Insects are known to function as pollinators of the lupine, a flowerin

Question

Project RC Butler 2020  -  Participate and win GMAT Club Tests.   
Passage # 132, Date: 05-Jun-2020
 This post is a part of Project RC Butler 2020 .  Click here for Details

Insects are known to function as pollinators of the lupine, a flowering plant. It has been found that lupines removed from their native habitats and therefore from insects native to those habitats are usually infertile. Nevertheless, anecdotal reports of wind pollination in lupines cannot be ignored. The structure of lupines' male cones is quite consistent with the wind dispersal of pollen, clouds of which are released from some of the larger cones. The male cone of Lupinus jaimehintoniana, for example, sheds almost100 cubic centimeters of pollen, most of which is probably dispersed by wind. Still, many male lupine cones are comparatively small and thus produce far less pollen. Furthermore, the structure of most female lupine cones seems inconsistent with direct pollination by wind. Only in the Lupinus genus are the females' ovules accessible to forborne pollen, since only in this genus are the ovules surrounded by a loose aggregation of megasporophylls rather than by a tight cone.  
 1 
 B 
 1. According to the passage, the size of a male lupine cone directly influences which of the following?

A. The arrangement of the male cone's structural elements
B. The amount of pollen produced by the male cone
C. The mechanism by which pollen is released from the male cone
D. The male cone's attractiveness to potential insect pollinators
E. The degree to which the ovules of female lupine are accessible to airborne pollen

2 
 E 
 2. The evidence in favor of insect pollination of lupine presented in the second sentence of the passage would be more convincing if which of the following were also true?

A. Insects indigenous to regions to which lupine are transplanted sometimes feed on lupine.
B. lupine can sometimes be pollinated by means other than wind or insects.
C. Only a small variety of lupine species can be successfully transplanted.
D. The transplantation of lupine from one region to another usually involves the accidental removal and introduction of insects as well.
E. Winds in the areas to which lupine are usually transplanted are similar to winds in lupines'native habitats.

3 
 C 
 3. The passage suggests that which of the following is true of scientific investigations of lupine pollination?

A. They have, until recently, produced little evidence in favor of insect pollination in lupine.
B. The physical characteristics of the male lupine reproductive system are not conducive to insect-borne pollination.
C. Systematic evidence of wind pollination in lupines is not available.
D. They have primarily been carried out using lupine transplanted from their native habitats.
E. The structure of female lupine cones helps confirm anecdotal reports concerning the wind pollination of lupine.

4 
 B 
 4. The author of the passage is likely to disagree with all of the following EXCEPT:

A. Most plants in the lupine genus are likely to be pollinated directly by wind.
B. The presence of a tight cone in the ovules of female lupine plants would make it less conducive to wind pollination.
C. Clouds of pollen are released from large male cones of lupine plants to facilitate insect pollination.
D. During the transplantation of lupine plants to habitats other than their own, insects native to the original habitat also often get transplanted.
E. The structure of female lupine cones and the size of male lupine cones together contribute to the infertility of transplanted lupine plants.

globaldesi · Answer

Official answers:
1. OA: B
The sentence that provides a response for this question is this “Still, many male lupine cones are comparatively small and thus produce far less pollen.” Option B is therefore correct. Options A, C, D and E do not address this aspect and are thus eliminated.

2. OA: E

The gap in reasoning of this argument “Furthermore, it is found that lupines removed from their native habitats and therefore from insects native to those habitats are usually infertile.” is that there could be some factor in these transplanted locations that might prevent wind pollination. Option E addresses this and is therefore the relevant answer choice; options A, B, C and D do not address the gap.

3. OA: C
The overall message suggested by the passage is that although insect pollination is a definite factor for pollination in plants such as lupines, wind cannot be completely ignored as being causative for pollination either. Option C is in line with this reasoning and is therefore the correct answer choice.

A: That they have produced little evidence is untrue
B: The passage has nothing linking male lupine reproductive system with insect-based pollination
D: “primarily” extreme and not supported by the passage
E: Wind pollination has not yet been confirmed

4. OA – B

Since this is an except question, eliminate all the options that the author disagrees with. The one that's left is the right answer.

A: 'most plants' – insufficient evidence to support this assertion

B: Correct. Lines 9-10 support this. So, the author does not disagree with this.

C: Not supported by the passage.

D: Line 3 clearly indicates that insects do not get transplanted along with the lupine plants. So the author would disagree with this statement.

E: Infertility of transplanted lupine plants is not because of the structure and size of lupine cones.

Iceman2020 · Answer

Can someone please confirm the accuracy of the difficulty level. Seems to me like a 600-700 level problem but tag says otherwise (700+)

Getting back to the mail point. Here's my mind map and answers.

Para 1: Insects are pollinators and important to an extent that their absence makes the flowers (lupines) infertile. Then wind pollination is discussed by giving an example of a large male lupine. But generally male lupines aren't that big to survive only on wind pollination. Later the structure of the female lupine and the challenges caused by the same are discussed.

B 
 1. According to the passage, the size of a male lupine cone directly influences which of the following?

A. The arrangement of the male cone's structural elements  OOS 
B. The amount of pollen produced by the male cone  Straightforward. Line 8 of the passage 
C. The mechanism by which pollen is released from the male cone  Not discussed 
D. The male cone's attractiveness to potential insect pollinators  Not discussed 
E. The degree to which the ovules of female lupine are accessible to airborne pollen  Not discussed

E 
 2. The evidence in favor of insect pollination of lupine presented in the second sentence of the passage would be more convincing if which of the following were also true?   So basically we want to show that insect pollination is very crucial to the fertility of the plant

A. Insects indigenous to regions to which lupine are transplanted sometimes feed on lupine.  whatever happens "sometimes" does not help us answer this question. Moreover indigenous insects and their role is not discussed 
B. lupine can sometimes be pollinated by means other than wind or insects.  same as above. also other method are OOS 
C. Only a small variety of lupine species can be successfully transplanted.  Irrelevant what happens to a small variety. We cannot draw a universal conclusion using this 
D. The transplantation of lupine from one region to another usually involves the accidental removal and introduction of insects as well.  Irrelevant  
E. Winds in the areas to which lupine are usually transplanted are similar to winds in lupines'native habitats.  This of this as a CR problem. This option tells us that the absence of insects (in the new region) and not the lack of wind (in the new region) is the actual cause of infertility

C 
 3. The passage suggests that which of the following is true of scientific investigations of lupine pollination?   I got this wrong

A. They have, until recently, produced little evidence in favor of insect pollination in lupine.  Not discussed in the passage 
B. The physical characteristics of the male lupine reproductive system are not conducive to insect-borne pollination.  Completely OOS 
C. Systematic evidence of wind pollination in lupines is not available.  Could not find evidence or any paraphrase for this in the passage 
D. They have primarily been carried out using lupine transplanted from their native habitats.  OOS 
E. The structure of female lupine cones helps confirm anecdotal reports concerning the wind pollination of lupine.  Selected this by POE

B 
 4. The author of the passage is likely to disagree with all of the following EXCEPT:   Basically this question is asking us points that the author would agree to or would stay neutral about

A. Most plants in the lupine genus are likely to be pollinated directly by wind.  Author completely disagrees. Insects > Wind in terms of pollinating 
B. The presence of a tight cone in the ovules of female lupine plants would make it less conducive to wind pollination.  Author agrees to this. Evidence can be found in the last few lines of the passage 
C. Clouds of pollen are released from large male cones of lupine plants to facilitate insect pollination.  Incorrect. Larger lupines are more conducive to wind 
D. During the transplantation of lupine plants to habitats other than their own, insects native to the original habitat also often get transplanted.  They don't get transplanted and that's why plants have low fertility in their absence 
E. The structure of female lupine cones and the size of male lupine cones together contribute to the infertility of transplanted lupine plants.  Presence of insects is more important

VerbalBot · Answer

Hello from the GMAT Club VerbalBot!

Thanks to another GMAT Club member, I have just discovered this valuable topic, yet it had no discussion for over a year. I am now bumping it up - doing my job. I think you may find it valuable (esp those replies with Kudos).

Want to see all other topics I dig out? Follow me (click follow button on profile). You will receive a summary of all topics I bump in your profile area as well as via email.

Insects are known to function as pollinators of the lupine, a flowerin

Prep Toolkit

Top 5 GMAT Debrief Videos

615 to 715 in 15 Days (Ria's Strategies)

More than Quant/Verbal Abilities: Speed vs. Accuracy

745 with Only Self-Prep and GMAT Club

From 555 to 765: 210-point Improvement

Perfect 805 Score Debrief by Julia

My Rewards

GMAT Reading Comprehension (RC) Questions

Insects are known to function as pollinators of the lupine, a flowerin

Prep Toolkit

615 to 715 in 15 Days (Ria's Strategies)

More than Quant/Verbal Abilities: Speed vs. Accuracy

745 with Only Self-Prep and GMAT Club

From 555 to 765: 210-point Improvement

Perfect 805 Score Debrief by Julia

My Rewards