The James Webb telescope, recently launched in space, is giving humankind unprecedented access to the depths of time by imaging very old stars formed almost 13 billion years ago. Astrophysicists and cosmologists believe that this odyssey in space may even shed light on the existence of dark matter. Dark matter is supposed to interact only via the electromagnetic, the weak, or the strong interaction. This may justify the epithet "dark" in dark matter. Based only on the above paragraph, which one of the following statements is FALSE? A. No other telescope has captured images of stars older than those captured by the James Webb telescope. B. People other than astrophysicists and cosmologists may also believe in the existence of dark matter. C. The James Webb telescope could be of use in the research on dark matter. D. Dark matter interacts via the gravitational interaction.

GATE 2023 · General Aptitude · Passage Reading · medium

Answer: Option D is FALSE: the passage explicitly states dark matter interacts only via electromagnetic, weak, or strong interactions, not gravitational interaction.

  1. Evaluate Option A: Option A: 'No other telescope has captured images of stars older than those captured by the James Webb telescope.' The passage says Webb gives 'unprecedented access' to imaging stars 13 billion years old. 'Unprecedented' means no prior telescope matched this. Option A is TRUE (not false).
  2. Evaluate Option B: Option B: 'People other than astrophysicists and cosmologists may also believe in the existence of dark matter.' The passage only mentions astrophysicists and cosmologists believing, but does not say ONLY they believe. Option B is a reasonable inference and is TRUE (not false based on the passage).
  3. Evaluate Option C: Option C: 'The James Webb telescope could be of use in the research on dark matter.' The passage says Webb 'may even shed light on the existence of dark matter.' This directly supports Option C. Option C is TRUE (not false).
  4. Evaluate Option D: Option D: 'Dark matter interacts via the gravitational interaction.' The passage states dark matter interacts 'only via the electromagnetic, the weak, or the strong interaction.' Gravitational interaction is explicitly excluded by the word 'only' limiting interactions to the three listed. Option D is FALSE — it contradicts the passage.