sea stars
1. scientists have puzzled over the strange shape of sea stars, commonly known as starfish, for hundreds of years. the common name is a bit misleading, as the animals are technically not fish. this is because they do not have gills, fins, or scales. in fact, sea stars do not even have blood. they are most closely related to sea urchins and sand dollars, and resemble animated or moving coral.
2. until very recently, scientists believed that sea stars had no heads because sea stars do not have a visible trunk or torso. the five extensions, long described as arms, appear to act independently of one another and any one of them can take the lead when the sea star moves along the ocean floor. their structure lacks the symmetry most often associated with animals, which has made it difficult to determine the \sides\ of the animal, or which side is the \front\ and which side is the \back.\
3. since scientists most often identify the front of an animal as the head and the back as the tail, the prevailing opinion has been that sea stars must not have heads. however, labs at stanford university and uc berkeley have made a discovery that changes everything. rather than study the visible structure of sea stars, they analyzed dna sequences. this helped them to understand the genetic code of the animals. they also used micro - ct scans to get a better sense of the internal structure of sea stars.
4. the labs focused on dna markers that usually indicate a head or tail. they also searched for markers that would describe an axis. this might help identify the sides, front, and back of the star. what they found was surprising. and exciting. the genes looked similar to the forebrain and midbrain in humans. the forebrain genes stretched down the center of each arm. toward the edges of each arm, genes resembled the midbrain.
5. what does all of this mean? rather than being an animal with no head, sea stars may be almost all head. they need to do more research, of course, but one thing is certain: we are on the bring of a much stronger understanding of sea stars.
their structure lacks the symmetry most often associated with animals, which has made it difficult to determine the \sides\ of the animal, or which side is the \front\ and which side is the \back.\
use your knowledge of greek and latin roots to determine the mostly likely meaning of symmetry in context.
a measurably dichotomous
b measurably identical
c measurably separate
d measurably aligned

Question

sea stars
1. scientists have puzzled over the strange shape of sea stars, commonly known as starfish, for hundreds of years. the common name is a bit misleading, as the animals are technically not fish. this is because they do not have gills, fins, or scales. in fact, sea stars do not even have blood. they are most closely related to sea urchins and sand dollars, and resemble animated or moving coral.
2. until very recently, scientists believed that sea stars had no heads because sea stars do not have a visible trunk or torso. the five extensions, long described as arms, appear to act independently of one another and any one of them can take the lead when the sea star moves along the ocean floor. their structure lacks the symmetry most often associated with animals, which has made it difficult to determine the \sides\ of the animal, or which side is the \front\ and which side is the \back.\
3. since scientists most often identify the front of an animal as the head and the back as the tail, the prevailing opinion has been that sea stars must not have heads. however, labs at stanford university and uc berkeley have made a discovery that changes everything. rather than study the visible structure of sea stars, they analyzed dna sequences. this helped them to understand the genetic code of the animals. they also used micro - ct scans to get a better sense of the internal structure of sea stars.
4. the labs focused on dna markers that usually indicate a head or tail. they also searched for markers that would describe an axis. this might help identify the sides, front, and back of the star. what they found was surprising. and exciting. the genes looked similar to the forebrain and midbrain in humans. the forebrain genes stretched down the center of each arm. toward the edges of each arm, genes resembled the midbrain.
5. what does all of this mean? rather than being an animal with no head, sea stars may be almost all head. they need to do more research, of course, but one thing is certain: we are on the bring of a much stronger understanding of sea stars.
their structure lacks the symmetry most often associated with animals, which has made it difficult to determine the \sides\ of the animal, or which side is the \front\ and which side is the \back.\
use your knowledge of greek and latin roots to determine the mostly likely meaning of symmetry in context.
a	measurably dichotomous
b	measurably identical
c	measurably separate
d	measurably aligned

Accepted Answer

# Brief Explanations:
The word "symmetry" comes from the Greek roots "sym-" (meaning "together" or "with") and "metron" (meaning "measure"). In the context of the text, it is used to describe a characteristic that animals usually have, which helps in determining the sides, front, and back. "Measurably identical" makes sense as symmetry often implies a balanced and identical arrangement (in terms of shape, size, etc.) on either side of a central axis. For example, in many animals, the left and right sides are symmetrical (identical in a measurable way regarding certain physical aspects). "Dichotomous" (split into two parts) is too vague as it doesn't capture the idea of a balanced and similar arrangement. "Separate" is the opposite of what symmetry implies. "Aligned" is also not as precise as "identical" in terms of the concept related to symmetry in the context of animal body structure.
# Answer:
B. Measurably identical

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