-
Target Test Prep 20% Off Flash Sale is on! Code: FLASH20
Redeem
How to Break Down a Science Reading Comprehension Passage
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ULZuU9WcYM0[/youtube]
On Friday August 20, famed Beat The GMAT member Dana Jinaru (DanaJ) held a live workshop on tackling one of the toughest problems on the GMAT, Reading Comprehension Science passages. Like many of you in this community, Dana is not a native-English speaker. But when she took the GMAT, Dana was able to score a 770 on the GMAT and had a near-100% hit rate when it came to her reading comprehension practice.
During this workshop, Dana shared some of her best RC tips by breaking down an example of a very tough science RC passage. Her full video session can be seen above, with the science passage/questions that she examined below.
This science passage was provided by Beat The GMAT Practice Questions.
Highlights from this Video
3:05 - Today's agenda
4:27 - A detailed analysis of the first paragraph of the text
5:32 - Explanation of the concept of "lead actor" or "hero"
6:48 - Explanations of the concept of "connectors"
8:48 - We move on to the second paragraph of the text
10:07 - Last but not least, the third paragraph of the text
12:58 - Some interesting note taking advice
14:59 - General breakdown of RC questions types: detail and general
16:20 - The session's first question
22:58 - Our second question
29:00 - The final, general question
34:47 - Key takeaways
37:40 - Q&A session
The Science Passage in This Workshop
In their relationship to the general ecology of the reefs, the Mollusca as a group of animals play a highly significant role. Because of the nature of their shells, mollusc remains may be found among the limestone debris of a reef dating back to its very earliest stages of evolution in the geological past, and may, therefore, be considered as having aided in its construction. Yet, as boring organisms, in both living and dead coral, certain species of molluscs rank among the most destructive agents to be found on the reefs. Mollusc eggs are laid in tens of millions, and the floating larval stages form a very important part of the zooplankton that sustains life in the waters over the reefs. In their vast numbers, as herbivores and carnivores, the molluscs are both prey and predator on the reefs.
Most molluscs obtain their oxygen directly from the seawater by means of gills in the mantle cavity. Molluscs with two valves, or shells, hinged together are referred to as bivalves. In bivalves the gills have become so developed that in many species they also act as the food-catching apparatus. Because most bivalves are filterfeeding animals, sieving minute organisms from the surrounding seawater, they have no differentiated head region and no radula (tonguelike organ).
It is in the method of feeding that the clams of the family Tridacnidae display their remarkable adaption to their environment. In the course of their evolution, the various members have become structurally modified to best enable them to develop in their particular habitat. These clams normally live with the animal lying on the hinge side of the shell, and the edges of the shell valves pointing upwards. The result of this mode of living is that the internal organs in their relationship to the mantle and shell differ from those of all other bivalve molluscs. The mantle tissue, by reason of the animals way of life, is capable of considerable expansion, and is exposed to the direct rays of the sun to the greatest possible extent. This is undoubtedly associated with the most unusual feature of all displayed by these remarkable molluscs: Within this mantle tissue are millions of tiny zooxanthellae, closely resembling the symbiotic algae found in the corals and the alcyonarians. It has been definitely established that these zooxanthellae form a considerable part of the diet of the Tridacnas, and the modifications found in these molluscs indicate that they are not only specialized for harboring these minute algae, but that they also deliberately farm them. This must surely be one of the most fascinating examples of symbiosis to be found in nature. The whole ecology of the clams, bound exclusively to warm, shallow waters of tropical seas, appears linked to an increase in the efficiency of that symbiosis, which gives food and protection to the algae and very considerable additional nutrient from its symbionts to the clams.
The Questions
1. According to this passage, the ability of the clams of the family Tridacnidae to harbor microscopic zooxanthellae in their mantles is an illustration of:
(A) symbiosis
(B) an inability to adapt to ones environment
(C) bivalve function
(D) oxygen replenishment
(E) evolution
2. Bivalve molluscs possess neither differentiated heads nor radula for which of the following reasons?
(A) Better locomotion on the ocean floor is accomplished without the need for a differentiated head or radula.
(B) Visual apparatus is located in antennae, which obviates the need for a differentiated head or radula.
(C) They strain plankton through their gills, which eliminates the need for a differentiated head and radula.
(D) They trap their prey by closing their hinged shell, which performs all the functions of a differentiated head and radula.
(E)These apiary would interfere with their symbiotic relationships with other organisms.
3. An appropriate title for this passage would be:
(A) Filter Feeding in Bivalve Molluscs
(B) Plankton in Coral Reef Ecology
(C) Prey and Predator in the Tropical Seas
(D) Role of Molluscs in the Reef Ecosystem
(E) Molluscs and Coelenterates of the Coral Reef
See other tough GMAT practice problems like this, with full video explanations in Beat The GMAT Practice Questions.
Recent Articles
Archive
- April 2024
- March 2024
- February 2024
- January 2024
- December 2023
- November 2023
- October 2023
- September 2023
- July 2023
- June 2023
- May 2023
- April 2023
- March 2023
- February 2023
- January 2023
- December 2022
- November 2022
- October 2022
- September 2022
- August 2022
- July 2022
- June 2022
- May 2022
- April 2022
- March 2022
- February 2022
- January 2022
- December 2021
- November 2021
- October 2021
- September 2021
- August 2021
- July 2021
- June 2021
- May 2021
- April 2021
- March 2021
- February 2021
- January 2021
- December 2020
- November 2020
- October 2020
- September 2020
- August 2020
- July 2020
- June 2020
- May 2020
- April 2020
- March 2020
- February 2020
- January 2020
- December 2019
- November 2019
- October 2019
- September 2019
- August 2019
- July 2019
- June 2019
- May 2019
- April 2019
- March 2019
- February 2019
- January 2019
- December 2018
- November 2018
- October 2018
- September 2018
- August 2018
- July 2018
- June 2018
- May 2018
- April 2018
- March 2018
- February 2018
- January 2018
- December 2017
- November 2017
- October 2017
- September 2017
- August 2017
- July 2017
- June 2017
- May 2017
- April 2017
- March 2017
- February 2017
- January 2017
- December 2016
- November 2016
- October 2016
- September 2016
- August 2016
- July 2016
- June 2016
- May 2016
- April 2016
- March 2016
- February 2016
- January 2016
- December 2015
- November 2015
- October 2015
- September 2015
- August 2015
- July 2015
- June 2015
- May 2015
- April 2015
- March 2015
- February 2015
- January 2015
- December 2014
- November 2014
- October 2014
- September 2014
- August 2014
- July 2014
- June 2014
- May 2014
- April 2014
- March 2014
- February 2014
- January 2014
- December 2013
- November 2013
- October 2013
- September 2013
- August 2013
- July 2013
- June 2013
- May 2013
- April 2013
- March 2013
- February 2013
- January 2013
- December 2012
- November 2012
- October 2012
- September 2012
- August 2012
- July 2012
- June 2012
- May 2012
- April 2012
- March 2012
- February 2012
- January 2012
- December 2011
- November 2011
- October 2011
- September 2011
- August 2011
- July 2011
- June 2011
- May 2011
- April 2011
- March 2011
- February 2011
- January 2011
- December 2010
- November 2010
- October 2010
- September 2010
- August 2010
- July 2010
- June 2010
- May 2010
- April 2010
- March 2010
- February 2010
- January 2010
- December 2009
- November 2009
- October 2009
- September 2009
- August 2009