At last count in the year 2004, it was estimated that there were over

1 B in the whole passage is talking about the negative impact of radiations on the human body and he also gives an illustration to show his point.
2 A The word DEEMED means can be just so probably
3 A other all statements stand wrong because are incomplete
4 A
5 C A cell phone company indulged in research of RF would be to have some future research on that topic
6 B As the author says that cigraates impact will be known after 50 years taht how serious that becomes similar is the impact of excessive use of cell phones.

Q1.
A. No this exactly opposite of what passage is conveying.
B. No there is no such comparision between postives and negatives od using a cell phone.
C. Although this is mentioned, this is not the primary purpose of the passage.
D. Same as option C
E. Yes. This can be inferred from para1 last sentence. "There is no doubt that the body absorbs varying levels of radiation emitted by cell phones, but the question is, do these levels pose a health risk?" - Correct answer

Q2.
A. This is ruled out by the author.
B. Same as option A
C. This is totally against the discussion of the passage. Also it is mentioned that SAFE is misleading.
D. As it mentioned by the author that SAFE is misleading and also it is clinically unproven - it can be called as somewhat dangerous. ref: "Deeming a phone "safe," however, is misleading. The FDA states that though there is "no hard evidence of adverse health effects [of cell phone use] on the general public," they urge further research into the subject." - Correct
E. For the reasons it is clinically unproven, we can't deem it as extremely dangerous.

Q3.
A. Out of scope. Info regarding battery is not provided in the passage.
B. This is wrong. As per passage para2, it is mentioned, 1.6watt/kg is allowable for 'safe' rating.
C. Yes. This is mentioned in para3. "Lais team concluded that the exposure of rats to RF energy within the FCC cell phone SAR limits resulted in DNA breaks in the rats' brain cells. Such breaks could be linked to cancer and brain tumors" - Correct
D. Wrong. This statement is contrary to what is mentioned in para2. "The FDA states that though there is "no hard evidence of adverse health effects
[of cell phone use] on the general public," they urge further research into the subject."
E. Out of scope. Corelation between SAR value and size of the phone is not provided in the passage.

Q4.
A. Does not emit RF waves, as per the info provided in para2 sentence1.
B. It may emit RF waves, but the question is about devices. Television broadcast tower is not a device.
C. Same as A
D. It involves same process as mentioned in para2 sentence 1. "Mobile phones employ radio waves, more specifically, radiofrequency (RF) energy, to wirelessly transmit voice data and other information between handsets and base stations." Correct
E. Same as A

Q5. Option C is correct. The author intends to convey that mobile phone manufacturers are trying to disprove the radiation research conducted by Lai, as the research is clinically unproven.(as mentioned in para3)

Q6.
A. Yes. It is mentioned by the author to compare with a similar even in the past. Correct
B. Irrelevant
C. Irrelevant
D. Irrelevant
E. The tone of the author across the passage is in not representing exaggeration. Also, the option seeks extremism.

1. The author's primary purpose in the passage is to

The primary purpose of the passage is to discuss/ascertain whether cell phone radiations pose health risk in the levels in which they are absorbed
This can be seen in the last line of 1st para


In the following paragraphs, the author does express her opinion in a few instances (such as by calling a statement made by FCC vague), but the primary purpose is to address whether cell phone use is unhealthy not just express her view on radiations.

A. dispel rumors about the negative side effects of cell phone use Incorrect. Not trying to dispel any rumors
B. illustrate how the risks associated with using a cell phone outweigh the phone's positive uses Incorrect. No mention of positive uses
C. describe how cell phones transmit voice data and other information Incorrect. This is just one line of para 2, whole passage is not concerned with how this is done
D. discuss her personal views on the subject of cell phone radiation Incorrect for the reason stated above
E. address the question of whether or not cell phone use is unhealthy Correct


2. It can be inferred from the passage that a phone deemed "safe" (Highlighted) by the FCC would actually be better described as

A. probably safe Incorrect. probably expresses the likelihood or high chances of something happening, but in this case we express doubt
B. possibly safe Correct. Possibly means maybe or perhaps and is thus, used when there is no surety
C. completely safe Incorrect. the passage continues by saying that the statement is misleading
D. somewhat dangerous Incorrect. No hard evidence of adverse effect has been found
E. extremely dangerous Incorrect. Extreme is out of scope


3. According to the passage, which of the following is true?

A. Cell phone batteries utilize the power of RF energy. Incorrect. cell phones emit it
B. The FCC would consider a cell phone with a SAR level of 1.5 W/kg as unsafe. Incorrect. they deem it as safe
C. Henry Lai concluded that the exposure of rats to RF energy could be linked to cancer and brain tumors in rats. Correct
D. The FDA and FCC believe that further cell phone research is unnecessary Incorrect. On the contrary they ask for further research
E. Smaller cell phones have higher SAR ratings.Incorrect. No mention of cell hone size


4. According to information from the passage, it can be inferred that which of the following devices also emit RF energy?



A. a standard wall phone Incorrect. not wireless
B. a television broadcast tower Correct. It emits radiations
C. a DVD player Incorrect. not wireless
D. a radio speaker Incorrect. It receives radiation
E. an internet router Incorrect. It receives radiation


5. The author most probably notes (Highlighted) that "one of the studies that tried to confirm Lai's findings was conducted by a group funded by the cell phone manufacturer Motorola" to suggest

A. a possible bias on the part of the confirmation group CorrectIt expresses an idea as to why a cellphone co. would want to prove that phones emit radiations harmful to health. Wouldn't that negatively affect their business
B. that Lai was a disgruntled ex-employee of Motorola Incorrect
C. Cell phone manufacturers are actively trying to sabotage radiation research Incorret. Only 1 of the studies is mentioned. We don't know about others
D. that Motorola is looking for alternatives to RF energy Incorrect. Can't be inferred
E. Lai's research team lied about their findings Incorrect. Can't be inferred


6. The author draws a comparison between cigarettes and cell phones in the final sentence of the passage in order to

A. illustrate a historical precedent Correct. We got confirmation of the evidence that smoking is unhealthy rather late
B. demonstrate how quickly a person becomes hooked on their phone Incorrect. Addiction is not the concern
C. display her dislike for both Incorrect. Nothing of this sort has been expressed
D. make a point about social etiquette Incorrect. Nothing about social etiquette
E. exaggerate the issue to help her illustrate a point Incorrect. Author is just stating a fact, not exaggerating

1.The author's primary purpose in the passage is to

A. dispel rumors about the negative side effects of cell phone use
B. illustrate how the risks associated with using a cell phone outweigh the phone's positive uses
C. describe how cell phones transmit voice data and other information
D. discuss her personal views on the subject of cell phone radiation
E. address the question of whether or not cell phone use is unhealthy.-> Correct.

2.It can be inferred from the passage that a phone deemed "safe" (Highlighted) by the FCC would actually be better described as

A. probably safe
B. possibly safe. -> Correct. Para-3”.. Deeming a phone "safe," however, is misleading. The FDA states that though there is "no hard evidence of adverse health effects [of cell phone use] on the general public," they urge further research into the subject. This statement is vague at best, and rather than answering our question, it brings up a number of others”
C. completely safe
D. somewhat dangerous
E. extremely dangerous


3.According to the passage, which of the following is true?

A. Cell phone batteries utilize the power of RF energy.- Wrong.Out of scope
B. The FCC would consider a cell phone with a SAR level of 1.5 W/kg as unsafe. Wrong Para3”.. Lais team concluded that the exposure of rats to RF energy within the FCC cell phone SAR limits resulted..”
C. Henry Lai concluded that the exposure of rats to RF energy could be linked to cancer and brain tumors in rats.->Correct
D. The FDA and FCC believe that further cell phone research is unnecessary. Wrong. Para2 “…,they urge further research into the subject….”
E. Smaller cell phones have higher SAR ratings.-Wrong. Out of scope.

4.According to information from the passage, it can be inferred that which of the following devices also emit RF energy?
A. a standard wall phone
B. a television broadcast tower->Correct. Sending RF signals
C. a DVD player
D. a radio speaker
E. an internet router

5.The author most probably notes (Highlighted) that "one of the studies that tried to confirm Lai's findings was conducted by a group funded by the cell phone manufacturer Motorola" to suggest

A. a possible bias on the part of the confirmation group
B. that Lai was a disgruntled ex-employee of Motorola
C. Cell phone manufacturers are actively trying to sabotage radiation research
D. that Motorola is looking for alternatives to RF energy
E. Lai's research team lied about their findings-> Correct.
Para3”… but they could never be clinically replicated, which cast serious doubt upon them..”

6.The author draws a comparison between cigarettes and cell phones in the final sentence of the passage in order to

A. illustrate a historical precedent-> Correct
B. demonstrate how quickly a person becomes hooked on their phone
C. display her dislike for both
D. make a point about social etiquette
E. exaggerate the issue to help her illustrate a point

1. The author's primary purpose in the passage is to

Correct answer is E

A. dispel rumors about the negative side effects of cell phone use - Incorrect, as the author mentions nothing in the passage for dispelling the rumors about the negative side effects, as we can see in the 1st para that author does cast a doubt on the unhealthy radiations emanating from the cellphone.

B. illustrate how the risks associated with using a cell phone outweigh the phone's positive uses - Incorrect, - as the positive uses of the cellphones are not illustrated much. The passage mostly discusses how the cellphones might be harming us.

C. describe how cell phones transmit voice data and other information - Incorrect, since author describes the functioning of cell phone only in para 2 but the main purpose of the passage to understand the negative effects of the use of cellphones.

D. discuss her personal views on the subject of cell phone radiation - Incorrect, Author does not discuss personal views on the the subject, since she is citing fact from different articles and research studies, implying that she is using facts to discuss the issue.

E. address the question of whether or not cell phone use is unhealthy - Correct - Since the author throughout the passage mentions a lot of sources which provide proven examples of why cellphones are unhealthy, so it is quite clear that author is trying to address the question whether or not cellphones are unhealthy.



2. It can be inferred from the passage that a phone deemed "safe" (Highlighted) by the FCC would actually be better described as

A. probably safe - Incorrect - since probably generally means that if a phone is deemed safe, its probably safe.
B. possibly safe - Correct - Possibly is a less assuring word as compared to probably, so with possibly there might a case of danger included with safety on the lower side.
C. completely safe - Incorrect, since at the end of Para 2 its mentioned that FCC itself wants further research, implying that its not completely safe.

D. somewhat dangerous Incorrect, as the FCC is not sure if it could be little dangerours or a lot dangerous.

E. extremely dangerous - Incorrect, it cannot be completely dangerous, since as per FCC, the phone must not have a SAR level higher than 1.6 watts per kilogram (1.6 W/kg). So below that it could be little dangerous, but not extremely dangerous.



3. According to the passage, which of the following is true?

A. Cell phone batteries utilize the power of RF energy. - Correct - as mentioned in the 1st 2 lines of the 2nd para.

B. The FCC would consider a cell phone with a SAR level of 1.5 W/kg as unsafe. - Incorrect, as clearly mentioned in the passage that FCC claims that cellphone with sar rates of 1.6 are deemed safe, though they are not completely sure of the same.

C. Henry Lai concluded that the exposure of rats to RF energy could be linked to cancer and brain tumors in rats.Incorrect , since Henry Lai only concluded that the exposure to high SAR, caused the breaking of brain cells in rats, which could be linked to the brain tumors, but he did not conclude this.

D. The FDA and FCC believe that further cell phone research is unnecessary - Incorrect, since in the end of 2nd para its clearly mentioned that FCC urges for more research in to the subject.

E. Smaller cell phones have higher SAR ratings. Incorrect, not mentioned in the passage.


4. According to information from the passage, it can be inferred that which of the following devices also emit RF energy?

A. a standard wall phone
B. a television broadcast tower - Correct
C. a DVD player
D. a radio speaker
E. an internet router


Correct answer is B, as rest of the options dont emit RF energy.


5. The author most probably notes (Highlighted) that "one of the studies that tried to confirm Lai's findings was conducted by a group funded by the cell phone manufacturer Motorola" to suggest

confused b/w A & D, but I am going with D

A. a possible bias on the part of the confirmation group - Incorrect, - could be, but

B. that Lai was a disgruntled ex-employee of Motorola - Incorrect, - not mentionedin the passage

C. Cell phone manufacturers are actively trying to sabotage radiation research - Incorrect, as doesnt make sense that cellphone manufacturers would do something like this, as it would eventually harm their own business.

D. that Motorola is looking for alternatives to RF energy - Correct - could be since they might be planning to use better alternatives, incase the study is confirmed, so that it does not harm their business.

E. Lai's research team lied about their findings - Incorrect, out of scope.


6. The author draws a comparison between cigarettes and cell phones in the final sentence of the passage in order to

A. illustrate a historical precedent - Correct - as its clear from the passage," Let's hope, unlike the smoking of cigarettes 50 years ago, the outcome does not reach us too late.", that something might have happened in the past, and the which was not researched upon soon and had severe outcomes. The author is afraid that same might be the case with cellphones.
B. demonstrate how quickly a person becomes hooked on their phone - Incorrect, could be but nothing has been discussed in the passage.
C. display her dislike for both - Incorrect, out of scope
D. make a point about social etiquette - Incorrect, the lines mentioned at the end of the passage dont seem to relate to social etiquette.
E. exaggerate the issue to help her illustrate a point - Incorrect, out of scope

OAs of this RC are posted now, If anyone have any question kindly let me know.

1. E
2. B
3. C
4. B
5. A
6. A

GDT good work by you at the top among the replies here, abcdddddd you are second here. Good Luck for the next.

SajjadAhmad :

please help with q2, my answer is D

Hi Sajjad,

Regarding the below question:
4. According to information from the passage, it can be inferred that which of the following devices also emit RF energy?

A. a standard wall phone
B. a television broadcast tower
C. a DVD player
D. a radio speaker
E. an internet router

My first instinct was that (B) should be the correct answer as a broadcast tower is synonymous with a base station. From my outside knowledge, I also know that TV emits RF frequency, however, this is not stated in the passage. So how can we assume that a TV broadcast tower will also emit RF energy?
If you could share the OE of this question please.

Question 4 is ambiguous because answer B is supposed to be: "A radio broadcast tower" (I have the book in front of me: Kaplan GMAT Premier 2012-2013)

What is the level of the passage ? 300-500???

This is a 650-Level passage.

Thank you

egmat EMPOWERgmatVerbal

Can you please explain in Q1, why option D is incorrect.
I eliminated E because the option says : "address the question of whether or not cell phone use is unhealthy"

However, the passage ends with
"Regardless of what research may indicate, time will offer the true answer as to whether cell phones are indeed dangerous."

Thus more research is required and the question of whether it is unhealthly or not is not addressed yet according to me.
Can you please correct me

Question 2 please. What is the difference between possibly and probably

­"Possibly safe" means "The probability that it's safe is greater than 0," in other words, that the phone may be safe.

"Probably safe" means "The probability that it is safe is greater than 0.5," in other words, that the likelihood that the phone is safe is greater than the likelihood that it not.