Question

in 2021, a team led by amir siraj hypothesized that the chicxulub impactor - the object that struck the yucatán peninsula sixty - six million years ago, precipitating the mass extinction of the dinosaurs - was likely a member of the class of long - period comets. as evidence, siraj cited the carbonaceous chondritic composition of samples from the chicxulub impact crater as well as of samples obtained from long - period comet wild 2 in 2006.
text 2
although long - period comets contain carbonaceous chondrites, asteroids are similarly rich in these materials. furthermore, some asteroids are rich in iridium, as natalia artemieva points out, whereas long - period comets are not. given the prevalence of iridium at the crater and, more broadly, in geological layers deposited worldwide following the impact, artemieva argues that an asteroid is a more plausible candidate for the chicxulub impactor.
based on the texts, how would artemieva likely respond to siraj’s hypothesis, as presented in text 1?
choose 1 answer:
a by insisting that it overestimates how representative wild 2 is of long - period comets as a class
b by arguing that it does not account for the amount of iridium found in geological layers dating to the chicxulub impact
c by praising it for connecting the composition of chicxulub crater samples to the composition of certain asteroids
d by concurring that carbonaceous chondrites are prevalent in soil samples from sites distant from the chicxulub crater

Explanation:

Text 2 states that Artemieva points out asteroids are rich in iridium (which long - period comets are not) and that there is a prevalence of iridium in geological layers related to the Chicxulub impact. Siraj's hypothesis is based on carbonaceous chondritic composition (which both long - period comets and asteroids have). So, Artemieva would likely respond by highlighting that Siraj's hypothesis does not account for the iridium factor.

Answer:

B. By arguing that it does not account for the amount of iridium found in geological layers dating to the Chicxulub impact