darkknight016 wrote:
mikemcgarry,
DmitryFarber,
GMATNinja and other experts
This is regarding option C. I had once read somewhere that "little" means nothing, "a little" means something whose amount is less. In option C ".....but it absorbs
little water and so is
little affected....." , the meaning conveyed is that neither does it absorb any water nor is it affected or no such differentiation between "a little" and "little" exists on the GMAT.
Here's a link if you want to dig deeper into the difference between the usage of "a little" and "little". In summary, "a little" means
some or a small amount and "little" means
not much or almost nothing. Neither of them means
nothing or none at all, which is why you might be struggling with (C).
Let's take a look at the passage before examining why (C) is not the correct answer. The passage tells us:
- Art restorers are studying why Renaissance art paintings deteriorate physically when a painting's climate changes
- They've found the oil paint adjusts to these changes well -- it is not the paint that's causing the deterioration
- The restorers' hypothesis is that the gesso causes the deterioration
So, there are some paintings that are physically deteriorating and some restorers would like to know why. Since the paint
adjusts well to a changing climate, something else must be causing the deterioration. The restorers are suggesting that must be the gesso layer.
We're asked to find the answer choice that most strongly supports the restorers' hypothesis. Let's take a look at (C) to see whether it does this:
Quote:
(C) Oil paint expands and contracts readily in response to changes in temperature, but it absorbs little water and so is little affected by changes in humidity.
(C) does not do much to support the hypothesis. The first part tells us the paint
"expands and contracts readily" in response to temperature changes. We are not told whether expansion or contraction of the paint causes any deterioration to the painting or, as the passage says, the paint
"adjusts to these changes well".
The second part of (C) tells us the paint
"absorbs little water", meaning
not much or almost no water, and isn't affected by changing humidity. This part supports the idea that the paint is not the cause of the deterioration but does nothing to support the hypothesis that the gesso causes the deterioration.
(C) gives us additional information about how the oil paint reacts to climatic changes but does nothing to support the restorers' hypothesis -- (C) cannot be our answer.
Will2020 wrote:
GMATNinja why D is wrong? Does it make sense to say that if the gesso is hard and non-absorbent then is unlikely for gesso to be culprit? Tks
Now, let's take a look at (D):
Quote:
(D) An especially hard and nonabsorbent type of gesso was the raw material for moldings on the frames of Renaissance oil paintings.
(D) talks about the gesso used as raw material
for moldings on the frames of Renaissance oil paintings, rather than the paintings themselves.
We are not concerned with the gesso on the frames, we are interested in the gesso that is
"under the paint" on the painting. This is why (D) is not the correct answer.
Finally, let's examine (A) to see why it is the correct answer:
Quote:
(A) Renaissance oil paintings with a thin layer of gesso are less likely to show deterioration in response to climatic changes than those with a thicker layer.
If a
thicker layer of gesso results in
more deterioration then this supports the idea that it is the gesso that causes the paintings' deterioration.
By linking the thickness of the
gesso to the level of deterioration, this supports the restorers' hypothesis. This is why (A) is the answer to this question.
I hope that helps!
Thank you so much for the clarification. That helped a lot!
close
08 Jul 2020, 17:03
