Here is how I broke down this passage.

Topic: thermocline
Scope: how it affects lakes
1st P: to introduce thermocline & describe lake conditions mid-winter
2nd P: to describe changes in spring (warm water at top expands)
3rd P: to show what happens come summer (boundary = therocline)
4th P: to describe "turnover" in autumn
Author's POV: factual/scholarly throughout
Purpose: to describe the cycle in a lake & explain thermocline

Question Rephrase: What is likely TRUE about "dissolved oxygen"?

Let's review where in the passage oxygen is described for our prediction.

Prediction: In late winter, oxygen is dissolved to all depths (paragraph 1), in summer the barrier prevents mixing (paragraph 3, in autumn the oxygen goes downward in a current (paragraph 4).

IMO: E

There is nothing in the passage to support the idea that ice blocks the oxygen. All we are told in Paragraph 1 is that AFTER the ice has melted, waves churn oxygen back into the water. Also, the word "completely" is a red flag as it is an extreme word. Lines 7-10 almost completely paraphrase choice E.

VivianKerr wrote:Here is how I broke down this passage.

Topic: thermocline
Scope: how it affects lakes
1st P: to introduce thermocline & describe lake conditions mid-winter
2nd P: to describe changes in spring (warm water at top expands)
3rd P: to show what happens come summer (boundary = therocline)
4th P: to describe "turnover" in autumn
Author's POV: factual/scholarly throughout
Purpose: to describe the cycle in a lake & explain thermocline

Question Rephrase: What is likely TRUE about "dissolved oxygen"?

Let's review where in the passage oxygen is described for our prediction.

Prediction: In late winter, oxygen is dissolved to all depths (paragraph 1), in summer the barrier prevents mixing (paragraph 3, in autumn the oxygen goes downward in a current (paragraph 4).

IMO: E

There is nothing in the passage to support the idea that ice blocks the oxygen. All we are told in Paragraph 1 is that AFTER the ice has melted, waves churn oxygen back into the water. Also, the word "completely" is a red flag as it is an extreme word. Lines 7-10 almost completely paraphrase choice E.

Hi Vivian thanks for the help .
But i do remember this method of combining ideas given in 2 sentences to arrive at Inferences in a lot of OG Questions . I didnt remember to note down exactly which questions . Is it just an illusion

IMO, not all inference questions are created equally, and may require different steps to solve, so I don't use a hard and fast rule for these. I've always used a Question Rephrase/Prediction method for RC regardless of the Q-type, so if this is a MGMAT strategy, maybe Ron can shed some light?

Hi Vivian thanks for the help .
EDIT :But i found this method of combining ideas given in 2 sentences to arrive at Inferences helpful in a lot of OG Questions . I didnt remember to note down exactly which questions . Is it just an illusion

This is not a method I have ever used, so I can't speak to its accuracy or helpfulness. If you found it helpful then it may be useful somehow, but in this question it led you to eliminate an answer choice that perfectly paraphrased the passage, so I think you need to examine how you are selecting between the answer choices.

The question implies that only ONE of the following will be a reasonable inference. Even if you got it down to C and E, you should have asked: why can E be eliminated? Is E an UNREASONABLE inference? Since E is DIRECTLY supported by the passage, it is obviously NOT unreasonable.

When you select your choice, make sure you know the exact reason you are eliminating the other choices. Don't just find the answer you "think" is correct and stop there.