I quite liked this tough RC. Can we try to post how we approached it, what notes did we take, how long did we spend, etc? I hope this way it will benefit everyone. I will post OA after a few entries.

There is no consensus among
researchers regarding what qualifies a
substance as a pheromone. While most
agree on a basic definition of pheromones
as chemicals released by one individual
of a species which, when detected by
another individual of the same species,
elicit a specific behavioral or physiological
response, some researchers also specify
that the response to pheromones must be
unconscious. In addition, the distinction
between pheromones and odorants—
chemicals that are consciously detected
as odors---can be blurry, and some
researchers classify pheromones as a
type of odorant. Evidence that pheromone
responses may not involve conscious odor
perception comes from the finding that in
many species, pheromones are processed
by the vomeronasal (or accessory olfactory)
system, which uses a special structure in
the nose, the vomeronasal organ (VNO),
to receive chemical signals. The neural
connections between the VNO and the
brain are separate from those of the main
olfactory system, whose processing of
odorants triggers sensations of smell. But
while the VNO does process many animal
pheromone signals, not all animal phero-
mones work through the VNO. Conversely,
not all chemical signals transmitted via the
VNO quality as pheromones. For example,
garter snakes detect a chemical signal from
earthworms—one of their favorite foods—via
the VNO, and they use this signal to track
their prey.

7. It can be inferred from the passage thatin classifying pheromones as a type of
odorant, the researchers referred to posit that
A. pheromones are perceived consciously
B. most pheromones are processed by the VNO
C. most chemical signals processed by the VNO are pheromones
D. Pheromone perception does not occur exclusively between members of the same species.
E. pheromones do not always elicit a specific behavioral or physiological response

8. According to the passage, the fact that pheromones are processed by the VNO
in many animal species has been taken as evidence of which of the following?
A. The accessory and main olfac-Tory systems are not separate
B. Odorants and pheromones are not distinct types of chemicals.
C. Odorants and pheromones both elicit a specific behavioral response.
D. Pheromones do not trigger conscious sensations of smell.
E. Pheromones aid animals in tracking prey.

9.The primary purpose of the passage is to
A. compare and contrast the ways in which the vomeronasal organ and the main olfactory systern
process chemicals.
B. summarize the debate over the role the vomeronasal organ plays in odor perception
C. present some of the issues involved in the debate over what constitutes a pheromone
D. propose a new definition of pheromones based on recent research
E. argue that pheromones should be classified as a type of odorant

mine are
7.D
8.B
9.C
I will explain it my answers are correct

My answers are B , D and C.
I checked on few other websites and the OA mentioned is A, D and C. See the one below:
http://www.beatthegmat.com/pheromone-t41132.html#171550

I am not sure how the first one is A. Can anyone explain?

B,D,C

b,d,e.

My take D, E, C

Question 7

A
B - Most Wrong
C - Most Chemical Signals Wrong
D - contradicts passage
E - do not always - wrong

At this point I checked question again which indirectly says we have to support researchers who want to classify P's as odorant - Hence A