Read the excerpt from Neil deGrasse Tyson’s “Death by Black Hole.” That’s the gory moment when your body snaps into two segments
, breaking apart at your midsection. Upon falling further, the difference in gravity continues to grow, and each of your two body segments snaps into two segments. Shortly thereafter, those segments each snap into two segments of their own, and so forth, and so forth, bifurcating your body into an ever-increasing number of parts: 1, 2, 4, 8, 16, 32, 64, 128, etc. After you’ve been ripped into shreds of organic molecules, the molecules themselves begin to feel the continually growing tidal forces. Eventually, they too snap apart, creating a stream of their constituent atoms. And then, of course, the atoms themselves snap apart, leaving an unrecognizable parade of particles that, minutes earlier, had been you. Which statement best describes how the author conveys the message that humans are no match for the power of a black hole? He explains scientific theories to the reader and provides the definitions for difficult terms and words. He uses logic and reason to lay out each individual step of human combustion as it is absorbed by the tidal force. He provides helpful comparisons of black holes with other cosmic phenomena that the reader may already know. He personalizes the experience for the reader and uses vivid imagery to create a clear mental picture.
