Some flowering plant species, entirely dependent on bees for pollinati

I picked D. I thought B was a decent choice too. But, I guess it's E because there is an emphasis in the beginning of the argument that bees depend on flower species for survival.

reasoning as why D is wrong

D says: The blossoms of most species of flowering plants attract some species of bees and do not attract others.----->all we know from the argument is that some plant species have evolved flowers that only a single species of bee can pollinate. from this we cannot conclude that The blossoms of most species of flowering plants attract some species of bees and do not attract others----->the word "MOST" is a problem here as we cannot be sure as what exactly is the behaviour of "MOST" species of flowering plant . who knows that MOST flowering plants are WIND POLLINATED !!

Some flowering plant species, entirely dependent on bees for pollination, lure their pollinators with abundant nectar and pollen, which are the only source of food for bees. Often the pollinating species is so highly adapted that it can feed from—and thus pollinate—only a single species of plant. Similarly, some plant species have evolved flowers that only a single species of bee can pollinate—an arrangement that places the plant species at great risk of extinction. If careless applications of pesticides destroy the pollinating bee species, the plant species itself can no longer reproduce.

The information above, if true, most strongly supports which one of the following?

(A) The earliest species of flowering plants appeared on Earth contemporaneously with the earliest bee species - This could also be the case Co-existence instead of having a Causal relation. Some Third factor might have been responsible for existence of both.
(B) If the sole pollinator of a certain plant species is in no danger of extinction, the plant species it pollinates is also unlikely to become extinct - Can be said. Plat me extinct due to other reasons such as Land un-availability, Pollution, excessive plucking, Soil deterioration etc.
(C) Some bees are able to gather pollen and nectar from any species of plant - It might be true but not said above. Here we are concerned about only those Bees species who can feed only from single flower species.
(D) The blossoms of most species of flowering plants attract some species of bees and do not attract others - Most is 'extreme' here. How can we be so sure that Most (>50%) of the flowering plants attract only some (>0) bee species.
(E) The total destruction of the habitat of some plant species could cause some bee species to become extinct - Correct. Can be inferred correctly. We can say there is a both side Cause and effect relationship in Some Flowering species and some bee species feeding on them. Anyone's extinction is dangerous for other.

Kudos please.....

Some flowering plant species, entirely dependent on bees for pollination, lure their pollinators with abundant nectar and pollen, which are the only source of food for bees.
P1: Often the pollinating species can feed from—and thus pollinate—only a single species of plant.
P2: some plant species have evolved flowers that only a single species of bee can pollinate.

C: If careless applications of pesticides destroy the pollinating bee species, the plant species itself can no longer reproduce.


The information above, if true, most strongly supports which one of the following? [must be true: Something that can be proved from premise.]

(B) If the sole pollinator of a certain plant species is in no danger of extinction, the plant species it pollinates is also unlikely to become extinct.
>> What abt the other factors such as weather, flood etc. ? Certainly it's an important factor as per premise, but it doesn't guarantee that safety/survival of bees make the extinction of plants less likely.
(E) The total destruction of the habitat of some plant species could cause some bee species to become extinct.
>> Look at P1. "species can feed from—and thus pollinate—only a single species of plant". These plants r only source source of food. So clearly winner.

[quote="ajaym28"]Some flowering plant species, entirely dependent on bees for pollination, lure their pollinators with abundant nectar and pollen, which are the only source of food for bees. Often the pollinating species is so highly adapted that it can feed from—and thus pollinate—only a single species of plant. Similarly, some plant species have evolved flowers that only a single species of bee can pollinate—an arrangement that places the plant species at great risk of extinction. If careless applications of pesticides destroy the pollinating bee species, the plant species itself can no longer reproduce.
The information above, if true, most strongly supports which one of the following?
(A) The earliest species of flowering plants appeared on Earth contemporaneously with the earliest bee species.
(B) If the sole pollinator of a certain plant species is in no danger of extinction, the plant species it pollinates is also unlikely to become extinct.
(C) Some bees are able to gather pollen and nectar from any species of plant.
(D) The blossoms of most species of flowering plants attract some species of bees and do not attract others.
(E) The total destruction of the habitat of some plant species could cause some bee species to become extinct.

Please explain (especially e-GMAT representer) how "effect led to cause" is a probable answer...

E is the correct answer.

This is an inference type question.

Note the premise- Similarly, some plant species have evolved flowers that only a single species of bee can pollinate

The limitation on food supply of some of the bees makes them vulnerable to extinction if the plants they feed upon are destroyed.

Also note that option E only raises a possibility ( note the use of word could)

The total destruction of the habitat of some plant species could cause some bee species to become extinct.

If the plant habitat gets destroyed, it MAY lead to destruction of plants and so the Bees SOLELY DEPENDENT on these plants for their feed may face extinction.

Hope the above makes sense!1

I DONOT MIND KUDOS

Bold expression states, have evolved flowers that only a single species of bee can pollinate.
Two questions, how important flower is for plant to survive. We do have plants without flowers, right ?
Now, can specific species of bee survive without those flowers ? So, here "specific species of bees" are dependent not the plant.


So, IMO it should be E.

Regards,
Gaurav

Thanks for such a good explanation!

Some flowering plant species, entirely dependent on bees for pollination, lure their pollinators with abundant nectar and pollen, which are the only source of food for bees. Often the pollinating species is so highly adapted that it can feed from—and thus pollinate—only a single species of plant. Similarly, some plant species have evolved flowers that only a single species of bee can pollinate—an arrangement that places the plant species at great risk of extinction. If careless applications of pesticides destroy the pollinating bee species, the plant species itself can no longer reproduce.

The information above, if true, most strongly supports which one of the following?

(A) The earliest species of flowering plants appeared on Earth contemporaneously with the earliest bee species. May be or may not be true.
(B) If the sole pollinator of a certain plant species is in no danger of extinction, the plant species it pollinates is also unlikely to become extinct. The argument mentioned the opposite. So, can not be true.
(C) Some bees are able to gather pollen and nectar from any species of plant. Any is an extreme word here.
(D) The blossoms of most species of flowering plants attract some species of bees and do not attract others. Most is an extreme word here.
(E) The total destruction of the habitat of some plant species could cause some bee species to become extinct. It is saying the possibility. So, it could be correct answer

Some flowering plant species, entirely dependent on bees for pollination, lure their pollinators with abundant nectar and pollen, which are the only source of food for bees

So some particular bee type is dependent on this type as it is the only source of food for them . so if this flower plant species get extinct that bee species dependent on it will also get extinct . So the answer is E.

(B) If the sole pollinator of a certain plant species is in no danger of extinction, the plant species it pollinates is also unlikely to become extinct. there might be some other reason why that plant species can get extinct such as some virus affecting whole species .

Answer (E)

B has mistaken negation error.

if A -> B
then if B -> need not be A

Some flowering plant species, entirely dependent on bees for pollination, lure their pollinators with abundant nectar and pollen, which are the only source of food for bees. Often the pollinating species is so highly adapted that it can feed from—and thus pollinate—only a single species of plant. Similarly, some plant species have evolved flowers that only a single species of bee can pollinate—an arrangement that places the plant species at great risk of extinction. If careless applications of pesticides destroy the pollinating bee species, the plant species itself can no longer reproduce.

The information above, if true, most strongly supports which one of the following?

(A) The earliest species of flowering plants appeared on Earth contemporaneously with the earliest bee species. -Passage is not about earliest species of plants.
(B) If the sole pollinator of a certain plant species is in no danger of extinction, the plant species it pollinates is also unlikely to become extinct. -If pollinator is not under danger of extinction then it doesn't mean the plant can't become extinct. This is NOT the only condition.
(C) Some bees are able to gather pollen and nectar from any species of plant. -"any" species of plant? Exaggerated choice.
(D) The blossoms of most species of flowering plants attract some species of bees and do not attract others. -"most"? Exaggerated
(E) The total destruction of the habitat of some plant species could cause some bee species to become extinct. -Correct.

(A) is way too broad to support. We don't know anything about the earliest species.
(B) Mistaken negation, swaps the logic around. Paragraph tells that if the sole pollinator DOES become extinct then the plant species is also in trouble. Not the other way around. We aren't told what happens to the plant species if the bee species does NOT go extinct. The plant species could very will still go extinct for another reason, like a mass flood or an astroid.
(C) The stimulus does not support "Any species of plant".
(D) There isn't anything in the stimulus that provides us with adequate information to distinguish characteristics between species of bees. "Most" feels extreme, too. We are repeatedly told "some" in this question, or "often".
(E) Correct. This is supported by the logic that if the one species goes extinct, and the other species is solely reliant on it, the non-extinct species is still in trouble.

This is a nice question.
In CR questions:
'IF X, THEN Y' is NOT not same as (doesn't imply) 'IF NOT X, THEN NOT Y', hence I had ruled out 'B'

However, I had ruled out E as well, because 'E' is NOT supporting the conclusion in question stem.

While reading the explanations from contributors, I realized that Question stem is NOT asking the option that supports conclusion, but rather asking what can be synthesised/ what 'must be true' from the stimulus given.

Although I am practicing CR with question types, this question offered me another learning; one must carefully look at the question STEM as well.

Sajjad1994,
Can you please help by changing the tag from 'Strengthen' to 'Inference'.

Thanks.

Some flowering plant species, entirely dependent on bees for pollination, lure their pollinators with abundant nectar and pollen, which are the only source of food for bees. Often the pollinating species is so highly adapted that it can feed from—and thus pollinate—only a single species of plant. Similarly, some plant species have evolved flowers that only a single species of bee can pollinate—an arrangement that places the plant species at great risk of extinction. If careless applications of pesticides destroy the pollinating bee species, the plant species itself can no longer reproduce.

The information above, if true, most strongly supports which one of the following?

(A) The earliest species of flowering plants appeared on Earth contemporaneously with the earliest bee species. - WRONG. Its about evolution not earliest species when evolution just has started or not at all started.
(B) If the sole pollinator of a certain plant species is in no danger of extinction, the plant species it pollinates is also unlikely to become extinct. - WRONG. No only the word unlikely creates doubt, this option also reverse causality using conditional which is questionable.
(C) Some bees are able to gather pollen and nectar from any species of plant. - WRONG. May be, may be not(most likely as per passage) we can't say.
(D) The blossoms of most species of flowering plants attract some species of bees and do not attract others. - WRONG. Again not backed up in passage. Not inferable.
(E) The total destruction of the habitat of some plant species could cause some bee species to become extinct. - CORRECT. This is most generic of all the option and is the right answer. Some species would definitely impact some pollinator species since those pollinator species sole food source would have been destroyed.

Took 4minutes of time but it was correct. It was between B and E for me.

Answer E.

The information provided most strongly supports option (E) - The total destruction of the habitat of some plant species could cause some bee species to become extinct.

According to the information given, there is a close and mutual dependence between certain flowering plant species and their pollinators, which in this case are bees. The plants rely on bees for pollination, and in turn, bees rely on the plants for their food source. The relationship between the plant species and the bee species is highly specific, with some plant species depending on a single species of bee for pollination.

If the habitat of these plant species is destroyed, it would result in the loss of the plant species itself. Since the bees rely exclusively on these plant species for their food source, the destruction of the plants would also lead to the loss of the specific bee species that depends on them. Therefore, the extinction of plant species could cause the extinction of the bee species that are closely associated with them.

The other options are not directly supported by the given information. Option (A) talks about the timing of the appearance of flowering plants and bees, which is not discussed in the passage. Option (B) assumes that if the sole pollinator is not in danger, the plant species is also safe, which is not necessarily true. Option (C) suggests that bees can gather pollen and nectar from any plant species, which contradicts the notion of highly specific plant-pollinator relationships. Option (D) states that most species of flowering plants attract some bees and not others, but the passage does not provide information about the relative attractiveness of different plant species to bees

Here is how I would do it, although I am still stuck between C and E. GMATNinja IanStewart KarishmaB MartyMurray GMATGuruNY. Thank you and I look forward to your response.

Some flowering plant species, entirely dependent on bees for pollination, lure their pollinators with abundant nectar and pollen, which are the only source of food for bees. Often the pollinating species is so highly adapted that it can feed from—and thus pollinate—only a single species of plant. Similarly, some plant species have evolved flowers that only a single species of bee can pollinate—an arrangement that places the plant species at great risk of extinction. If careless applications of pesticides destroy the pollinating bee species, the plant species itself can no longer reproduce.

The information above, if true, most strongly supports which one of the following?

(A) The earliest species of flowering plants appeared on Earth contemporaneously with the earliest bee species. Irrelevant
(B) If the sole pollinator of a certain plant species is in no danger of extinction, the plant species it pollinates is also unlikely to become extinct. The plant species can become extinct in any other way. Cannot be inferred.
(C) Some bees are able to gather pollen and nectar from any species of plant. This is not directly stated in the argument, although can it be an assumption? This sentence mentions "often", not always, "Often the pollinating species is so highly adapted that". So, it is possible that some bees "are" able to gather pollen and nectar of any species of plant. How do I eliminate C? I think E is also not directly stated in the argument.
(D) The blossoms of most species of flowering plants attract some species of bees and do not attract others. Cannot be inferred. Besides, "most" is I guess, extreme?
(E) The total destruction of the habitat of some plant species could cause some bee species to become extinct. The argument does mention this, Often the pollinating species is so highly adapted that it can feed from—and thus pollinate—only a single species of plant.". The could be a cause effect relationship, meaning extinction of the particular pollinator species could lead to extinction of the corresponding plant it pollinates and vice versa. Side question: The "could" in the answer choice makes it a strong choice. Had the "could" been a "will" would that make E incorrect?