Which task precedes Detect?

• A. Observe
• B. Monitor
• C. Identify
• D. Quantify

Answer: (A)

Observing is the first step because you need to gather raw information from the environment before you can notice anything noteworthy. Detection is about recognizing that something of interest is present within what you’ve observed. Without that initial observation, there’s nothing to detect. After something is detected, you then identify what it is and finally quantify its characteristics. Monitoring is a broader, ongoing activity and isn’t the prerequisite step before detection in this sequence, while identifying and quantifying occur after detection.