Critical Reasoning

Yatropha plant thrives in environments of great sunlight and very little moisture. Xylismana Desert is an environment with constant, powerful sunlight, and next to no moisture. Although Yatropha plant thrives in the areas surrounding Xylismana Desert, it does not exist naturally in the desert, nor does it survive long when introduced there.

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

A. Xylismana Desert's climate is far too harsh for the animals that normally feed on Yatropha plant.
B. For one week in the fall, Xylismana Desert gets consistent rainfall.
C. The environment around Xylismana Desert is ideally suited to the needs of Yatropha plant.
D. Due to the lack of sufficient moisture, Xylismana Desert can support almost no plant life.
E. Yatropha plant cannot survive in temperatures as high as those normally found in Xylismana Desert.

I went for C. I found this question in an old question bank and don't know the official Answer. Can any1 help me?

Great Sunlight -> doesn't mean Extreme Heat
Very Little Moisture --> doesn't mean "next to no moisture"

IMO Answer is {E} as this answer choice marks the cause of failure of Yatropha plant survival in Xylismana Desert.

[email protected] wrote:Yatropha plant thrives in environments of great sunlight and very little moisture. Xylismana Desert is an environment with constant, powerful sunlight, and next to no moisture. Although Yatropha plant thrives in the areas surrounding Xylismana Desert, it does not exist naturally in the desert, nor does it survive long when introduced there.

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

A. Xylismana Desert's climate is far too harsh for the animals that normally feed on Yatropha plant.
B. For one week in the fall, Xylismana Desert gets consistent rainfall.
C. The environment around Xylismana Desert is ideally suited to the needs of Yatropha plant.
D. Due to the lack of sufficient moisture, Xylismana Desert can support almost no plant life.
E. Yatropha plant cannot survive in temperatures as high as those normally found in Xylismana Desert.

I went for C. I found this question in an old question bank and don't know the official Answer. Can any1 help me?

I have seen a similar question in this forum.

See, Yathropa can survive in great sunlight and very little moisture. What does "great" mean here?Higher light hours or more temperature. I can assume more amount of light and not temperature.

A. Xylismana Desert's climate is far too harsh for the animals that normally feed on Yatropha plant. Unconcerned
B. For one week in the fall, Xylismana Desert gets consistent rainfall. Are we really interested when it rains or how it rains. NO
C. The environment around Xylismana Desert is ideally suited to the needs of Yatropha plant. Reinstatement of the info given in the prompt
D. Due to the lack of sufficient moisture, Xylismana Desert can support almost no plant life.Not useful for us
E. Yatropha plant cannot survive in temperatures as high as those normally found in Xylismana Desert. Yes seems apparently correct. High temperatures is drawback for the survival of the plant

E

Aside: I know a plant named Jathropa, famous as a source of bio-fuel esp. in India and Brazil.

Thanks to theCodetoGMAT to correct me!

what does areas surrounding Xylismana mean....Does the plant grows in desert...?

krishnapavan wrote:what does areas surrounding Xylismana mean....Does the plant grows in desert...?

I guess you meant " What is the area around Xylismana? It can be anything, area with less sand or a conducive patch of land for growing of the plant. But this is not relevant to us.