Carotenoids, a family of natural pigments, form an important part of

GMATNinja I'm not clear about question 3
I was considering choice A and choice E. But, I chose A. Could you please help clarify why choice E is the correct one ?
Appreciate your help.

Consider this quote from the passage:

"Studies of several animal species have shown that when choosing mates, females prefer males with brighter carotenoid-based coloration."

In other words, a male’s bright, carotenoid-based coloration makes it a more desirable mate for females.

Now, let’s take a look at (A) and (E) to see if we can find a reason to eliminate each answer choice. Here’s (A):


So, does the passage suggest that bright, carotenoid-based coloration signals that an animal is READY to mate? It definitely suggests that such coloration signals a DESIRABLE mate, but that is different than being READY for mating behavior. In other words, an animal could be a desirable mate but still not be ready to mate. Eliminate (A).

And here’s (E):


You could claim the passage doesn’t mention the fitness as a mate of an animal with bright, carotenoid-based coloration, but the question asks what the passage suggests. The passage makes clear that females prefer bright coloration when choosing a mate. Presumably, that coloration is indicative of a male’s fitness as a mate. Otherwise, females would not prefer it. With that in mind, (E) is the correct answer to question 3.

I hope that helps!

The passage implies which of the following about the insects from which animals acquire carotenoids?

Hi Can everyone explain what is the meaning of "from which"?

GMATNinja could you please tell why A is wrong here. Honestly, I didnt' understand the meaning of E "Fitness as a mate"

Answer choice (A) for question 3 is discussed in this post. Take a look and let us know if you still have any questions!

Enjoyed it! A nice and a tricky one.

Got 3 out of 5
These two were incorrect.

3. The passage suggests that relatively bright carotenoid-based coloration is a signal of which of the following characteristics in males of certain animal species?

(A) Readiness for mating behavior
(B) Ability to fight
(C) Particular feeding preferences
(D) Recovery from parasite infestation
(E) Fitness as a mate


4. The passage implies which of the following about the insects from which animals acquire carotenoids?

(A) They do not produce carotenoids themselves.
(B) They use carotenoids primarily for coloration.
(C) They maintain constant levels of carotenoids in their tissues.
(D) They are unable to use carotenoids to boost their immune system.
(E) They are available in greater abundance than are carotenoid-bearing plants.

Why is E better than A? The below is my analysis for E, but I feel like it could also be used for A...

3. The passage suggests that relatively bright carotenoid-based coloration is a signal of which of the following characteristics in males of certain animal species?

(A) Readiness for mating behavior
Is the "readiness" portion wrong? They're not getting ready because they are ALREADY ready. They already have bright coloration, which means they have a strong immune system (which therefore means they need fewer Cs for fight disease and will advertise [presumably, for attracting females] BECAUSE they are already ready to mate)


(E) Fitness as a mate
???males can use scarce carotenoids either (1) for immune defense and detoxification or (2) for attracting females??? and "Males that are more susceptible to disease and parasites will have to use their carotenoids to boost their immune systems (AKA use it for 1), whereas males that are genetically resistant will use fewer carotenoids for fighting disease and will advertise (for whom? For attracting females) this by using the pigments for flashy display instead" (AKA use it for 2)

Hopefully this all makes sense... thank you in advance experts

(A) and (E) for question 3 is discussed in this post. Take a look and let us know if you have any further questions!

got 4 out of 5 correct in 12 minutes . Need to work on speed , it seems

Then passage mentions that plants and algae produce the caratenoids themselves. When the animals eat the plants/algae they get carat. DIRECTLY.

The passage differentiates the acquisition from insects. Animals acquire the caratenoids INDIRECTLY from insects.



So, it can be inferred that if the insects produce their own carat, as plants/algae do, there would NOT be a need to group eating the insects in another category called. “indirect” acquisition.

In other words, if the insects had been able to produce their own carat similar to plants and algae, the passage would have grouped the insects together with plants/algae.

Instead, the passage separates the acquisition method by which the animals get the carat. into “direct” and “indirect”.

Thus it can be inferred that unlike the plants and algae that are part of the “direct grouping”, insects can not produce their own carat.

Posted from my mobile device

In Question 1.



According to the passage, per the conventional view brighter carotenoid-based coloration in certain Males would suggest that those males posses superior foraging capacity. But this question is not about a few certain males. This question is about . If the whole species has brighter carotenoid-based coloration wouldn't that mean that no individual has the superior foraging capacity? I chose D and then got confused by the wording of the question and ended up choosing A. To me the passage does not provide enough info to answer this question.

GMATNinja could you help me out with my thought process. I know I'm reading too much into the question, but that's what the whole exam is I suppose.

One suggestion in reading these passages, do not try to go really deep into details. Just review steps in your head and move on.

Best of lucks to you all

Cheers

Hi,

brighter itself will suggest certain comparison here. It means there are few which are less bright than others in the same species.
I would suggest not to think deeply into the questions, mostly the tricky part will be the answers not the questions.

Question 1

It's important to note that the question is framed in terms of the conventional view. What does the conventional view say? It says that males who are better foragers can signal their superior ability to others because they will eat more carotenoids and have brighter colors. So the question is asking what it means if an individual within a species has brighter colors according to the conventional view.

Before diving into the answer choices, it's helpful to note that the passage presents an alternative view to the conventional view. The passage states that there's evidence that brighter colors signal information about detoxification and the immune system.

In addition, take another look at the entire stem for question 1:

What does the word "in" mean here? It could mean the entire species has brighter coloration. But then what would the reference to the individual be about? A better interpretation is that the question is asking about an individual with brighter coloration within a species that experiences carotenoid-based coloration. So, the question doesn't ask about the species as a whole -- instead, it asks about certain individuals who have brighter coloration.

With all of that background, we should be ready to move through the answer choices.


This answer choice might be interesting if we were talking about entire species. But, as discussed above, the question is about individuals within species. And the conventional view is about individuals having superior foraging abilities -- not about the levels of carotenoid-bearing plans and insects in a particular habitat. So we can eliminate answer choice (A).


The passage discusses detoxification. However, it's the second view, not the conventional view, that says that detoxification is important. The question is about the conventional view, so answer choice (B) is out.


Similar to answer choice (B), the passage does discuss the immune system, but this is associated with the second view, not the conventional view, so we can eliminate this answer choice.


This is exactly what the conventional view is about: brighter coloration demonstrates superior foraging abilities. We'll leave answer choice (D) in.


The conventional view implicitly touches on reproduction because the brighter colored males send a signal to females. But what is the signal? That the brighter colored males are better foragers. There's no indication that the signal is that the brighter colored males are capable of reproducing. So answer choice (E) is out.

That leaves us with answer choice (D) as the correct answer.

I hope that helps!

Took 7 mins and 45 seconds to read the passage, take notes and answer all 5 questions. Here is my analysis

RC00423-01
1. According to the “conventional view” referred to in line 13 of the passage, brighter carotenoid-based coloration in certain species suggests that an individual

The passage clearly says "The conventional view is that carotenoids are meaningful because they are rare: healthier males can forage for more of the pigments than can their inferior counterparts."
If the carotenoids are rare, there will be a competition among animals to get them and naturally stronger animals gets more carotenoids. Option D clearly states that.

(A) lives in a habitat rich in carotenoid-bearing plants and insects
(B) has efficient detoxification processes
(C) has a superior immune system
(D) possesses superior foraging capacity
(E) is currently capable of reproducing

Ans D

RC00423-02
2. The idea that carotenoid-based coloration is significant partly because carotenoids are required for health suggests that a lack of bright coloration in a male is most likely to indicate which of the following?

The passage says animals can either use carotenoid for boosting immunity OR use it for coloration, the passage does not mention whether carotenoids can be used for both. So if carotenoid is used to boosts immunity , then animal would not have carotenoid to increase bright coloration which clearly says that animal has low immunity which is the reason it used carotenoid to boosts immunity in first place. Option C clearly says this.

(A) Inefficient detoxification processes
(B) Immunity to parasite infestation
(C) Low genetic resistance to disease
(D) Lack of interest in mating
(E) Lack of carotenoid-storing tissues

Ans C

RC00423-03
3. The passage suggests that relatively bright carotenoid-based coloration is a signal of which of the following characteristics in males of certain animal species?
This statement is similar to question 2. If animals used carotenoid to improve coloration, it means animal did not need carotenoid to improve immunity , so this says animal has good immunity. Option E explains this line of thinking.

(A) Readiness for mating behavior
(B) Ability to fight
(C) Particular feeding preferences
(D) Recovery from parasite infestation
(E) Fitness as a mate

Ans E

RC00423-04
4. The passage implies which of the following about the insects from which animals acquire carotenoids?

Passage says Animals acquire carotenoids either directly (from the plants and algae that produce them) or indirectly (by eating insects) -- Passage clearly says carotenoid is produced by plants and algae and insects get their carotenoid from plants and algae. This proves that Insects do not produce carotenoid themselves.

(A) They do not produce carotenoids themselves.
(B) They use carotenoids primarily for coloration.
(C) They maintain constant levels of carotenoids in their tissues.
(D) They are unable to use carotenoids to boost their immune system.
(E) They are available in greater abundance than are carotenoid-bearing plants.

Ans A

RC00423-05
5. Information in the passage suggests that which of the following is true of carotenoids that a male animal uses for detoxification processes?
This is a straightforward question, passage clearly states males can use scarce carotenoids either for immune defense and detoxification or for attracting females

(A) They were not acquired directly from plants and algae.
(B) They cannot be replenished through foraging.
(C) They cannot be used simultaneously to brighten coloration.
(D) They do not affect the animal's susceptibility to parasites.
(E) They increase the chances that the animal will be selected as a mate.

Ans C

Hi Guys,

For the first question, isn't option C a better choice than option D ?
Since it is clearly stated that the carotenoid based coloration can only happen when the species is not using it for immunity purpose
(It may be that males can use scarce carotenoids either for immune defense and detoxification or for attracting females. Males that are more susceptible to disease and parasites will have to use their carotenoids to boost their immune systems, whereas males that are genetically resistant will use fewer carotenoids for fighting disease and will advertise this by using the pigments for flashy display instead.)

So it implies that this coloration is dur to high immunity because if this was not the case (bright coloration), then carotenoids will be used for immunity rather than coloration.

Please correct me where I'm going wrong in understanding this.

Thanks !