1. The correct answer is: Determining the author's point of view on the subject
When reading or analyzing a source, it is quite helpful to understand where the author was born, to what context, in which time and the circumstances that forged his/her personality and opinions (ideology, religion, crucial events in his/her life, etc). This is crucial for determining if the source is completely biased or could be taken as a reliable source of information.
2. The correct answer is: A nonfiction book written by an expert on the USS Maine
Between the options, this is the most complete and reliable source of information for a paper. As it is nonfictional, it means every detail in the book is based on true events, which can lead us to know a lot of details on the matter. If it is an expert on the subject the one who wrote the source, it gives the book credibility and acceptance around the scientific community.
3. I understand there should be a photo attached here. But if this answer helps you: It could help them develop a better understanding of past ideas.
Accepting and contrasting different points of view enriches the source analysis. Depending on what is the source like, it could help historians understand the context in which this historic event happened, why, what ideologies helped the event to happen and its following impact on society.
4. The correct answer is: A historian primarily finds out the truth about events from the past.
A historian <em>PRIMARILY</em> finds out the truth about events from the past. It does not mean that part of his/her job does not include the other three options. A historian uses what he/she found out about the past (making sure it is the truth) and tries to explain present-day events based on happened in the past. This is the main reason why studying history is so important. A historian works to discover why a contemporary event occurred, and sometimes these answers rely on the past. Finally, a historian could also correct a mistakes of an investigators from long ago. Techiques to find new sources thanks to technological advance and the appearance of new witnesses or information through time, could sometimes debunk a previous conception or misinformation that had been taken as reliable until now. It is a historian's job to do all these things, but mainly and primarily first has to find out the truth about the events from the past before jumping to conclusions.
5. The correct answer is: Exaggerated the truth about the event.
Yellow journalists' job is sometimes to exaggerate the truth about events to attract people to buy their newspapers, magazines, TV shows, etc. It is part of the way they present things and it is taken as some kind of entertainment for some people. In this case however, they also distorted some facts about the USS Maine sinking, publishing fake sources and creating conspiracy theories in the minds of their readers.