A depiction of the MAPK/ERK signaling pathway that leads to cell growth is shown in the image. What would be observed if a carcinogenic compound in coal tar activated step 3 of the pathway, even in the absence of the signaling molecule?

A) The transduction molecules in step 5 would always be active.
B) Step 2, the step linking the receptor to transduction, would always be active.
C) Step 4, a transduction step, would be prevented from activating the target protein.
D) The transcription factor in step 6 would be prevented from transcribing the target genes.