Odd One Out Question 5 - CAT 2021
Question
- The legal status of resources mined in space remains ambiguous; and while the market for asteroid minerals is currently nonexistent, this is likely to change as technical hurdles diminish.
- Outer space is a commons, and all of it is open for exploration, however, space law developed in the 1950s and 60s is state-centric and arguably ill-suited to a commercial future.
- Laws adopted by the US and Luxembourg are first steps, but they only protect firms from competing claims by their compatriots; a Chinese company will not be bound by US law.
- Critics say the US is conferring rights that it has no authority to confer; Russia in particular has condemned this, citing the US’ disrespect for international law.
- At issue now is commercial activity, as private firms—rather than nation states—look to space for profit.
Step-by-Step Explanation
Correct Answer: 4 Explanation: Statements (2), (5), (1), and (3) discuss commercial activities in outer space and the need for better laws to regulate space mining. Statement (4) is the odd one out because it focuses on Russia's criticism of the US, which is a specific political reaction rather than the broader issue of space law.Odd One Out Shortcuts & Tricks
Mandatory Pairs in CAT Odd One Out Questions
What are Mandatory Pairs? Two sentences that share a strong logical connection and must appear together in the paragraph.
How to identify them? Look for connections such as: • Pronoun → Reference • Cause → Effect • Statement → Example • Question → Explanation • General Idea → Specific Detail
Why are they useful? Finding one or two strong pairs helps establish the paragraph structure and makes it easier to isolate the sentence that does not belong.
Quick Tip: Don’t force a connection between sentences. A mandatory pair should have a clear and natural link.