Last visit was: 19 Nov 2025, 20:28 It is currently 19 Nov 2025, 20:28
Home
GMAT
Messages
Tests
Schools
Events
Rewards
Chat
My Profile
Close
GMAT Club Daily Prep
Thank you for using the timer - this advanced tool can estimate your performance and suggest more practice questions. We have subscribed you to Daily Prep Questions via email.

Customized
for You

we will pick new questions that match your level based on your Timer History

Track
Your Progress

every week, we’ll send you an estimated GMAT score based on your performance

Practice
Pays

we will pick new questions that match your level based on your Timer History
Not interested in getting valuable practice questions and articles delivered to your email? No problem, unsubscribe here.
Go to My Error Log Learn more
Close
Request Expert Reply
Confirm Cancel
Back to Forum
Create Topic
User avatar
pkm9995
User avatar
Joined: 07 Jun 2015
Last visit: 11 Dec 2024
Posts: 294
Own Kudos:
135
 [1]
Given Kudos: 11
WE:Design (Aerospace and Defense)
Posts: 294
Kudos: 135
 [1]
The average temperature of the lobster-rich waters off the coast of Fo 10 Jul 2024, 10:06
1
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
Question 1
00:00
Start Timer
Pause Timer
Resume Timer
Hide
Show
History
Error Log
C
Be sure to select an answer first to save it in the Error Log before revealing the correct answer (OA)!

Difficulty:

45% (medium)

based on 13 sessions

85% (02:24) correct 15% (01:32) wrong

History

Date
Time
Result
Not Attempted Yet
­The average temperature of the lobster-rich waters off the coast of Foerkland has been increasing for some years. In warmer water, lobsters grow faster. In particular, lobster larvae take less time to reach the size at which they are no longer vulnerable to predation by young cod, the chief threat to their survival. Consequently, the survival rate of lobster larvae must be going up, and the lobster population in Foerkland’s coastal waters is bound to increase.
Which of the following, if true, most seriously weakens the argument?

A. There are indications that in recent years the fishing fleet operating off the coast of Foerkland has been taking cod at an unsustainably high rate.

B. The increase in water temperatures off Foerkland has not been as pronounced as the increase in average soil temperatures in Foerkland.

C. Because of their speeded-up growth, lobsters now get large enough to be legal catch before they reach reproductive maturity.

D. Even though lobsters grow faster in warmer waters, warmer waters have no effect on the maximum size to which a lobster can eventually grow.

E. Cod are a cold-water species, and the increasing water temperatures have caused a northward shift in Foerkland’s cod population.

ShowHide Answer Question #1
Official Answer
C
User avatar
Sajjad1994
User avatar
GRE Forum Moderator
Joined: 02 Nov 2016
Last visit: 19 Nov 2025
Posts: 17,304
Own Kudos:
49,314
Given Kudos: 6,180
GPA: 3.62
Products:
GMAT Club Tests Forum Quiz
Posts: 17,304
Kudos: 49,314
The average temperature of the lobster-rich waters off the coast of Fo 29 Sep 2024, 08:34
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
Official Explanation

The argument in the passage concludes that the survival rate of lobster larvae is increasing and that the lobster population will increase. The basis for the
conclusion is that the change in the water temperature, by speeding the growth of lobster larvae, has made them less vulnerable to predation by cod. However,

Choice C points to a way that the faster growth of individual lobsters could create a threat to the population: lobsters that have not yet reproduced might be
large enough to be legally caught. Thus, Choice C weakens the argument and is the correct answer.

Among the other choices, Choice A tends, if anything, to support the passage’s conclusion, by suggesting further reduction in the risks of predation by cod. The other choices have no clear bearing on the argument.

Answer: C