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Abhi077
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15 Feb 2020, 06:32
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C
Be sure to select an answer first to save it in the Error Log before revealing the correct answer (OA)!
Difficulty:
5%
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Question Stats:
85% (01:35) correct
15%
(01:46)
wrong
based on 890
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Blandenburg's population of flutterfish declined in the past decade, mainly because of the harmful runoff from a local factory. These fish are the primary food source of the hamrat, a medium-sized species of rodent whose numbers had suffered along with their prey's. Yet although the factory was shut down a few years ago, the population of hamrats has continued to decline.
Which of the following, if true, most helps to explain the continued decline in the hamrat population?
A. The decline in the population of flutterfish has forced hamrats to supplement their diet with other types of prey.
B. Residents of Blandenburg recently released other types of fish into the river to increase biodiversity.
C. The factory had altered the flow of the river, and now that it has been shut down, the flutterfish spawn in a different region.
D. Those who shut down the factory did so for financial reasons, not to revitalize the flutterfish or hamrat populations.
E. In other towns that never had factories, flutterfish are endangered because of competition with invasive species
Which of the following, if true, most helps to explain the continued decline in the hamrat population?
A. The decline in the population of flutterfish has forced hamrats to supplement their diet with other types of prey.
B. Residents of Blandenburg recently released other types of fish into the river to increase biodiversity.
C. The factory had altered the flow of the river, and now that it has been shut down, the flutterfish spawn in a different region.
D. Those who shut down the factory did so for financial reasons, not to revitalize the flutterfish or hamrat populations.
E. In other towns that never had factories, flutterfish are endangered because of competition with invasive species
Source - Ready4Gmat
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15 Feb 2020, 17:30
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Abhi077
Correct answer: C
(A): Incorrect. Whether the hamrats have supplemented their diet with other types of prey does not explain why the hamrat population would continue to decline when the flutterfish population ceased to be threatened.
(B): Incorrect. Although it is possible that the other types of fish have outcompeted the flutterfish -- reducing the flutterfish population -- we cannot conclude this based on the information provided alone.
(C): Correct. If the flutterfish spawn in a different area now, then the factory closure could explain why the hamrat population would continue to decline (as the flutterfish population remains stunted).
(D): Incorrect. Irrelevant; why the factory was shut down does not explain why the hamrat population continues to decline.
(E): Incorrect. Out of scope; we are concerned only with the town in question, not other towns that may have different wildlife population dynamics.
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29 Feb 2020, 10:08
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OFFICIAL EXPLANATION
This is a question in which our answer won't be directly included in the information the passage provides, so our best bet is to go through the answer choices and eliminate options that don't apply. But first, let's identify the logic of the argument Flutterfish disappeared because of factories. Hamrats also began to disappear because they eat the flutterfish that disappeared. Now, despite the fact that flutterfish are no longer being killed by factories, the hamrat population is still declining. With that in mind, let's check out the answers.
Choice (A) is incorrect because the question mentions a lack of food as the primary reason for declines in the hamrat population. If hamrats found another food source, their population would stabilize.
Choice (B) is incorrect because none of the information we have suggests that the presence of other fish would affect the hamrat population. Choice (C) could be correct, so let's put that aside and return to it later. Choice (D) is incorrect because the factories shut down and stopped killing flutterfish—the reason they shut down doesn't matter.
Choice (E) is incorrect because there's nothing that indicates conditions in other towns are related to conditions in Blandenburg.
It looks like (C) is correct. If factories altered the flow of the river, shutting them down wouldn't return it to its original course. If the river doesn't return to its original course, flutterfish will continue to spawn in their new location and may not return to Blandenburg. If the flutterfish don't return, hamrats don't regain their food source and the hamrat population will continue to decline.
The correct answer is Choice (C).
This is a question in which our answer won't be directly included in the information the passage provides, so our best bet is to go through the answer choices and eliminate options that don't apply. But first, let's identify the logic of the argument Flutterfish disappeared because of factories. Hamrats also began to disappear because they eat the flutterfish that disappeared. Now, despite the fact that flutterfish are no longer being killed by factories, the hamrat population is still declining. With that in mind, let's check out the answers.
Choice (A) is incorrect because the question mentions a lack of food as the primary reason for declines in the hamrat population. If hamrats found another food source, their population would stabilize.
Choice (B) is incorrect because none of the information we have suggests that the presence of other fish would affect the hamrat population. Choice (C) could be correct, so let's put that aside and return to it later. Choice (D) is incorrect because the factories shut down and stopped killing flutterfish—the reason they shut down doesn't matter.
Choice (E) is incorrect because there's nothing that indicates conditions in other towns are related to conditions in Blandenburg.
It looks like (C) is correct. If factories altered the flow of the river, shutting them down wouldn't return it to its original course. If the river doesn't return to its original course, flutterfish will continue to spawn in their new location and may not return to Blandenburg. If the flutterfish don't return, hamrats don't regain their food source and the hamrat population will continue to decline.
The correct answer is Choice (C).
