Question

Which of the following sentences, inserted at [9], most effectively supports the claim made in the previous sentence?

• A. It is not yet known how astronomy texts from the Muslim world found their way into Copernicus's hands.
• B. Copernicus faced many obstacles from Christian religious authorities after he proposed his heliocentric theory.
• C. Copernicus's equations describing planetary motion are clearly based on the work of al-Tusi, a Maragha astronomer.
• D. Copernicus was almost certainly not able to read Persian or Arabic writings himself.

Answer 1

Answer: (C)

As the use of the plural pronoun 'their' in the claim preceding [9] is a reference to the astronomers working at the Maragha observatory in Persia, option C would best befit the context here as it specifically names one of the astronomers working at the Maragha observatory. The other options are either irrelevant or serve the opposite purpose of what is asked in the question. Additionally, the passage talks about how the scientists of the medieval Islamic world also contributed to the various fields of natural science so it would follow that option C would make the claim preceding [9] stronger. Option C is the answer.