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Question is based on the following passage.This passage is adapted from Patricia Waldron, “Why Birds Fly in a V Formation.” ©2014 by American Association forthe Advancement of Science.Anyone watching the autumn sky knows thatmigrating birds fly in a V formation, but scientistshave long debated why. A new study of ibises findsthat these big-winged birds carefully position their5 wingtips and sync their flapping, presumably to catchthe preceding bird’s updraft—and save energyduring flight.There are two reasons birds might fly in aV formation: It may make flight easier, or they’re10 simply following the leader. Squadrons of planes cansave fuel by flying in a V formation, and manyscientists suspect that migrating birds do the same.Models that treated flapping birds like fixed-wingairplanes estimate that they save energy by drafting15 off each other, but currents created by airplanes arefar more stable than the oscillating eddies coming offof a bird. “Air gets pretty unpredictable behind aflapping wing,” says James Usherwood, a locomotorbiomechanist at the Royal Veterinary College at the20 University of London in Hatfield, where the researchtook place.The study, published in Nature, took advantage ofan existing project to reintroduce endangerednorthern bald ibises (Geronticus eremita) to Europe.25Scientists used a microlight plane to showhand-raised birds their ancestral migration routefrom Austria to Italy. A flock of 14 juveniles carrieddata loggers specially built by Usherwood and his lab.The device’s GPS determined each bird’s flight30 position to within 30 cm, and an accelerometershowed the timing of the wing flaps.Just as aerodynamic estimates would predict, thebirds positioned themselves to fly just behind and tothe side of the bird in front, timing their wing beats35to catch the uplifting eddies. When a bird flewdirectly behind another, the timing of the flappingreversed so that it could minimize the effects of thedowndraft coming off the back of the bird’s body.“We didn’t think this was possible,” Usherwood40 says, considering that the feat requires carefulflight and incredible awareness of one’s neighbors.“Perhaps these big V formation birds can be thoughtof quite like an airplane with wings that go up anddown.”45The findings likely apply to other long-wingedbirds, such as pelicans, storks, and geese, Usherwoodsays. Smaller birds create more complex wakes thatwould make drafting too difficult. The researchersdid not attempt to calculate the bird’s energy savings50 because the necessary physiological measurementswould be too invasive for an endangered species.Previous studies estimate that birds can use20 percent to 30 percent less energy whileflying in a V.55“From a behavioral perspective it’s really abreakthrough,” says David Lentink, a mechanicalengineer at Stanford University in Palo Alto,California, who was not involved in the work.“Showing that birds care about syncing their wing60 beats is definitely an important insight that we didn’thave before.”Scientists do not know how the birds findthat aerodynamic sweet spot, but they suspect thatthe animals align themselves either by sight or65by sensing air currents through their feathers.Alternatively, they may move around until they findthe location with the least resistance. In futurestudies, the researchers will switch to more commonbirds, such as pigeons or geese. They plan to70 investigate how the animals decide who sets thecourse and the pace, and whether a mistake made bythe leader can ripple through the rest of the flock tocause traffic jams.“It’s a pretty impressive piece of work as it is, but75it does suggest that there’s a lot more to learn,”says Ty Hedrick, a biologist at the University ofNorth Carolina, Chapel Hill, who studies flightaerodynamics in birds and insects. However they doit, he says, “birds are awfully good hang-glider80 pilots.”Q. What is the most likely reason the author includes the 30 cm measurement in line 30?a)To demonstrate the accuracy with which the data loggers collected the datab)To present recorded data about how far an ibis flies between successive wing flapsc)To provide the wingspan length of a juvenile ibisd)To show how far behind the microlight plane each ibis flewCorrect answer is option 'A'. Can you explain this answer? for SAT 2025 is part of SAT preparation. The Question and answers have been prepared according to the SAT exam syllabus. Information about Question is based on the following passage.This passage is adapted from Patricia Waldron, “Why Birds Fly in a V Formation.” ©2014 by American Association forthe Advancement of Science.Anyone watching the autumn sky knows thatmigrating birds fly in a V formation, but scientistshave long debated why. A new study of ibises findsthat these big-winged birds carefully position their5 wingtips and sync their flapping, presumably to catchthe preceding bird’s updraft—and save energyduring flight.There are two reasons birds might fly in aV formation: It may make flight easier, or they’re10 simply following the leader. Squadrons of planes cansave fuel by flying in a V formation, and manyscientists suspect that migrating birds do the same.Models that treated flapping birds like fixed-wingairplanes estimate that they save energy by drafting15 off each other, but currents created by airplanes arefar more stable than the oscillating eddies coming offof a bird. “Air gets pretty unpredictable behind aflapping wing,” says James Usherwood, a locomotorbiomechanist at the Royal Veterinary College at the20 University of London in Hatfield, where the researchtook place.The study, published in Nature, took advantage ofan existing project to reintroduce endangerednorthern bald ibises (Geronticus eremita) to Europe.25Scientists used a microlight plane to showhand-raised birds their ancestral migration routefrom Austria to Italy. A flock of 14 juveniles carrieddata loggers specially built by Usherwood and his lab.The device’s GPS determined each bird’s flight30 position to within 30 cm, and an accelerometershowed the timing of the wing flaps.Just as aerodynamic estimates would predict, thebirds positioned themselves to fly just behind and tothe side of the bird in front, timing their wing beats35to catch the uplifting eddies. When a bird flewdirectly behind another, the timing of the flappingreversed so that it could minimize the effects of thedowndraft coming off the back of the bird’s body.“We didn’t think this was possible,” Usherwood40 says, considering that the feat requires carefulflight and incredible awareness of one’s neighbors.“Perhaps these big V formation birds can be thoughtof quite like an airplane with wings that go up anddown.”45The findings likely apply to other long-wingedbirds, such as pelicans, storks, and geese, Usherwoodsays. Smaller birds create more complex wakes thatwould make drafting too difficult. The researchersdid not attempt to calculate the bird’s energy savings50 because the necessary physiological measurementswould be too invasive for an endangered species.Previous studies estimate that birds can use20 percent to 30 percent less energy whileflying in a V.55“From a behavioral perspective it’s really abreakthrough,” says David Lentink, a mechanicalengineer at Stanford University in Palo Alto,California, who was not involved in the work.“Showing that birds care about syncing their wing60 beats is definitely an important insight that we didn’thave before.”Scientists do not know how the birds findthat aerodynamic sweet spot, but they suspect thatthe animals align themselves either by sight or65by sensing air currents through their feathers.Alternatively, they may move around until they findthe location with the least resistance. In futurestudies, the researchers will switch to more commonbirds, such as pigeons or geese. They plan to70 investigate how the animals decide who sets thecourse and the pace, and whether a mistake made bythe leader can ripple through the rest of the flock tocause traffic jams.“It’s a pretty impressive piece of work as it is, but75it does suggest that there’s a lot more to learn,”says Ty Hedrick, a biologist at the University ofNorth Carolina, Chapel Hill, who studies flightaerodynamics in birds and insects. However they doit, he says, “birds are awfully good hang-glider80 pilots.”Q. What is the most likely reason the author includes the 30 cm measurement in line 30?a)To demonstrate the accuracy with which the data loggers collected the datab)To present recorded data about how far an ibis flies between successive wing flapsc)To provide the wingspan length of a juvenile ibisd)To show how far behind the microlight plane each ibis flewCorrect answer is option 'A'. Can you explain this answer? covers all topics & solutions for SAT 2025 Exam. Find important definitions, questions, meanings, examples, exercises and tests below for Question is based on the following passage.This passage is adapted from Patricia Waldron, “Why Birds Fly in a V Formation.” ©2014 by American Association forthe Advancement of Science.Anyone watching the autumn sky knows thatmigrating birds fly in a V formation, but scientistshave long debated why. A new study of ibises findsthat these big-winged birds carefully position their5 wingtips and sync their flapping, presumably to catchthe preceding bird’s updraft—and save energyduring flight.There are two reasons birds might fly in aV formation: It may make flight easier, or they’re10 simply following the leader. Squadrons of planes cansave fuel by flying in a V formation, and manyscientists suspect that migrating birds do the same.Models that treated flapping birds like fixed-wingairplanes estimate that they save energy by drafting15 off each other, but currents created by airplanes arefar more stable than the oscillating eddies coming offof a bird. “Air gets pretty unpredictable behind aflapping wing,” says James Usherwood, a locomotorbiomechanist at the Royal Veterinary College at the20 University of London in Hatfield, where the researchtook place.The study, published in Nature, took advantage ofan existing project to reintroduce endangerednorthern bald ibises (Geronticus eremita) to Europe.25Scientists used a microlight plane to showhand-raised birds their ancestral migration routefrom Austria to Italy. A flock of 14 juveniles carrieddata loggers specially built by Usherwood and his lab.The device’s GPS determined each bird’s flight30 position to within 30 cm, and an accelerometershowed the timing of the wing flaps.Just as aerodynamic estimates would predict, thebirds positioned themselves to fly just behind and tothe side of the bird in front, timing their wing beats35to catch the uplifting eddies. When a bird flewdirectly behind another, the timing of the flappingreversed so that it could minimize the effects of thedowndraft coming off the back of the bird’s body.“We didn’t think this was possible,” Usherwood40 says, considering that the feat requires carefulflight and incredible awareness of one’s neighbors.“Perhaps these big V formation birds can be thoughtof quite like an airplane with wings that go up anddown.”45The findings likely apply to other long-wingedbirds, such as pelicans, storks, and geese, Usherwoodsays. Smaller birds create more complex wakes thatwould make drafting too difficult. The researchersdid not attempt to calculate the bird’s energy savings50 because the necessary physiological measurementswould be too invasive for an endangered species.Previous studies estimate that birds can use20 percent to 30 percent less energy whileflying in a V.55“From a behavioral perspective it’s really abreakthrough,” says David Lentink, a mechanicalengineer at Stanford University in Palo Alto,California, who was not involved in the work.“Showing that birds care about syncing their wing60 beats is definitely an important insight that we didn’thave before.”Scientists do not know how the birds findthat aerodynamic sweet spot, but they suspect thatthe animals align themselves either by sight or65by sensing air currents through their feathers.Alternatively, they may move around until they findthe location with the least resistance. In futurestudies, the researchers will switch to more commonbirds, such as pigeons or geese. They plan to70 investigate how the animals decide who sets thecourse and the pace, and whether a mistake made bythe leader can ripple through the rest of the flock tocause traffic jams.“It’s a pretty impressive piece of work as it is, but75it does suggest that there’s a lot more to learn,”says Ty Hedrick, a biologist at the University ofNorth Carolina, Chapel Hill, who studies flightaerodynamics in birds and insects. However they doit, he says, “birds are awfully good hang-glider80 pilots.”Q. What is the most likely reason the author includes the 30 cm measurement in line 30?a)To demonstrate the accuracy with which the data loggers collected the datab)To present recorded data about how far an ibis flies between successive wing flapsc)To provide the wingspan length of a juvenile ibisd)To show how far behind the microlight plane each ibis flewCorrect answer is option 'A'. Can you explain this answer?.

Solutions for Question is based on the following passage.This passage is adapted from Patricia Waldron, “Why Birds Fly in a V Formation.” ©2014 by American Association forthe Advancement of Science.Anyone watching the autumn sky knows thatmigrating birds fly in a V formation, but scientistshave long debated why. A new study of ibises findsthat these big-winged birds carefully position their5 wingtips and sync their flapping, presumably to catchthe preceding bird’s updraft—and save energyduring flight.There are two reasons birds might fly in aV formation: It may make flight easier, or they’re10 simply following the leader. Squadrons of planes cansave fuel by flying in a V formation, and manyscientists suspect that migrating birds do the same.Models that treated flapping birds like fixed-wingairplanes estimate that they save energy by drafting15 off each other, but currents created by airplanes arefar more stable than the oscillating eddies coming offof a bird. “Air gets pretty unpredictable behind aflapping wing,” says James Usherwood, a locomotorbiomechanist at the Royal Veterinary College at the20 University of London in Hatfield, where the researchtook place.The study, published in Nature, took advantage ofan existing project to reintroduce endangerednorthern bald ibises (Geronticus eremita) to Europe.25Scientists used a microlight plane to showhand-raised birds their ancestral migration routefrom Austria to Italy. A flock of 14 juveniles carrieddata loggers specially built by Usherwood and his lab.The device’s GPS determined each bird’s flight30 position to within 30 cm, and an accelerometershowed the timing of the wing flaps.Just as aerodynamic estimates would predict, thebirds positioned themselves to fly just behind and tothe side of the bird in front, timing their wing beats35to catch the uplifting eddies. When a bird flewdirectly behind another, the timing of the flappingreversed so that it could minimize the effects of thedowndraft coming off the back of the bird’s body.“We didn’t think this was possible,” Usherwood40 says, considering that the feat requires carefulflight and incredible awareness of one’s neighbors.“Perhaps these big V formation birds can be thoughtof quite like an airplane with wings that go up anddown.”45The findings likely apply to other long-wingedbirds, such as pelicans, storks, and geese, Usherwoodsays. Smaller birds create more complex wakes thatwould make drafting too difficult. The researchersdid not attempt to calculate the bird’s energy savings50 because the necessary physiological measurementswould be too invasive for an endangered species.Previous studies estimate that birds can use20 percent to 30 percent less energy whileflying in a V.55“From a behavioral perspective it’s really abreakthrough,” says David Lentink, a mechanicalengineer at Stanford University in Palo Alto,California, who was not involved in the work.“Showing that birds care about syncing their wing60 beats is definitely an important insight that we didn’thave before.”Scientists do not know how the birds findthat aerodynamic sweet spot, but they suspect thatthe animals align themselves either by sight or65by sensing air currents through their feathers.Alternatively, they may move around until they findthe location with the least resistance. In futurestudies, the researchers will switch to more commonbirds, such as pigeons or geese. They plan to70 investigate how the animals decide who sets thecourse and the pace, and whether a mistake made bythe leader can ripple through the rest of the flock tocause traffic jams.“It’s a pretty impressive piece of work as it is, but75it does suggest that there’s a lot more to learn,”says Ty Hedrick, a biologist at the University ofNorth Carolina, Chapel Hill, who studies flightaerodynamics in birds and insects. However they doit, he says, “birds are awfully good hang-glider80 pilots.”Q. What is the most likely reason the author includes the 30 cm measurement in line 30?a)To demonstrate the accuracy with which the data loggers collected the datab)To present recorded data about how far an ibis flies between successive wing flapsc)To provide the wingspan length of a juvenile ibisd)To show how far behind the microlight plane each ibis flewCorrect answer is option 'A'. Can you explain this answer? in English & in Hindi are available as part of our courses for SAT. Download more important topics, notes, lectures and mock test series for SAT Exam by signing up for free.

Here you can find the meaning of Question is based on the following passage.This passage is adapted from Patricia Waldron, “Why Birds Fly in a V Formation.” ©2014 by American Association forthe Advancement of Science.Anyone watching the autumn sky knows thatmigrating birds fly in a V formation, but scientistshave long debated why. A new study of ibises findsthat these big-winged birds carefully position their5 wingtips and sync their flapping, presumably to catchthe preceding bird’s updraft—and save energyduring flight.There are two reasons birds might fly in aV formation: It may make flight easier, or they’re10 simply following the leader. Squadrons of planes cansave fuel by flying in a V formation, and manyscientists suspect that migrating birds do the same.Models that treated flapping birds like fixed-wingairplanes estimate that they save energy by drafting15 off each other, but currents created by airplanes arefar more stable than the oscillating eddies coming offof a bird. “Air gets pretty unpredictable behind aflapping wing,” says James Usherwood, a locomotorbiomechanist at the Royal Veterinary College at the20 University of London in Hatfield, where the researchtook place.The study, published in Nature, took advantage ofan existing project to reintroduce endangerednorthern bald ibises (Geronticus eremita) to Europe.25Scientists used a microlight plane to showhand-raised birds their ancestral migration routefrom Austria to Italy. A flock of 14 juveniles carrieddata loggers specially built by Usherwood and his lab.The device’s GPS determined each bird’s flight30 position to within 30 cm, and an accelerometershowed the timing of the wing flaps.Just as aerodynamic estimates would predict, thebirds positioned themselves to fly just behind and tothe side of the bird in front, timing their wing beats35to catch the uplifting eddies. When a bird flewdirectly behind another, the timing of the flappingreversed so that it could minimize the effects of thedowndraft coming off the back of the bird’s body.“We didn’t think this was possible,” Usherwood40 says, considering that the feat requires carefulflight and incredible awareness of one’s neighbors.“Perhaps these big V formation birds can be thoughtof quite like an airplane with wings that go up anddown.”45The findings likely apply to other long-wingedbirds, such as pelicans, storks, and geese, Usherwoodsays. Smaller birds create more complex wakes thatwould make drafting too difficult. The researchersdid not attempt to calculate the bird’s energy savings50 because the necessary physiological measurementswould be too invasive for an endangered species.Previous studies estimate that birds can use20 percent to 30 percent less energy whileflying in a V.55“From a behavioral perspective it’s really abreakthrough,” says David Lentink, a mechanicalengineer at Stanford University in Palo Alto,California, who was not involved in the work.“Showing that birds care about syncing their wing60 beats is definitely an important insight that we didn’thave before.”Scientists do not know how the birds findthat aerodynamic sweet spot, but they suspect thatthe animals align themselves either by sight or65by sensing air currents through their feathers.Alternatively, they may move around until they findthe location with the least resistance. In futurestudies, the researchers will switch to more commonbirds, such as pigeons or geese. They plan to70 investigate how the animals decide who sets thecourse and the pace, and whether a mistake made bythe leader can ripple through the rest of the flock tocause traffic jams.“It’s a pretty impressive piece of work as it is, but75it does suggest that there’s a lot more to learn,”says Ty Hedrick, a biologist at the University ofNorth Carolina, Chapel Hill, who studies flightaerodynamics in birds and insects. However they doit, he says, “birds are awfully good hang-glider80 pilots.”Q. What is the most likely reason the author includes the 30 cm measurement in line 30?a)To demonstrate the accuracy with which the data loggers collected the datab)To present recorded data about how far an ibis flies between successive wing flapsc)To provide the wingspan length of a juvenile ibisd)To show how far behind the microlight plane each ibis flewCorrect answer is option 'A'. Can you explain this answer? defined & explained in the simplest way possible. Besides giving the explanation of Question is based on the following passage.This passage is adapted from Patricia Waldron, “Why Birds Fly in a V Formation.” ©2014 by American Association forthe Advancement of Science.Anyone watching the autumn sky knows thatmigrating birds fly in a V formation, but scientistshave long debated why. A new study of ibises findsthat these big-winged birds carefully position their5 wingtips and sync their flapping, presumably to catchthe preceding bird’s updraft—and save energyduring flight.There are two reasons birds might fly in aV formation: It may make flight easier, or they’re10 simply following the leader. Squadrons of planes cansave fuel by flying in a V formation, and manyscientists suspect that migrating birds do the same.Models that treated flapping birds like fixed-wingairplanes estimate that they save energy by drafting15 off each other, but currents created by airplanes arefar more stable than the oscillating eddies coming offof a bird. “Air gets pretty unpredictable behind aflapping wing,” says James Usherwood, a locomotorbiomechanist at the Royal Veterinary College at the20 University of London in Hatfield, where the researchtook place.The study, published in Nature, took advantage ofan existing project to reintroduce endangerednorthern bald ibises (Geronticus eremita) to Europe.25Scientists used a microlight plane to showhand-raised birds their ancestral migration routefrom Austria to Italy. A flock of 14 juveniles carrieddata loggers specially built by Usherwood and his lab.The device’s GPS determined each bird’s flight30 position to within 30 cm, and an accelerometershowed the timing of the wing flaps.Just as aerodynamic estimates would predict, thebirds positioned themselves to fly just behind and tothe side of the bird in front, timing their wing beats35to catch the uplifting eddies. When a bird flewdirectly behind another, the timing of the flappingreversed so that it could minimize the effects of thedowndraft coming off the back of the bird’s body.“We didn’t think this was possible,” Usherwood40 says, considering that the feat requires carefulflight and incredible awareness of one’s neighbors.“Perhaps these big V formation birds can be thoughtof quite like an airplane with wings that go up anddown.”45The findings likely apply to other long-wingedbirds, such as pelicans, storks, and geese, Usherwoodsays. Smaller birds create more complex wakes thatwould make drafting too difficult. The researchersdid not attempt to calculate the bird’s energy savings50 because the necessary physiological measurementswould be too invasive for an endangered species.Previous studies estimate that birds can use20 percent to 30 percent less energy whileflying in a V.55“From a behavioral perspective it’s really abreakthrough,” says David Lentink, a mechanicalengineer at Stanford University in Palo Alto,California, who was not involved in the work.“Showing that birds care about syncing their wing60 beats is definitely an important insight that we didn’thave before.”Scientists do not know how the birds findthat aerodynamic sweet spot, but they suspect thatthe animals align themselves either by sight or65by sensing air currents through their feathers.Alternatively, they may move around until they findthe location with the least resistance. In futurestudies, the researchers will switch to more commonbirds, such as pigeons or geese. They plan to70 investigate how the animals decide who sets thecourse and the pace, and whether a mistake made bythe leader can ripple through the rest of the flock tocause traffic jams.“It’s a pretty impressive piece of work as it is, but75it does suggest that there’s a lot more to learn,”says Ty Hedrick, a biologist at the University ofNorth Carolina, Chapel Hill, who studies flightaerodynamics in birds and insects. However they doit, he says, “birds are awfully good hang-glider80 pilots.”Q. What is the most likely reason the author includes the 30 cm measurement in line 30?a)To demonstrate the accuracy with which the data loggers collected the datab)To present recorded data about how far an ibis flies between successive wing flapsc)To provide the wingspan length of a juvenile ibisd)To show how far behind the microlight plane each ibis flewCorrect answer is option 'A'. Can you explain this answer?, a detailed solution for Question is based on the following passage.This passage is adapted from Patricia Waldron, “Why Birds Fly in a V Formation.” ©2014 by American Association forthe Advancement of Science.Anyone watching the autumn sky knows thatmigrating birds fly in a V formation, but scientistshave long debated why. A new study of ibises findsthat these big-winged birds carefully position their5 wingtips and sync their flapping, presumably to catchthe preceding bird’s updraft—and save energyduring flight.There are two reasons birds might fly in aV formation: It may make flight easier, or they’re10 simply following the leader. Squadrons of planes cansave fuel by flying in a V formation, and manyscientists suspect that migrating birds do the same.Models that treated flapping birds like fixed-wingairplanes estimate that they save energy by drafting15 off each other, but currents created by airplanes arefar more stable than the oscillating eddies coming offof a bird. “Air gets pretty unpredictable behind aflapping wing,” says James Usherwood, a locomotorbiomechanist at the Royal Veterinary College at the20 University of London in Hatfield, where the researchtook place.The study, published in Nature, took advantage ofan existing project to reintroduce endangerednorthern bald ibises (Geronticus eremita) to Europe.25Scientists used a microlight plane to showhand-raised birds their ancestral migration routefrom Austria to Italy. A flock of 14 juveniles carrieddata loggers specially built by Usherwood and his lab.The device’s GPS determined each bird’s flight30 position to within 30 cm, and an accelerometershowed the timing of the wing flaps.Just as aerodynamic estimates would predict, thebirds positioned themselves to fly just behind and tothe side of the bird in front, timing their wing beats35to catch the uplifting eddies. When a bird flewdirectly behind another, the timing of the flappingreversed so that it could minimize the effects of thedowndraft coming off the back of the bird’s body.“We didn’t think this was possible,” Usherwood40 says, considering that the feat requires carefulflight and incredible awareness of one’s neighbors.“Perhaps these big V formation birds can be thoughtof quite like an airplane with wings that go up anddown.”45The findings likely apply to other long-wingedbirds, such as pelicans, storks, and geese, Usherwoodsays. Smaller birds create more complex wakes thatwould make drafting too difficult. The researchersdid not attempt to calculate the bird’s energy savings50 because the necessary physiological measurementswould be too invasive for an endangered species.Previous studies estimate that birds can use20 percent to 30 percent less energy whileflying in a V.55“From a behavioral perspective it’s really abreakthrough,” says David Lentink, a mechanicalengineer at Stanford University in Palo Alto,California, who was not involved in the work.“Showing that birds care about syncing their wing60 beats is definitely an important insight that we didn’thave before.”Scientists do not know how the birds findthat aerodynamic sweet spot, but they suspect thatthe animals align themselves either by sight or65by sensing air currents through their feathers.Alternatively, they may move around until they findthe location with the least resistance. In futurestudies, the researchers will switch to more commonbirds, such as pigeons or geese. They plan to70 investigate how the animals decide who sets thecourse and the pace, and whether a mistake made bythe leader can ripple through the rest of the flock tocause traffic jams.“It’s a pretty impressive piece of work as it is, but75it does suggest that there’s a lot more to learn,”says Ty Hedrick, a biologist at the University ofNorth Carolina, Chapel Hill, who studies flightaerodynamics in birds and insects. However they doit, he says, “birds are awfully good hang-glider80 pilots.”Q. What is the most likely reason the author includes the 30 cm measurement in line 30?a)To demonstrate the accuracy with which the data loggers collected the datab)To present recorded data about how far an ibis flies between successive wing flapsc)To provide the wingspan length of a juvenile ibisd)To show how far behind the microlight plane each ibis flewCorrect answer is option 'A'. Can you explain this answer? has been provided alongside types of Question is based on the following passage.This passage is adapted from Patricia Waldron, “Why Birds Fly in a V Formation.” ©2014 by American Association forthe Advancement of Science.Anyone watching the autumn sky knows thatmigrating birds fly in a V formation, but scientistshave long debated why. A new study of ibises findsthat these big-winged birds carefully position their5 wingtips and sync their flapping, presumably to catchthe preceding bird’s updraft—and save energyduring flight.There are two reasons birds might fly in aV formation: It may make flight easier, or they’re10 simply following the leader. Squadrons of planes cansave fuel by flying in a V formation, and manyscientists suspect that migrating birds do the same.Models that treated flapping birds like fixed-wingairplanes estimate that they save energy by drafting15 off each other, but currents created by airplanes arefar more stable than the oscillating eddies coming offof a bird. “Air gets pretty unpredictable behind aflapping wing,” says James Usherwood, a locomotorbiomechanist at the Royal Veterinary College at the20 University of London in Hatfield, where the researchtook place.The study, published in Nature, took advantage ofan existing project to reintroduce endangerednorthern bald ibises (Geronticus eremita) to Europe.25Scientists used a microlight plane to showhand-raised birds their ancestral migration routefrom Austria to Italy. A flock of 14 juveniles carrieddata loggers specially built by Usherwood and his lab.The device’s GPS determined each bird’s flight30 position to within 30 cm, and an accelerometershowed the timing of the wing flaps.Just as aerodynamic estimates would predict, thebirds positioned themselves to fly just behind and tothe side of the bird in front, timing their wing beats35to catch the uplifting eddies. When a bird flewdirectly behind another, the timing of the flappingreversed so that it could minimize the effects of thedowndraft coming off the back of the bird’s body.“We didn’t think this was possible,” Usherwood40 says, considering that the feat requires carefulflight and incredible awareness of one’s neighbors.“Perhaps these big V formation birds can be thoughtof quite like an airplane with wings that go up anddown.”45The findings likely apply to other long-wingedbirds, such as pelicans, storks, and geese, Usherwoodsays. Smaller birds create more complex wakes thatwould make drafting too difficult. The researchersdid not attempt to calculate the bird’s energy savings50 because the necessary physiological measurementswould be too invasive for an endangered species.Previous studies estimate that birds can use20 percent to 30 percent less energy whileflying in a V.55“From a behavioral perspective it’s really abreakthrough,” says David Lentink, a mechanicalengineer at Stanford University in Palo Alto,California, who was not involved in the work.“Showing that birds care about syncing their wing60 beats is definitely an important insight that we didn’thave before.”Scientists do not know how the birds findthat aerodynamic sweet spot, but they suspect thatthe animals align themselves either by sight or65by sensing air currents through their feathers.Alternatively, they may move around until they findthe location with the least resistance. In futurestudies, the researchers will switch to more commonbirds, such as pigeons or geese. They plan to70 investigate how the animals decide who sets thecourse and the pace, and whether a mistake made bythe leader can ripple through the rest of the flock tocause traffic jams.“It’s a pretty impressive piece of work as it is, but75it does suggest that there’s a lot more to learn,”says Ty Hedrick, a biologist at the University ofNorth Carolina, Chapel Hill, who studies flightaerodynamics in birds and insects. However they doit, he says, “birds are awfully good hang-glider80 pilots.”Q. What is the most likely reason the author includes the 30 cm measurement in line 30?a)To demonstrate the accuracy with which the data loggers collected the datab)To present recorded data about how far an ibis flies between successive wing flapsc)To provide the wingspan length of a juvenile ibisd)To show how far behind the microlight plane each ibis flewCorrect answer is option 'A'. Can you explain this answer? theory, EduRev gives you an ample number of questions to practice Question is based on the following passage.This passage is adapted from Patricia Waldron, “Why Birds Fly in a V Formation.” ©2014 by American Association forthe Advancement of Science.Anyone watching the autumn sky knows thatmigrating birds fly in a V formation, but scientistshave long debated why. A new study of ibises findsthat these big-winged birds carefully position their5 wingtips and sync their flapping, presumably to catchthe preceding bird’s updraft—and save energyduring flight.There are two reasons birds might fly in aV formation: It may make flight easier, or they’re10 simply following the leader. Squadrons of planes cansave fuel by flying in a V formation, and manyscientists suspect that migrating birds do the same.Models that treated flapping birds like fixed-wingairplanes estimate that they save energy by drafting15 off each other, but currents created by airplanes arefar more stable than the oscillating eddies coming offof a bird. “Air gets pretty unpredictable behind aflapping wing,” says James Usherwood, a locomotorbiomechanist at the Royal Veterinary College at the20 University of London in Hatfield, where the researchtook place.The study, published in Nature, took advantage ofan existing project to reintroduce endangerednorthern bald ibises (Geronticus eremita) to Europe.25Scientists used a microlight plane to showhand-raised birds their ancestral migration routefrom Austria to Italy. A flock of 14 juveniles carrieddata loggers specially built by Usherwood and his lab.The device’s GPS determined each bird’s flight30 position to within 30 cm, and an accelerometershowed the timing of the wing flaps.Just as aerodynamic estimates would predict, thebirds positioned themselves to fly just behind and tothe side of the bird in front, timing their wing beats35to catch the uplifting eddies. When a bird flewdirectly behind another, the timing of the flappingreversed so that it could minimize the effects of thedowndraft coming off the back of the bird’s body.“We didn’t think this was possible,” Usherwood40 says, considering that the feat requires carefulflight and incredible awareness of one’s neighbors.“Perhaps these big V formation birds can be thoughtof quite like an airplane with wings that go up anddown.”45The findings likely apply to other long-wingedbirds, such as pelicans, storks, and geese, Usherwoodsays. Smaller birds create more complex wakes thatwould make drafting too difficult. The researchersdid not attempt to calculate the bird’s energy savings50 because the necessary physiological measurementswould be too invasive for an endangered species.Previous studies estimate that birds can use20 percent to 30 percent less energy whileflying in a V.55“From a behavioral perspective it’s really abreakthrough,” says David Lentink, a mechanicalengineer at Stanford University in Palo Alto,California, who was not involved in the work.“Showing that birds care about syncing their wing60 beats is definitely an important insight that we didn’thave before.”Scientists do not know how the birds findthat aerodynamic sweet spot, but they suspect thatthe animals align themselves either by sight or65by sensing air currents through their feathers.Alternatively, they may move around until they findthe location with the least resistance. In futurestudies, the researchers will switch to more commonbirds, such as pigeons or geese. They plan to70 investigate how the animals decide who sets thecourse and the pace, and whether a mistake made bythe leader can ripple through the rest of the flock tocause traffic jams.“It’s a pretty impressive piece of work as it is, but75it does suggest that there’s a lot more to learn,”says Ty Hedrick, a biologist at the University ofNorth Carolina, Chapel Hill, who studies flightaerodynamics in birds and insects. However they doit, he says, “birds are awfully good hang-glider80 pilots.”Q. What is the most likely reason the author includes the 30 cm measurement in line 30?a)To demonstrate the accuracy with which the data loggers collected the datab)To present recorded data about how far an ibis flies between successive wing flapsc)To provide the wingspan length of a juvenile ibisd)To show how far behind the microlight plane each ibis flewCorrect answer is option 'A'. 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