As part of an international effort to address environmental problems

The reason for replacing topsoil is to get rid of the heavily fertilized soil as mentioned in the first para. Hence, the topsoil would lack fertilizers.
Hence D

In Q5, you can directly eliminate B,C,D as they do not address the question. Between A and E, E is a better option since A says that Netherland study 'discredits' the given argument. The study doesn't discredit but gives an alternative to speed up the process. It agrees that a lot of time is taken and hence comes up with an alternative

Why can't C be the answer for Q2?
Please explain analogy in Q8

Can someone please explain Q6? I got confused because the passage says that while it might be easy to remove and replace topsoil, it is impractical to do so on a large scale and then it mentions the study. So for option (B)"The field’s topsoil can easily be removed and replaced" i thought that it might be easy but its not practical right so how can the study be Least advantageous? Also,in Q3 why is D wrong?

I got question 8 correct in nearly 3 minutes by using POE.
I would like to explain my POE for Question 8 as many are facing issues with this question and i could not see any OE
Here we are looking for a strategy that can eliminate thistles. The passage does not explicitly state how this can be done.. but instead provides us some clues, such as by protecting other things that may prevent the growth of thistles.
Now in the question the party A becomes the thistles.Newspaper describes the force doing the action. The action is what we need to correlate with the one in presented in the passage to prevent thistles.
A: Easy to eliminate. It talks about some kind of role/position shift.
B: Could not really eliminate this option. the passage does talk about purposefully sowing beneficial organisms etc etc and protecting them
C: This option could be true had the passage talked about means to discourage the growth of thistles
D: This option could be true had the passage talked about means to discourage growth of other elements that promote the growth of thistles.
E: I could not really make sense of this option. The passage doesn't really talk about any fight between thistles and non thistles.

hence choose B. I myself was myself not too sure of the reasoning though.

Hope it helps

Please explain Q.7 and Q8.

Hope it helps

I'd like to disagree on the above explanation.



The 2nd para deals with native grass and herb species. The last paragraph deals with beneficial organisms & aggressive disease organisms. The question specifically asks about last paragraph. Hence, I disagree.

My explanation for (B) would be,

Party A winning= Thistles out growing native plants
Defending Candidates = mycorrhiza (Fungi that fight against disease organisms)
Publishing editorials = introducing nematodes, fungi, and other beneficial microorganisms
attacks by certain broadcast journalists = Disease organisms.
Finally, newspaper = Humans doing the study.

(B)A newspaper works to prevent Party A from winning a majority of seats in the legislature by publishing editorials defending candidates from a rival party against attacks by certain broadcast journalists.

Substituting the above equivalents,

Humans doing the study work to prevent the outgrowth of thistles and aide growth of native plants by introducing beneficial micro-organisms from unfarmed land to help Mycorrhiza(Other Benefical Micro-Organisms that are fewer in number) against attack by Diesease organisms.

Only (B) suits well with the idea present in last paragraph.

Hey jkbk1732 , I appreciate the effort, but there's a mistake in the Question. It refers to Thistles in the Last Paragraph instead of the Second Paragraph.
SajjadAhmad, check this out.

Hello sharathnair14

You didn't have mentioned the question # you are referring to but i am supposing that you are talking about q#8, i have tally it with Official LSAT Source and i found no discrepancy.

Thanks.

Hi everyone,
Took 18 minutes and got 5/8 correct. Took 4:50 minutes to read, write down paragraphs summaries and main point.

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P1
This paragraphs talk about the plan of taking out of production thousands of acres of land to reestablish a natural balance of flora. The root cause of the problem was the over production that led to the depletion of nutrients, which in turn led to the expansion of thistles, organisms that attack plants.
There are different solutions to the problem:
#1: the most effective solution is to replace the top soil but this is unfeasible because the land is too vast
#2: leave the acres of soil alone and wait
In addition a study from the Netherlands is promising

P2
Paragraphs 2 talks in detail about the study.
The outcome of the study is that out of all the plots analyzed the plots with the greater variety of species sown made the thistles disappear while the plots left untouched saw the thistles became dominant.
Seems that this study can be applied to the current problem to fasten the reestablishment of the flora...

P3
Paragraphs 3 talks about another experiment made. Soil from lands left untouched for 20 years (soil A) was put into plots of soil that was affected by overproduction(soil B). (soilA+ soil B= soil C)
The soil A used was characterized by the presence of beneficial organisms that developed over the time the soil was left untouched.
The mixed soil C fared better that the unenriched soil B but it did not fare as much as the soil A.
The reason is that in soil B there are damaging microorganisms.
The outcome of the experiment is that reestablishment of flora can be achieved by enriching soil B with beneficial microorganisms.

MP
To discuss methods to reestablish natural flora in soils affected by overproduction

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1. Which one of the following most accurately expresses the central idea of the passage?

Pre-thinking:
Main point question
Refer to main point above

(A) The rehabilitation of land damaged by agricultural overproduction can be accelerated by means of a two-pronged strategy aimed at restoring biological diversity.
In line with pre-thinking. Hence correct

(B) Restoring plant diversity to overused farmland requires many years and considerable effort.
Not in line with pre-thinking. Hence incorrect

(C) The damaging effects of long-term agricultural overproduction argue for the modification of current agricultural practices.
Not in line with pre-thinking. Hence incorrect

(D) Soil on farmland damaged by overproduction will gradually replenish and restore itself over time if left untouched.
Not in line with pre-thinking. Hence incorrect

(E) Agricultural overproduction tends to encourage the proliferation of disease organisms in the soil as well as problem weeds.
Not in line with pre-thinking. Hence incorrect

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2. Which one of the following most accurately describes the organization of the passage?

Pre-thinking:
Structure question

A problem is presented and its implications detailed--> one study and one experiment are presented as solutions to the problem

(A) A study is described, the results of the study are scrutinized, and the results are judged to be inconclusive but promising.
Not in line with pre-thinking. Hence incorrect

(B) A hypothesis is presented, evidence both supporting and undermining the hypothesis is given, and a modification of the hypothesis is argued for.
Not in line with pre-thinking.Plus no hypothesis. Hence incorrect

(C) A study is evaluated, a plan of action based on the study’s findings is suggested, and conclusions are drawn concerning the likely effectiveness of the plan.
No evaluation. [b]Not in line with pre-thinking. Hence incorrect[/b]

(D) A goal is stated, studies are discussed that argue for modifying the goal’s objectives, and a methodology is detailed to achieve the revised goal.
no goal but problem. [b]Not in line with pre-thinking. Hence incorrect[/b]

(E) A problem is presented, a study addressing the problem is described, and a course of action based on the study’s findings is given.
In line with pre-thinking. Hence correct

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3. The passage offers which one of the following as an explanation for why native plant varieties grew better when sown on land that had been out of production for 20 years than when sown on the plots enriched with soil taken from that land?

Pre-thinking:

Detail question

The presence of microorganisms such as fungi were beneficial to the other soil (look above the 3rd paragraph summary for a more detailed explanation)
while the soil affected by overproduction contained damaging microorganisms


(A) Land that has been farmed for many years lacks certain key nutrients.
Not in line with pre-thinking. Hence incorrect

(B) Land that has been farmed for many years is usually overrun with harmful and aggressive organisms.
in line with pre-thinking. Hence correct

(C) Land that has been farmed for many years has usually been subjected to overfertilization.
Not in line with pre-thinking. Hence incorrect

(D) The soil that was taken from the land that had been out of production was lacking in fungi and other beneficial organisms.
Not in line with pre-thinking. Hence incorrect

(E) The soil that was taken from the land that had been out of production contained harmful organisms that attack plant roots.
Not in line with pre-thinking. Hence incorrect

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4. Based on the passage, which one of the following is most likely to be true of any soil used to replace topsoil in the process mentioned in the first paragraph?

Pre-thinking:
Inference question
It should not contain harmful substances in it

(A) Thistles cannot grow in it.
Not a strict requirement. Hence incorrect

(B) It does not contain significant amounts of fungi.
It should actually . Hence incorrect

(C) It contains very few seeds of native grasses and herbs.
Not necessarily. Hence incorrect

(D) It does not contain large amounts of fertilizer.
Fertilizers used in huge amounts contributed to the depletion of nutrients in the soil. It makes logical sense not to use it anymore. Hence correct

(E) It was never used for growing corn or other commercial crops.
Not necessarily. Hence incorrect

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5. The author’s reference to the belief that “damaged ecological systems will restore themselves very gradually over time” (Highlighted) primarily serves to

Pre-thinking:
Purpose question
Pay attention to the word very. It suggests that the process will take a long time, maybe too much than people are willing to wait. Right after the author talks about a study that will speed up the process. So maybe the unwillingness to wait is the driver of the study aimed at speeding the process up

(A) introduce a long-held belief that the Netherlands study is attempting to discredit
Not in line with pre-thinking. Hence incorrect

(B) cite the justification generally used by people favoring intense agricultural production
Not in line with pre-thinking. Hence incorrect

(C) suggest that the consequences of agricultural overproduction are not as dire as people generally believe
Not in line with pre-thinking. Hence incorrect

(D) present the most common perception of why agricultural overproduction is problematic
Not in line with pre-thinking. Hence incorrect

(E) describe the circumstances surrounding and motivating the Netherlands study
In line with pre-thinking. Hence correct

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6. In which one of the following circumstances would it be LEAST advantageous to use the methods researched in the Netherlands study in order to restore to its natural state a field that has been in constant agricultural use?

Pre-thinking:
The study aims at finding a fast method to reestablish the flora. But what if replacing the topsoil is faster than this method?

(A) The field’s natural nutrients have been depleted through overproduction.
Not in line with pre-thinking. Hence incorrect

(B) The field’s topsoil can easily be removed and replaced.
In line with pre-thinking. Hence correct

(C) The field has been heavily fertilized for many decades.
Not in line with pre-thinking. Hence incorrect

(D) The field has the potential to support commercial grass plants such as rye.
Not in line with pre-thinking. Hence incorrect

(E) The field is adjacent to other fields where corn is growing and will continue to be grown.
Not in line with pre-thinking. Hence incorrect

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7. It can be inferred from the passage that if the disease organisms mentioned in highlighted text were eliminated in a plot of land that had been in constant agricultural use, which one of the following would be the most likely to occur?

Pre-thinking:

Inference question
No damaging microorganisms= less risk for the plants

(A) Populations of symbiotic mycorrhiza that live in the soil would initially decline.
Not in line with pre-thinking. Hence incorrect

(B) Unwanted plant species like thistles would be unable to survive.
Not in line with pre-thinking. Hence incorrect

(C) The chance of survival of a beneficial native plant would increase.
In line with pre-thinking. Hence correct

(D) The number of all types of beneficial microorganisms would increase in the long term.
Not in line with pre-thinking. Hence incorrect

(E) Populations of other types of disease organisms would increase proportionally.
Not in line with pre-thinking. Hence incorrect

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8. Which one of the following is most analogous to the process, described in the last paragraph, by which the spread of thistles can be curtailed?

Pre-thinking:
analogous statement question
The process: adding fungi-> decrease in the harmful effect of damaging microorganisms that want to attack plants

(A) A newspaper works to prevent Party A from winning a majority of seats in the legislature by publishing editorials encouraging that party’s supporters to
switch their allegiance and vote for candidates from a rival party.
Not analogus.

(B) A newspaper works to prevent Party A from winning a majority of seats in the legislature by publishing editorials defending candidates from a rival party against attacks by certain broadcast journalists.
Party A=damaging MO. Editorials=fungi. fungi defend from D MO. Correct

(C) A newspaper works to prevent Party A from winning a majority of seats in the legislature by publishing editorials intended to discourage supporters of Party A from voting in the upcoming election.
Not analogous

(D) A newspaper works to prevent Party A from winning a majority of seats in the legislature by publishing editorials attacking certain public figures who support candidates from Party A.
Not analogous

(E) A newspaper works to prevent Party A from winning a majority of seats in the legislature by publishing editorials intended to create antagonism between two factions within that party.
Not analogous.


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It's a good day to be alive, cheers!

Hey patto, i guess the highlighted part should be the aggressive disease organisms, not the beneficial mycorrhiza— fungi.
Am i right? Because the OA only makes sense then. If it were the mycorrhiza that would be removed, C) would be the total opposite.

SajjadAhmad,
I agree here with OhMy, can you check this question.
mycorrhiza— fungi that live symbiotically on plant roots and strengthen them against the effects of disease organisms
As per above line mycorrhiza are beneficial.

Please read my response on question #7 in the link below.

https://gmatclub.com/forum/as-part-of-a ... l#p2313992

Thanks

Hello,

I think the highlighted part is wrong. Question talks about harmful bacteria as highlight, but highlighted text is beneficial bacteria. I also got the question wrong because I thought because of highlight that question is asking about beneficial bacteria.

Regards

6/8 in 15.5 mins. what do you guys think is an appropriate timing for these questions? trying to understand whether or not I'm taking too long to get through these.

Additionally - for those asking about question 8, the last paragraph gives us an idea of how both diversity above ground and diversity below ground are essential in order to promote growth and getting rid of thistles.

Choice B is a similar analogy in which two parties team up to get rid of an opponent party (ie thistles) - thats how i got to choice B

thank u!