Your answer would be A). Americans were concerned that they were inferior to Soviets in terms of science, technology, and missiles.
The statement that displays how the US responded to Sputnik 1 was that Americans were concerned that they were inferior to Soviets in terms of science, technology, and missiles.
Definitions:
Sputnik 1:
An earth satellite that was launched into space on October 4, 1957. The Soviet Union was the one that launched this satellite.
Explanation:
The reason why "A). Americans were concerned that they were inferior to Soviets in terms of science, technology, and missiles" would be the correct answer because the U.S wanted to be just like the Soviet Union, technologically advanced.
The word "inferior" means low in rank, so the answer is pretty much saying that the Americans were concerned that they were a lower ranking to the Soviets. When the Soviets launched the Sputnik 1 into space, the U.S felt that they were falling behind in knowing more about space. This caused a lot of Americans to get anxious, and most of the people blamed the U.S education system, since they believed that it was their fault for having this technological lag, and people were unhappy by the fact that the Soviets are becoming more technologically advanced than the U.S. In other words, the Americans wanted the U.S to be #1 in mostly anything, and the studies of space was an important thing that they wanted to U.S to be advanced in, but it looked like the Soviets were faster. Because of this, there was a competition from the U.S and Soviet Union to be more advanced. This led to the creation of NASA and science programs that are provided in schools.
Why the other answer choices are incorrect:
The reason why answer choice "B). Americans applauded and admired the Soviet’s commitment to using new technology " is incorrect because:
The U.S wanted to be the best and more advanced than the other countries around the world, and they didn't want anyone else to be ahead of them. When the Soviets released the Sputnik 1, the U.S were not applauding them for their success, they were more so shocked and disappointed. This is the reason why this answer choice would be eliminated.
The reason why answer choice "C). Americans wanted to launch nuclear weapons to prevent the Soviets from launching any more satellites  " is incorrect because:
The Soviets already launched a very advanced technology into the space, and the U.S can't do nothing about that. If the U.S were to launched nuclear weapons, the Soviets wouldn't care because their satellite was already in space, so the u.S really can't do nothing about that, since it would be impossible during their time to take down the satellite. This was not a option the U.S wanted to do. This is the reason why this answer choice would be eliminated.
The reason why answer choice "D). Americans were not worried about the new Soviet technology and were confident that they could catch up" is incorrect because:
The Americans were actually worried about the new technology that the Soviets made, and because of that, they  became very anxious. Since the Sputnik 1 was very advanced, the U.S felt like it would be hard to catch up, which made them lack in confidence. The U.S would have to make something more technologically advanced than the Sputnik 1, but that would be really hard because the Sputnik 1 was super advanced, which made the Soviets look very advanced at that time. This is the reason why this answer choice would be eliminated.
-Julie
