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Praetorian
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Temperatures in the Pacific Northwest have risen steadily since 1981, Updated on: 14 Sep 2018, 00:22
Originally posted by Praetorian on 23 Sep 2003, 17:33.
Last edited by Bunuel on 14 Sep 2018, 00:22, edited 2 times in total.
Renamed the topic and edited the question.
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D
Be sure to select an answer first to save it in the Error Log before revealing the correct answer (OA)!

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85% (hard)

Question Stats:

56% (02:43) correct 44% (02:47) wrong based on 1332 sessions

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Temperatures in the Pacific Northwest have risen steadily since 1981, averaging 2.07 degrees Fahrenheit warmer north of the 46th parallel than in the previous decade. Precipitation and water-table levels, which have historically maintained a measurable relationship to each other (within a scaled range of two to four points), have varied drastically from 1987 to 1991, sometimes deviating as much as six points in fewer than eight months. Reports from Canada indicate a similar median temperature increase, estimated at 2.02 degrees Fahrenheit; research from a 1992 study measures the relational swing in moisture levels at no more than three points.

Of the following, which conclusion is best supported by the evidence above?


A. The higher the temperature of a given area, the more likely it is that the water levels will vary.

B. The variation in temperature in the last decade has been less than the fluctuation of moisture.

C. When temperatures rise north of the 46th parallel, natural water exchange between land and atmosphere must change in the same proportion.

D. Within the last ten years, water table and precipitation levels have varied more in the Pacific Northwest than they have in Canada.

E. Canada will have more stability in weather than will the area of the United States above the 46th parallel.
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D
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jlyngal
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Temperatures in the Pacific Northwest have risen steadily since 1981, 23 Sep 2003, 18:59
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I'll go with D. It's stated that the Pacific NW prec. and water table levels "have varied drastically" (6points is cited), but the moisture level swing in Canada was "no more than three points" (which is within the scaled range of 2-4 given as normal a few sentences before).

So, the precipitation and water table levels varied more in the Pac NW than in Canada.
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Temperatures in the Pacific Northwest have risen steadily since 1981, 24 Sep 2003, 01:29
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Also vote for D.

the Pacific Northwest—up to 6 points
Canada—up to 3 points
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Temperatures in the Pacific Northwest have risen steadily since 1981, 22 Jul 2015, 13:17
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I'm curious as to how so many people chose "D" as the right answer. There's no indication in the question that the water/precipitation levels for Canada have fluctuated "no more than" 3 points in the last decade. For all we know, a study in 1992 could merely be talking about the moisture fluctuations for solely that year. Aren't we all making a HUGE assumption here?

If you were making that assumption, then choice B could be correct as well, aside from the fact that you're comparing two completely unrelated numbers. Can anyone shed any light on this?
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Temperatures in the Pacific Northwest have risen steadily since 1981, 31 Jul 2015, 08:16
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BicepBrachii
I'm curious as to how so many people chose "D" as the right answer. There's no indication in the question that the water/precipitation levels for Canada have fluctuated "no more than" 3 points in the last decade. For all we know, a study in 1992 could merely be talking about the moisture fluctuations for solely that year. Aren't we all making a HUGE assumption here?

If you were making that assumption, then choice B could be correct as well, aside from the fact that you're comparing two completely unrelated numbers. Can anyone shed any light on this?
Show more
"research from a 1992 study measures the relational swing in moisture levels at no more than three points"...this is the last line of the passage. It is said in the passage that A stable level is in the range of 2 to 4 units(note the units).Hence,nothing is assumed and D is the correct choice.
hope this helps
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Temperatures in the Pacific Northwest have risen steadily since 1981, 31 Jul 2015, 09:06
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manojsundar1
BicepBrachii
I'm curious as to how so many people chose "D" as the right answer. There's no indication in the question that the water/precipitation levels for Canada have fluctuated "no more than" 3 points in the last decade. For all we know, a study in 1992 could merely be talking about the moisture fluctuations for solely that year. Aren't we all making a HUGE assumption here?

If you were making that assumption, then choice B could be correct as well, aside from the fact that you're comparing two completely unrelated numbers. Can anyone shed any light on this?
"research from a 1992 study measures the relational swing in moisture levels at no more than three points"...this is the last line of the passage. It is said in the passage that A stable level is in the range of 2 to 4 units(note the units).Hence,nothing is assumed and D is the correct choice.
hope this helps
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Did you even read my response? My point of contention is that you are assuming that "a research study from 1992" is speaking for the last decade. How can you make that assumption without the passage saying so?

Please don't offer a response if you're not going to contribute anything new; what you have said is simply a rehash of what was said above.

I am not saying that there is a better answer than D among the other answers, but I am making the claim that choice D is a horribly written "right" choice.
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Temperatures in the Pacific Northwest have risen steadily since 1981, 16 Jul 2016, 07:21
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Praetorian
Temperatures in the Pacific Northwest have risen steadily since 1981, averaging 2.07 degrees Fahrenheit warmer north of the 46th parallel than in the previous decade. Precipitation and water-table levels, which have historically maintained a measurable relationship to each other (within a scaled range of two to four points), have varied drastically from 1987 to 1991, sometimes deviating as much as six points in fewer than eight months. Reports from Canada indicate a similar median temperature increase, estimated at 2.02 degrees Fahrenheit; research from a 1992 study measures the relational swing in moisture levels at no more than three points.

Of the following, which conclusion is best supported by the evidence above?

The higher the temperature of a given area, the more likely it is that the water levels will vary.

The variation in temperature in the last decade has been less than the fluctuation of moisture.

When temperatures rise north of the 46th parallel, natural water exchange between land and atmosphere must change in the same proportion.

Within the last ten years, water table and precipitation levels have varied more in the Pacific Northwest than they have in Canada.

Canada will have more stability in weather than will the area of the United States above the 46th parallel.


please explain your choice
Show more

How would someone know "Precipitation and water-table" is same as "moisture levels", unless he is a SME?

Any thought/idea on how to identify & tackle such technicalities in case we encounter such cases in real GMAT?
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Temperatures in the Pacific Northwest have risen steadily since 1981, 19 Jul 2016, 06:00
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badboson
Praetorian
Temperatures in the Pacific Northwest have risen steadily since 1981, averaging 2.07 degrees Fahrenheit warmer north of the 46th parallel than in the previous decade. Precipitation and water-table levels, which have historically maintained a measurable relationship to each other (within a scaled range of two to four points), have varied drastically from 1987 to 1991, sometimes deviating as much as six points in fewer than eight months. Reports from Canada indicate a similar median temperature increase, estimated at 2.02 degrees Fahrenheit; research from a 1992 study measures the relational swing in moisture levels at no more than three points.

Of the following, which conclusion is best supported by the evidence above?

The higher the temperature of a given area, the more likely it is that the water levels will vary.

The variation in temperature in the last decade has been less than the fluctuation of moisture.

When temperatures rise north of the 46th parallel, natural water exchange between land and atmosphere must change in the same proportion.

Within the last ten years, water table and precipitation levels have varied more in the Pacific Northwest than they have in Canada.

Canada will have more stability in weather than will the area of the United States above the 46th parallel.


please explain your choice

How would someone know "Precipitation and water-table" is same as "moisture levels", unless he is a SME?

Any thought/idea on how to identify & tackle such technicalities in case we encounter such cases in real GMAT?
Show more

In real GMAT, one is not expected to use any outside knowledge in order to arrive at the correct answer. Rather, using outside knowledge may sometimes lead to a wrong answer. The subject question appears to be a bit too demanding on this aspect.
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Temperatures in the Pacific Northwest have risen steadily since 1981, 17 Sep 2017, 00:18
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Praetorian
Temperatures in the Pacific Northwest have risen steadily since 1981, averaging 2.07 degrees Fahrenheit warmer north of the 46th parallel than in the previous decade. Precipitation and water-table levels, which have historically maintained a measurable relationship to each other (within a scaled range of two to four points), have varied drastically from 1987 to 1991, sometimes deviating as much as six points in fewer than eight months. Reports from Canada indicate a similar median temperature increase, estimated at 2.02 degrees Fahrenheit; research from a 1992 study measures the relational swing in moisture levels at no more than three points.

Of the following, which conclusion is best supported by the evidence above?

The higher the temperature of a given area, the more likely it is that the water levels will vary.

The variation in temperature in the last decade has been less than the fluctuation of moisture.

When temperatures rise north of the 46th parallel, natural water exchange between land and atmosphere must change in the same proportion.

Within the last ten years, water table and precipitation levels have varied more in the Pacific Northwest than they have in Canada.

Canada will have more stability in weather than will the area of the United States above the 46th parallel.


please explain your choice
Show more

This was a hard one for me Initially i was not able to make any inference so took a long time to answer this one .
We can see that the average rise of the temperature of the two places in argument north of pacific had 2.07 degrees Fahrenheit whereas Canada had 2.02 degrees Fahrenheit so only option D can be concluded.
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Temperatures in the Pacific Northwest have risen steadily since 1981, 14 Sep 2018, 00:19
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chesstitans
What is the source of this question? Thank you.

stuck with A and D.
D is much better than A b/c there is not enough information to conclude the correlation between temperature and moisture.
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The source is: Princeton Review!

Hope it helps!
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Temperatures in the Pacific Northwest have risen steadily since 1981, 21 Oct 2024, 19:10
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@bunuel @bb @MartyMurray @b_sudharsan @karishmaB
Could you please help here? Thank you!
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Temperatures in the Pacific Northwest have risen steadily since 1981, 21 Oct 2024, 19:17
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Praetorian
Temperatures in the Pacific Northwest have risen steadily since 1981, averaging 2.07 degrees Fahrenheit warmer north of the 46th parallel than in the previous decade. Precipitation and water-table levels, which have historically maintained a measurable relationship to each other (within a scaled range of two to four points), have varied drastically from 1987 to 1991, sometimes deviating as much as six points in fewer than eight months. Reports from Canada indicate a similar median temperature increase, estimated at 2.02 degrees Fahrenheit; research from a 1992 study measures the relational swing in moisture levels at no more than three points.

Of the following, which conclusion is best supported by the evidence above?


A. The higher the temperature of a given area, the more likely it is that the water levels will vary.

B. The variation in temperature in the last decade has been less than the fluctuation of moisture.

C. When temperatures rise north of the 46th parallel, natural water exchange between land and atmosphere must change in the same proportion.

D. Within the last ten years, water table and precipitation levels have varied more in the Pacific Northwest than they have in Canada.

E. Canada will have more stability in weather than will the area of the United States above the 46th parallel.
Show more
I completely resonate with @bicepbrachi and badboson.

How can one assume the timelines in the question? and How are we expected to know the "Precipitation and water-table" is equivalent to "Moisture Levels"? Similarly Pacific Northwest ~ Area of the United States above the 46th parallel?

I chose Option E here, I could not comment on the last ten years without any given data about the time lines. But rather based on the given information, the data points show more fluctuation in the area of the United States than in Canada; concluding Canada weather might me more stable!
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