Survival of a plant in a Desert

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Survival of a plant in a Desert

by dv2020 » Sat May 21, 2011 10:39 am
Plant Y thrives in the environments of great sunlight and very little moisture. Desert X is an environment with constant powerful sunlight and almost no moisture. Although plant Y thrives in areas surrounding Desert X, it does not exist naturally in the Desert, nor does it survive long when introduced there.

Which of the following if true would be most useful in explaining the apparent discrepancy above?

a) Desert X's climate is far too harsh for the animals that feed on plant Y
b) For one week in the fall desert X gets consistent rainfall
c) Environment around desert X is ideally suited to the needs of plant Y
d) Due to the Lack of sufficient moisture, Desert X can support very little plant life
e) Plant Y cannot survive in temperature as high as those found in desert X

Please explain your answers especially if you chose E over D
OA is E
Last edited by dv2020 on Sun May 22, 2011 6:43 am, edited 1 time in total.
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by VivianKerr » Sat May 21, 2011 10:58 am
Conclusion:
- Y does not live in Desert X and dies there.

Evidence:
- Y likes Sun + Little Moisture
- X has sun + no moisture

Assumptions:
- Y needs at least a little bit of moisture
- Desert X has too much sun for Y

The "discrepancy" can be resolved by one of our two assumptions.

E. is a restatement of our second assumption.

D focuses on the desert's lack of moisture, but does not relate specifically to Plant Y. It talks about "very little plant life" which is outside the scope.
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by dv2020 » Sat May 21, 2011 11:14 am
E. is a restatement of our second assumption.
is it OK to assume in a situation such as this that great sunlight will lead to high temperatures. The OE goes something like this
"We'r told enough to expect that plant Y would thrive in desert X yet it doesn't. X is a desert so its hot, sunny and dry. Y likes sunny and dry regions, but we are not told anything about its temperature preferences. So its probable that (E) it can't handle the high temperature of desert X."

In this explanation we can assume that the desert is sunny, dry(little or no moisture) but how can we assume that its hot. This brings in information which i believe is outside of what is explicitly stated in the argument, which I think is fine in Paradox questions but I am not entirely satisfied the the OE.

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by VivianKerr » Sat May 21, 2011 11:31 am
We have to focus on the vagueness of the wording. The paragraph says Plant Y likes "great" sunlight, but how much is "great"? It states that Desert X has "powerful" sunlight, but how much is "powerful"? There is a chance here that "powerful" is more than "great" and that Plant Y might be exposed to too much light than it can handle.
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by David@VeritasPrep » Sat May 21, 2011 12:36 pm
Got a PM on this one:

Here is my take.

I agree that we cannot assume that desert X is hot. Parts of the Gobi Desert are downright cold - even with lots of sun.

But do not have to assume as answer choice E provides all the needed information. E states that "Y cannot survive in desert X."

I am not sure what else we need! Do you know what I mean?

Let's take out the part about high temperatures and just leave a blank.

"Plant Y cannot survive _________________ found in desert X"

E would be the right choice if you fill in the blank with anything!!!!

For example, "Plant Y cannot survive in SOIL AS POLLUTED AS THAT found in desert X."

How about "Plant Y cannot survive in SHIFTING SAND DUNES like those found in desert X."

Do you see what I mean? It all adds up to -- cannot survive in desert X!

I was also asked to comment on the viability of this as a GMAT question. It would work, though it appears straightforward to me so I would put it in the lower half of difficulty.

Those are my thoughts...
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by abhimanyu.tanwar » Sun May 22, 2011 6:13 am
what is the OA?
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by voodoo_child » Sun May 22, 2011 1:50 pm
David@VeritasPrep wrote:Got a PM on this one:

Here is my take.

I agree that we cannot assume that desert X is hot. Parts of the Gobi Desert are downright cold - even with lots of sun.

But do not have to assume as answer choice E provides all the needed information. E states that "Y cannot survive in desert X."

I am not sure what else we need! Do you know what I mean?

Let's take out the part about high temperatures and just leave a blank.

"Plant Y cannot survive _________________ found in desert X"

E would be the right choice if you fill in the blank with anything!!!!

For example, "Plant Y cannot survive in SOIL AS POLLUTED AS THAT found in desert X."

How about "Plant Y cannot survive in SHIFTING SAND DUNES like those found in desert X."

Do you see what I mean? It all adds up to -- cannot survive in desert X!

I was also asked to comment on the viability of this as a GMAT question. It would work, though it appears straightforward to me so I would put it in the lower half of difficulty.

Those are my thoughts...
David - What's wrong with B) ? The argument says that the plant doesnt survive too long. Secondly, when there is "consistent" rainfall, moisture will increase. Right ? Please help me.

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by David@VeritasPrep » Sun May 22, 2011 3:01 pm
Look how you have to reach to get to B though...

Do we know that a short period of increased moisture will kill the plant?

In order to go to B you have to make a big assumption, namely that where the stimulus says "Plant Y thrives in the environments of great sunlight and very little moisture" you have to assume that it means that any period of consistent rain will kill it.

In comparison to E as discussed above, choice B requires you to go to some extra steps and that is not a good thing.
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by voodoo_child » Sun May 22, 2011 4:41 pm
David@VeritasPrep wrote:Look how you have to reach to get to B though...

Do we know that a short period of increased moisture will kill the plant?

In order to go to B you have to make a big assumption, namely that where the stimulus says "Plant Y thrives in the environments of great sunlight and very little moisture" you have to assume that it means that any period of consistent rain will kill it.

In comparison to E as discussed above, choice B requires you to go to some extra steps and that is not a good thing.
Thanks David for a speedy reply. However, going on similar lines, don't we have to assume that increased temperature will kill the plant for option e) ? I am curious.


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by David@VeritasPrep » Sun May 22, 2011 5:05 pm
Not at all!!

Look at choice E...it says "Plant Y cannot survive in temperatures as high as those found in desert X"

No assumption necessary! It says it it right there..."Plant Y cannot survive in ... desert x!"

Perhaps we are not expecting an answer choice that comes out and says it!

Now if B were to say "For one week in the fall desert X gets consistent rainfall, and plant Y cannot survive in this" then we would have a winner.
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by voodoo_child » Sun May 22, 2011 5:51 pm
David@VeritasPrep wrote:Not at all!!

Look at choice E...it says "Plant Y cannot survive in temperatures as high as those found in desert X"

No assumption necessary! It says it it right there..."Plant Y cannot survive in ... desert x!"

Perhaps we are not expecting an answer choice that comes out and says it!

Now if B were to say "For one week in the fall desert X gets consistent rainfall, and plant Y cannot survive in this" then we would have a winner.
I agree!