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The sentences given below, when properly sequenced, would yield a coherent paragraph. Decide on the proper sequencing of the order of the sentences and key in the sequence of the numbers as your answer.

  1. The study suggests that the disease did not spread with such intensity, but that it may have driven human migrations across Europe and Asia.
  2. The oldest sample came from an individual who lived in southeast Russia about 5,0005,000 years ago.
  3. The ages of the skeletons correspond to a time of mass exodus from today's Russia and Ukraine into western Europe and central Asia, suggesting that a pandemic could have driven these migrations.
  4. In the analysis of fragments of DNA from 101101 Bronze Age skeletons for sequences from Yersinia pestis, the bacterium that causes the disease, seven tested positive.
  5. DNA from Bronze Age human skeletons indicate that the black plague could have emerged as early as 3,0003,000 BCE, long before the epidemic that swept through Europe in the mid-13001300s.

Entered answer:

Solution

✅ Correct Answer: 54123

Step-by-step process:

First, we identify the opener -> Look for the sentence that introduces the main topic without assuming prior knowledge.

Sentence 5 introduces the main discovery -> "DNA from Bronze Age human skeletons indicate that the black plague could have emerged as early as 3,000 BCE"

Next, we look for supporting details -> What explains HOW they discovered this?

Sentence 4 explains the methodology -> "analysis of fragments of DNA from 101 Bronze Age skeletons... seven tested positive"

Thenwe need the interpretation -> What do these results mean?

Sentence 1 gives the study's conclusion -> "The study suggests that the disease... may have driven human migrations"

Next comes specific evidence -> Details that support the conclusion

Sentence 2 provides specific data -> "The oldest sample came from an individual who lived in southeast Russia about 5,000 years ago"

Finally, the conclusion -> How it all connects together

Sentence 3 ties everything together -> "The ages of the skeletons correspond to a time of mass exodus... suggesting that a pandemic could have driven these migrations"

From passage: "DNA from Bronze Age human skeletons indicate that the black plague could have emerged as early as 3,000 BCE" (sentence 5) flows into "In the analysis of fragments of DNA from 101 Bronze Age skeletons" (sentence 4)


Elimination method:

The key is finding the natural opener -> Sentence 5 introduces the topic without referencing previous information, while other sentences use phrases like "The study suggests" or "The oldest sample" which assume prior context.

Flow logic -> 5 (main finding) → 4 (how they found it) → 1 (what it means) → 2 (specific detail) → 3 (final connection)

🟢 Correct sequence: 54123 -> This creates a smooth logical progression from discovery to methodology to interpretation to evidence to conclusion.

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