Official Explanation:Lawns that are watered in the morning will be protected during the hottest parts of the day. Late afternoon is an acceptable time as well, but one should never water a lawn at night as this could make the lawn susceptible to disease.
Which of the following, if true, would most support the recommendation above? (A) Some localities have laws that forbid watering a lawn more than twice a week.(B) Fungus that is harmful to lawns grows rapidly in cool, dark environments.(C) Treating lawn disease can require the complete removal of the root system.(D) Many people who water their lawns at night do not do so for enough time.(E) Built-in water sprinkler systems can be run on a timer for optimum spraying hours.Question Type: Inference
Boil It Down: Watering your lawn in the morning is ideal. Late afternoon is acceptable; however, do not water your lawn at night because it can lead to lawn disease.
Goal: Find the option that best supports the recommendation to never water your lawn at night. Analysis:Inference questions ask you to support a conclusion. Ask yourself first, what is the prompt trying to prove? For this question, the conclusion is worded as a suggestion: “One should never water a lawn at night …” The word ‘should’ is a dead giveaway. Because we know this is our conclusion, we simply want to pick an answer that explains why watering a lawn at night will lead to lawn disease.
(Note: If you have trouble picking out conclusions or evidence in a prompt, try working on “role in the argument” question types first. Knowing what each sentence does in a prompt is a skill which is readily learnable, and useful for every single question type either directly or indirectly)As always, we should make a prediction. My best educated guess that that watering at night, as compared to the day, leads to more nocturnal animals being on the lawn at any given time to drink the water. These nocturnal animals then are more likely to carry diseases which can also damage lawns. This prediction is probably too specific to be a correct answer choice, but it helps me understand the prompt before I look at the answers.
(A) Some localities have laws that forbid watering a lawn more than twice a week.
This choice is wrong. First, why do we care about locality rules? Locality rules could just be bureaucracy which don’t have a reason, or in this case, just a way to preserve water. Local rules don’t help our conclusion. Second, the rules don’t make any distinction between the time of day when they can water their lawns, just that it is limited to twice a week. This answer choice is very off-point.(B) Fungus that is harmful to lawns grows rapidly in cool, dark environments.
This answer choice is perfect. Why shouldn’t you water your lawn at night? Because fungus, which is harmful to lawns, grows rapidly in cool, dark environments. The nighttime makes it dark, the water makes it cool, so our conditions precedent are satisfied for the fungus to grow. This supports our conclusion.(C) Treating lawn disease can require the complete removal of the root system.
This answer choice is why we care about the context of a question, because I can totally see the logic which leads to picking this answer choice. Watering at night can cause disease to the lawn, and disease can require completely removing the roots of your lawn, therefore don’t water your lawn at night. This could support our answer, but it doesn’t seem to fit in our theme. The prompt is so focused on the time of day of watering. If our prompt was written as “Repairing a damaged lawn is time-consuming and expensive. Removing the root system is the most expensive and time-consuming repair. Therefore, don’t water your lawn at night because it causes disease,” then I would like this answer choice more. But for now, it shifts the focus away from time of day to removal and I can’t stand behind this answer as most supportive of the conclusion.(D) Many people who water their lawns at night do not do so for enough time.
Does this explain how it causes disease by watering at night? If you assume that under watered lawns are more likely to get diseases, than maybe. But we never want to make assumptions in an answer choice unless we have no other choice. This option does not do enough to support the conclusion without assuming things for it.(E) Built-in water sprinkler systems can be run on a timer for optimum spraying hours.
Great, but how does having water sprinklers on a timer prove that watering your lawn at night causes lawn disease? If you can put the sprinkler on a timer, why would not just always run the sprinkler in the morning? Frankly this answer choice is irrelevant to the conclusion we are given.Don’t study for the GMAT. Train for it.
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