Normally, seeds of Emmenathe penduliflora stay dormant for years and

Question

Normally, seeds of Emmenathe penduliflora stay dormant for years and germinate only when a fire burns through their habitat. Nitrogen dioxide in the smoke induces the seeds to germinate. Fires clear the brush, allowing germinating seeds to receive the sunlight they need to grow. The plants mature quickly, produce seeds, and then die. In areas with heavy automobile traffic, however, the seed germinates in the absence of fire, with automobile exhaust supplying the required nitrogen dioxide.

The information given, if accurate, most strongly supports which of the following hypotheses?

The information given, if accurate, most strongly supports which of the following hypotheses?

A. Fires in the habitat of E. Penduliflora do not entirely destroy the plant’s seeds even in the places where the fires burn most intensely.

B. The nitrogen dioxide in automobile exhaust cannot harm plants of E. Penduliflora after germination.

C. If human intervention decreases the number of fires in the habitat of E. Penduliflora, automobile exhaust can replicate the conditions the plant requires in order to thrive.

D. Within the habitat of E. Penduliflora, natural fires are significantly more frequent in areas with heavy automobile traffic than they are in other areas.

E. Unless E. Penduliflora seeds that have germinated can survive in the shade, automobile exhaust threatens the long-term survival of the plant in areas with heavy automobile traffic.

I am in between C and E. Please help.
Much appreciated.

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pintukr · Answer

oliviavill

Here is my take on your question..

Normally, seeds of Emmenathe penduliflora stay dormant for years and germinate only when a fire burns through their habitat. Nitrogen dioxide in the smoke induces the seeds to germinate. Fires clear the brush, allowing germinating seeds to receive the sunlight they need to grow. The plants mature quickly, produce seeds, and then die. In areas with heavy automobile traffic, however, the seed germinates in the absence of fire, with automobile exhaust supplying the required nitrogen dioxide.

The information given, if accurate, most strongly supports which of the following hypotheses?

The information given, if accurate, most strongly supports which of the following hypotheses?

Analysis (Question Stem) --> Availability of Nitrogen dioxide is the required criterion for germination of seeds of Emmenathe penduliflora. 2 ways to make nitrogen dioxide available ie, fires and automobile exhaust; either's availabilty will suffice. In essence, smoke is required for germination.

A. Fires in the habitat of E. Penduliflora do not entirely destroy the plant’s seeds even in the places where the fires burn most intensely.
 Smoke may have led to germination of seeds located in close proximity to fires. From the stimulus, it can't be deduced whether plant’s seeds get destroyed in the places where the fires burn most intensely.

B. The nitrogen dioxide in automobile exhaust cannot harm plants of E. Penduliflora after germination.
 Irrelevant, since no mention about survival of plants after germination.

C. If human intervention decreases the number of fires in the habitat of E. Penduliflora, automobile exhaust can replicate the conditions the plant requires in order to thrive.
 In line with the analysis. Automobile exhaust will provide the smoke for germination in case of no fires in the habitat of E. Penduliflora,

D. Within the habitat of E. Penduliflora, natural fires are significantly more frequent in areas with heavy automobile traffic than they are in other areas.
 Out of scope, since frequency natural fires in specific areas ha not been covered in the given stimulus.
 
E. Unless E. Penduliflora seeds that have germinated can survive in the shade, automobile exhaust threatens the long-term survival of the plant in areas with heavy automobile traffic.
 Information that the natural fires clear the brush, in turn allowing germinating seeds to receive the sunlight they need to grow. However, no certain information can be deduced regarding survival in the shade concurrent with the automobile exhaust. Additional information is required for such hypothesis to be true.

(C) is the correct option

Hope it assists your GMAT preparations.

Al the Best

Rickooreo · Answer

GMATNinja   KarishmaB   EMPOWERgmatRichC

I marked A, not sure why is it incorrect and the OA is E.
If the seeds can't survive in fire, there is no possibility of them thriving

pintukr · Answer

oliviavill

How can we get support from the given information in the stimulus about this statement (option E) ?

'automobile exhaust threatens the long-term survival of the plant in areas with heavy automobile traffic'.

There has been no mention in the stimulus regarding survival of E.Penduliflora plants, once germinated from seeds.

gasoline · Answer

Hello
Greetings!
The stem clearly states that 'Fires clear the brush, allowing germinating seeds to receive the sunlight they need to grow.'
The precursor to germination is Nitrogen either from forest fire or from automobile exhaust. 
The germination caused by automobile exhaust does not replicate the natural process and does not guarantee a clean area with ample sunlight for the plant to grow. Chances are that the seed may germinate because of automobile exhaust but eventually die because the sunlight is not optimum.
The answer is E, which throws light on another possible result not in favor of the poor seed.

KarishmaB · Answer

(A) is not the answer because we do not know what happens when fire burns "more intensely." Perhaps the seeds do get destroyed. 
Though I am not sure why (E) is the answer either. Request the OP for the given official solution from the test prep company. It seems like a leap of logic that sunlight will not reach the seeds if automobile traffic is heavy.

pintukr · Answer

GMATNinja 
 EMPOWERgmatRichC 
 KarishmaB 
 oliviavill

Hi..

This seems to have got on my nerves for quite a long time now..so I read the stimulus and prompts again to find some additional clues..

Analysis of the question stimulus --> Two conditions are necessary for germination of seeds and growth of seeds into plants -- first, smoke (provided by fires), which induces germination; second, fires clear the brush, allowing germinating seeds to receive the sunlight they need to grow. So, both smoke and sunlight are required.

Now, analysing the prompts (C) and (E) once again...

C. If human intervention decreases the number of fires in the habitat of E. Penduliflora, automobile exhaust can replicate the conditions the plant requires in order to thrive.

It's clear that automobile exhaust will provide the smoke for inducing germination. However. it is doubtful whether sunlight conditions would be available simultaneously along with the automobile exhaust for the germinated seeds to thrive. Since, the prompt doesn't clarify the same, this hypothesis can't be supported on the basis of facts presented in the stimulus.

E. Unless E. Penduliflora seeds that have germinated can survive in the shade, automobile exhaust threatens the long-term survival of the plant in areas with heavy automobile traffic.

Information that the natural fires clear the brush, in turn allowing germinating seeds to receive the sunlight they need to grow. For sure, the brush wouldn't be cleared in the absence of fires though the habitat of E. Penduliflora, leading to unavailability of sunlight for the germinated seeds to thrive. Hence, it''s necessary that E. Penduliflora seeds that have germinated (due to smoke in the automobile exhaust) can survive in the shade.

Your views on my understanding will be highly appreciated..Thanks

Mavisdu1017 · Answer

Yes I agree. If E were the answer, it would be the case that sunlight will not reach the seeds if automobile traffic is heavy, but passage never talk about this, so I prefer C to be the answer.

Normally, seeds of Emmenathe penduliflora stay dormant for years and

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Normally, seeds of Emmenathe penduliflora stay dormant for years and

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