BREAKING: Target Test Prep releases Brand New 2026 On Demand GMAT prep course

Redeem

An experiment was done in which human subjects recognize

This topic has expert replies
Post new topic Post Reply
Previous Topic Next Topic
Junior | Next Rank: 30 Posts
Posts: 13
Joined: Tue Nov 08, 2011 2:16 pm

An experiment was done in which human subjects recognize

by parisi04 » Mon Nov 21, 2011 9:18 pm

Timer

00:00

Your Answer

A

B

C

D

E

Global Stats

An experiment was done in which human subjects recognize a pattern within a matrix of abstract designs and
then select another design that completes that pattern. The results of the experiment were surprising. The
lowest expenditure of energy in neurons in the brain was found in those subjects who performed most
successfully in the experiments.
Which of the following hypotheses best accounts for the findings of the experiment?
(A) The neurons of the brain react less when a subject is trying to recognize patterns than when the subject is
doing other kinds of reasoning.
(B) Those who performed best in the experiment experienced more satisfaction when working with abstract
patterns than did those who performed less well.
(C) People who are better at abstract pattern recognition have more energy-efficient neural connections.
(D) The energy expenditure of the subjects' brains increases when a design that completes the initially
recognized pattern is determined.
(E) The task of completing a given design is more capably performed by athletes, whose energy expenditure
is lower when they are at rest.

OA C

[spoiler]Can anyone please explain what are we supposed to understand by energy-efficient neural connections ??? and how does that make C the hypothesis that we are looking for ?? How does C relate to such surprising findings ??[/spoiler]

Thanks
Top
Source: — Critical Reasoning |
User avatar
Legendary Member
Posts: 516
Joined: Fri Jul 31, 2009 3:22 pm
Thanked: 112 times
Followed by:13 members

by smackmartine » Tue Nov 22, 2011 12:18 am

Timer

00:00

Your Answer

A

B

C

D

E

Global Stats

Some background knowledge about the neural connections (Totally out of interest). Neural connections keep changing through out the life. More we understand stuffs, less becomes the reaction time when we see the same thing next time. Thus, the connections break when we discard a knowledge and new connections are formed when we accept a knowledge.(Goes through out our life cycle)- I saw an episode on this somewhere.

On to question.
The argument says that The results of the experiment were surprising , because the expectation was that more successful a subject was in recognizing another design that completes that previous pattern, more energy would it take for the brain. However, as the People who are better at abstract pattern recognition have more energy-efficient neural connections, the brain is trained to recognize those patterns in most effective way, consuming less energy.
Smack is Back ...
It takes time and effort to explain, so if my comment helped you please press Thanks button :)
Top
User avatar
Master | Next Rank: 500 Posts
Posts: 279
Joined: Fri Nov 05, 2010 5:43 pm
Thanked: 15 times
Followed by:1 members

by mehrasa » Tue Nov 22, 2011 4:32 am

Timer

00:00

Your Answer

A

B

C

D

E

Global Stats

parisi04 wrote:An experiment was done in which human subjects recognize a pattern within a matrix of abstract designs and
then select another design that completes that pattern. The results of the experiment were surprising. The
lowest expenditure of energy in neurons in the brain was found in those subjects who performed most
successfully in the experiments.
Which of the following hypotheses best accounts for the findings of the experiment?
(A) The neurons of the brain react less when a subject is trying to recognize patterns than when the subject is
doing other kinds of reasoning.
(B) Those who performed best in the experiment experienced more satisfaction when working with abstract
patterns than did those who performed less well.
(C) People who are better at abstract pattern recognition have more energy-efficient neural connections.
(D) The energy expenditure of the subjects' brains increases when a design that completes the initially
recognized pattern is determined.
(E) The task of completing a given design is more capably performed by athletes, whose energy expenditure
is lower when they are at rest.

OA C

[spoiler]Can anyone please explain what are we supposed to understand by energy-efficient neural connections ??? and how does that make C the hypothesis that we are looking for ?? How does C relate to such surprising findings ??[/spoiler]

Thanks

the argument saying that the experiment ask applicants to recognize a matrix pattern of abstract design and they noticed that the more successful ppl are in recognizing the pattern, the less energy the brain consumed.. for finding a hypothesis for this we need to have all these wording in our hypothesis....
we have 'more successful to recognize the abstract design matrix pattern and also lees energy consumption'.. then it is reasonable to have energy efficiency and better pattern recognition in our hypothesis... choice C is correct answer choice

hope it helps
Top
GMAT Instructor
Posts: 181
Joined: Mon Jul 20, 2015 2:27 pm
Followed by:8 members

Re: An experiment was done in which human subjects recognize

by [email protected] » Wed May 24, 2023 10:35 am

Timer

00:00

Your Answer

A

B

C

D

E

Global Stats

parisi04 wrote: ↑
Mon Nov 21, 2011 9:18 pm
 An experiment was done in which human subjects recognize a pattern within a matrix of abstract designs and
then select another design that completes that pattern. The results of the experiment were surprising. The
lowest expenditure of energy in neurons in the brain was found in those subjects who performed most
successfully in the experiments.
Which of the following hypotheses best accounts for the findings of the experiment?
(A) The neurons of the brain react less when a subject is trying to recognize patterns than when the subject is
doing other kinds of reasoning.
(B) Those who performed best in the experiment experienced more satisfaction when working with abstract
patterns than did those who performed less well.
(C) People who are better at abstract pattern recognition have more energy-efficient neural connections.
(D) The energy expenditure of the subjects' brains increases when a design that completes the initially
recognized pattern is determined.
(E) The task of completing a given design is more capably performed by athletes, whose energy expenditure
is lower when they are at rest.

OA C

[spoiler]Can anyone please explain what are we supposed to understand by energy-efficient neural connections ??? and how does that make C the hypothesis that we are looking for ?? How does C relate to such surprising findings ??[/spoiler]

Thanks
The prompt tells us about an experiment where participants had to recognize a pattern within a matrix of abstract designs and select another design that completes that pattern. The surprising result was that the subjects who performed most successfully in the experiments had the lowest energy expenditure in their brain's neurons.

We're asked to identify the hypothesis that best accounts for the findings of the experiment.

Let's examine each choice in light of what we know:

(A) The neurons of the brain react less when a subject is trying to recognize patterns than when the subject is doing other kinds of reasoning.

This option might seem tempting, but it doesn't explain why there would be a correlation between pattern recognition performance and energy expenditure. It's not about comparing pattern recognition to other kinds of reasoning. We're dealing with pattern recognition alone here.

(B) Those who performed best in the experiment experienced more satisfaction when working with abstract patterns than did those who performed less well.

Even if those who performed best enjoyed the task more, that doesn't provide a causal link to the efficiency of their brain energy expenditure. Satisfaction isn't a guarantee of efficient neural energy usage.

(C) People who are better at abstract pattern recognition have more energy-efficient neural connections.

This answer choice provides a clear link between proficiency at the task (abstract pattern recognition) and efficient energy usage in the brain. It suggests that those who are good at this specific task also have brain connections that work more efficiently, using less energy. This aligns with the information from the stimulus and provides a plausible explanation for the findings.

(D) The energy expenditure of the subjects' brains increases when a design that completes the initially recognized pattern is determined.

This option contradicts the stimulus. The results showed that the successful performers had lower energy expenditure, not higher.

(E) The task of completing a given design is more capably performed by athletes, whose energy expenditure is lower when they are at rest.

This option is irrelevant to the argument. The stimulus doesn't mention anything about the subjects being athletes or how athletic people perform at the task.

So, the best choice is (C). It presents a hypothesis that accurately fits with the experiment's surprising findings.

Hope that clears it up!
Max
EMPOWERgmat.com
  • 5-Star Rated GMAT Prep Course
    120 Point Guarantee
    Starting at $72 with code: BTGVIP64
Top
Post new topic Post Reply
• Page 1 of 1