A.
C is also contender.
All others weaken

A

don't see C as a contender; we are told that it has high levels of beta carotene, so it doesn't matter what other varieties have. The issue is whether the plant will grow.

Clear A...
the argument mentions that "agriculturists are attempting to improve nutrition by encouraging farmers to plant a new variety of sweet potato called SPK004 that is rich in beta-carotene". so if the growing required by the sweet potato (SPK004) is present in that region, then clearly the aagriculturists plan would succeed.

Thus A best supports the argument..

C is clearly out of scope, as we are only talking about Sweet potato (SPK004)

My answer is also A.
I agree with gurpree07 regarding C.

Option A is the best choice here. SPK004 offers more nutrition, and can be cultivated in the region.
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A is the only answer.

C is not at all a contender. Say, for e.g., there are other varieties that have more beta-carotene available in India. What is the use?
Also, its clearly given in the argument that the proposed potato has high levels of beta-carotene than those currently cultivated. So, no point in taking it for discussion.

OA is E. Refer to the link to see the explanation by Ron
http://www.manhattangmat.com/forums/in- ... t5816.html

Subhajeet,

The choices on MGMAT forum and this forum are different. Hence, while Choice E makes sense on the MGMAT forum (because of the content of the choice) it is not relevant here. Here, only choice A is a strengthener and all other choices are either irrelevant or weakeners.


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The passage is not "only talking about sweet potato. It is talking about variety ofsweet potatoes (SPK004 or any other).

The question to answer here is, if there are other varieties of sweet potato that are richer in beta-carotene. Then why people are not having that other variety.
& what is the guarantee that people who are not having 1 variety of sweet potato will have SPK004 (which is another variety of sweet potato).

Although I know OA is A. But, if C is not true how will the above statement ensure the plan will succeed.

Moreover, the statement in A is implied from the below statement in the passage.

since sweet potato is a staple of the region’s diet and agriculture

Hi Mavin,

Let me see if I can help.

The issue with C is that it is definitely already stated in the passage.

A is not inferred, as the passsage doesn't imply anything about the particular variant being good at growing in South America.

Cheers,

James

Premise:In parts of South America, vitamin-A deficiency is a serious health problem, especially among children
Premise:In one region, agriculturists are attempting to improve nutrition by encouraging farmers to plant a new variety of sweet potato called SPK004 that is rich in beta-carotene, which the body converts into vitamin A.
Premise: since sweet potato is a staple of the region’s diet and agriculture, and the varieties currently grown contain little beta-carotene.
Conclusion: The plan has good chances of success

A. The growing conditions required by the varieties of sweet potato currently cultivated in the region are conditions in which SPK004 can flourish.: Correct, SPK004 flourishes, the people will get nutrients rich in Vitamin-A and hence the plan will be successful
B. The flesh of SPK004 differs from that of the currently cultivated sweet potatoes in color and texture, so traditional foods would look somewhat different when prepared from SPK004.: Incorrect,We are not bothered about the color of potatoes here.
C. There are no other varieties of sweet potato that are significantly richer in beta-carotene than SPK004 is.Tempting but incorrect, OK SPK004 is significantly rich in beta-carotene, but what if the farmer cannot grow it in huge quantity, the plan will be flop
D. The varieties of sweet potato currently cultivated in the region contain some important nutrients that are lacking in SPK004.: Our only concern is Vitamin-A, not any other nutrient
E. There are other vegetables currently grown in the region that contain more beta-carotene than the currently cultivated varieties of sweet potato do: This actually weakens the plan so eliminated.

IMO Option A is correct
As the question stems asks which option "most strongly supports the prediction that the plan will succeed"
Only option A fits here rest all weaken the plan

Conclusion:- Plan will be successful.

What is the plan:- Grow new variety of sweet potato called SPK004 that is rich in beta-carotene and improve nutrition of people around.

Possible strengtheners that the plan will be successful:-
1) The taste of new variety is same and palatable as the old variety
2) The price of new variety is equal or lower than the earlier variety, leading to more people buying it.
3) It is possible to grow new variety in the region.
4) There are no odds present to grow the new variety.
5) Most of the people will buy new variety

A. The growing conditions required by the varieties of sweet potato currently cultivated in the region are conditions in which SPK004 can flourish. Correct answer.

B. The flesh of SPK004 differs from that of the currently cultivated sweet potatoes in color and texture, so traditional foods would look somewhat different when prepared from SPK004. If the mentioned features are different, we are not sure that people will buy it.

C. There are no other varieties of sweet potato that are significantly richer in beta-carotene than SPK004 is. How the plan will be successful in this case?

D. The varieties of sweet potato currently cultivated in the region contain some important nutrients that are lacking in SPK004. There are chances of non-successfull plan in this case.

E. There are other vegetables currently grown in the region that contain more beta-carotene than the currently cultivated varieties of sweet potato do. We want to know about the success of new plant.
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Evaluation of a Plan Situation
Agriculturists believe that if farmers in a particular South American region plant a new beta-carotene-rich variety of sweet potato, SPK004, the vitamin-A deficiency suffered in that region can be alleviated. Even though sweet potatoes are a staple of the region and the body can convert a sweet potato’s beta-carotene into vitamin A, the varieties currently grown there contain little beta-carotene.

Reasoning
What would most support the success of the plan to improve nutrition by encouraging farmers to plant SPK004? What, that is, would make farmers respond positively to encouragement to plant SPK004? Farmers in the region would probably be inclined to substitute SPK004 for the varieties of sweet potato they currently grow if they could be assured that SPK004 would grow as well as those other varieties do. This would in turn most likely lead to SPK004 being substituted for current varieties of sweet potato in staple dishes, and thus to an improvement in nutrition in the region.

A Correct. This statement properly identifies a factor that would support a prediction of the plan’s success.
B If dishes made with SPK004 look different than traditional sweet potato dishes in the region do, people might be less likely to eat those dishes; in such a situation, the plan’s success would be less likely, rather than more likely.
C It is SPK004’s beta-carotene content relative to the beta-carotene content of the sweet potatoes currently grown in the region that is relevant here, so it does not matter if there are other varieties of sweet potato that are richer in beta-carotene than SPK004 is.
D This suggests that switching from currently grown sweet potatoes to SPK004 could negatively affect nutrition in the region; this undermines, rather than supports, the prediction that the plan to improve nutrition will succeed.
E These other vegetables, despite their beta-carotene content being higher than that of the currently cultivated varieties of sweet potato, are clearly not sufficient to prevent a vitamin-A deficiency in the region. This information does nothing to support the prediction that encouraging farmers to plant SPK004 will help to meet those beta-carotene needs.

A. The growing conditions required by the varieties of sweet potato currently cultivated in the region are conditions in which SPK004 can flourish.
best answer as it supports the plan
B. The flesh of SPK004 differs from that of the currently cultivated sweet potatoes in color and texture, so traditional foods would look somewhat different when prepared from SPK004.
creates differences from the original sweetpotato and partially widens the gap between the argument and conclusion thus wrong
C. There are no other varieties of sweet potato that are significantly richer in beta-carotene than SPK004 is.
strenthens the argument but not the plan directly as the SPK004 is already selected.
D. The varieties of sweet potato currently cultivated in the region contain some important nutrients that are lacking in SPK004.
vitamin A is the focus for the nutritionist at the moment.
E. There are other vegetables currently grown in the region that contain more beta-carotene than the currently cultivated varieties of sweet potato do
weakens the motive of the plan as other vegetables are already there

Situation Agriculturists believe that if farmers in a particular South American region plant a new betacarotene- rich variety of sweet potato, SPK004, the vitamin-A deficiency suffered in that region can be alleviated. Even though sweet potatoes are a staple of the region and the body can convert a sweet potato's beta-carotene into vitamin A, the varieties currently grown there contain little beta-carotene.


Reasoning What would most support the success of the plan to improve nutrition by encouraging farmers to plant SPK004? What, that is, would make farmers respond positively to encouragement to plant SPK004? Farmers in the region would probably be inclined to substitute SPK004 for the varieties of sweet potato they currently grow if they could be assured that SPK004 would grow as well as those other varieties do. This would in turn most likely lead to SPK004 being substituted for current varieties of sweet potato in staple dishes, and thus to an improvement in nutrition in the region.

A Correct. This statement properly identifies a factor that would support a prediction of the plan's success.

B If dishes made with SPK004 look different than traditional sweet potato dishes in the region do, people might be less likely to eat those dishes; in such a situation, the plan's success would be less likely, rather than more likely.

C It is SPK004's beta-carotene content relative to the beta-carotene content of the sweet potatoes currently grown in the region that is relevant here, so it does not matter if there are other varieties of sweet potato that are richer in beta-carotene than SPK004 is.

D This suggests that switching from currently grown sweet potatoes to SPK004 could negatively affect nutrition in the region; this undermines, rather than supports, the prediction that the plan to improve nutrition will succeed.


E These other vegetables, despite their beta-carotene content being higher than that of the currently cultivated varieties of sweet potato, are clearly not sufficient to prevent a vitamin-A deficiency in the region. This information does nothing to support the prediction that encouraging farmers to plant SPK004 will help to meet those beta-carotene needs.

The correct answer is A.
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I'm glad you categorized the question as Strengthen. I was trying to figure out why it was tagged as must be true. I wish we could differentiate better the tags. Must be true is different than strengthen questions

this is not a must be true question. It is a strengthen.