We need to find what the Emory mouse experiment specifically demonstrates about inheritance.

Step-by-step thought process: First, let us understand what happened in the experiment -> Mice were trained to fear almonds through electric shocks -> Their children and grandchildren were born afraid of the same smell -> This challenges traditional biology that says learned traits can't be inherited. The passage directly tells us what this means -> It's about "inheritance of acquired characteristics" which was previously thought "impossible." From passage: "Generations of school children have been taught that the inheritance of acquired characteristics is impossible. A mouse should not be born with something its parents have learned during their lifetimes" Key insight -> The fear was acquired (learned) by parents, then inherited by offspring. This is the broader scientific concept being demonstrated.

Option Analysis: 🟠 Option 1 -> too-vague -> "personality traits" is way too broad and general when the experiment shows something much more specific about learned behaviors being passed down 🟠 Option 2 -> too-narrow -> focuses only on "fears" when the experiment demonstrates a much bigger scientific principle about any learned/acquired trait being inherited 🟢 Option 3 -> perfect-match -> "acquired characteristics" is the exact scientific term the passage uses to describe what the experiment proves can be inherited 🟠 Option 4 -> wrong-terminology -> "psychological markers" isn't the scientific language used in the passage and misses the key concept of "acquired" traits The passage explicitly states this challenges the idea that "inheritance of acquired characteristics is impossible" - making Option 3 the direct answer.

CAT (VARC) PYQs

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