his desk in california to crack dna. he decided, incorrectly, that the bulky nucleic bases sat on the outside of each strand with the phosphorus-sugar backbone toward the molecule’s core. pauling also reasoned that dna was a triple helix, with three ribbons of the phosphorus-sugar backbones forming a spiral. unfortunately for pauling, his data came from a dried-out dna sample, which made the molecule seem more complicated. but on paper, all this seemed possible.
3
everything was humming along nicely until pauling asked a graduate student to check his calculations. the student did and was soon tying himself in knots trying to see where he was wrong and where pauling was right. eventually, the student pointed out to pauling that something about his theory didn’t seem quite right.
4
the graduate student explained his thinking, and pauling, being pauling, politely ignored him. it’s not clear why pauling bothered to have someone check his work if he wasn’t going to listen, but pauling’s reason for ignoring the student is clear. he wanted scientific priority—that is, he wanted to get the
this question has two parts. answer part a, and then answer part b.
part a
based on the passage, what does scientific priority mean in paragraph 4?

1. proof of the accuracy of a proposed theory
2. exclusive access to original research on a topic
3. recognition for being the first to discover something
4. opportunity to be the only person focusing on a task

part b
which sentence from the passage best shows an example of someone gaining scientific priority as defined in the correct answer from part a?

1. \so in 1952, pauling sat down at his desk in california to crack dna.\ (paragraph 2)
2. \eventually, the student pointed out to pauling that something about his theory didn’t seem quite right.\ (paragraph 3)
3. \first thing, crick wrote a cagey letter to pauling, asking him to explain his findings.\

Explanation:

Part A

To determine the meaning of "scientific priority", we analyze the context. The passage says Pauling wanted scientific priority, and the phrase "that is, he wanted to get the..." (implied discovery first). Option 1 is about proof, not priority. Option 2 is about access, not priority. Option 4 is about being the only one focusing, not priority. Option 3 is about recognition for being first to discover, which matches the context of wanting to be first with the DNA discovery.

We need a sentence showing someone gaining scientific priority (being first to discover). Option 1 shows Pauling starting to work on DNA, trying to be first. Option 2 is about a theory being wrong. Option 3 (assuming the rest of the sentence relates to Crick checking, but the given option 1 shows Pauling attempting to be first. Wait, let's re - check. The correct answer for Part A is being first to discover. Option 1: "So in 1952, Pauling sat down at his desk in California to crack DNA." This shows Pauling trying to be the first to solve the DNA structure, which is about scientific priority (being first to discover the shape of DNA). Option 2 is about a theory flaw. Option 3 (the given part) is about Crick asking for explanations, not about being first. So Option 1 is the best example.

Answer:

1. recognition for being the first to discover something

Part B