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555-605 Level|   Science|   Short Passage|                  
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The dry mountain ranges of the western United States contain rocks 26 Mar 2020, 11:23
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Rocket7
Hello

Can anyone provide reasoning on why option D is wrong in Q3? Appreciate it.
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Rocket7
D has more strong wording 'warns' whereas in the passage author's language in general is not that strong.
On the other hand, E's wording is softer and parallels passage's tone.

Hope this helps...!!
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The dry mountain ranges of the western United States contain rocks 24 May 2020, 15:04
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VeritasKarishma GMATNinja GMATNinjaTwo
Can you explain why option d of last question is incorrect
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The dry mountain ranges of the western United States contain rocks 19 Jul 2020, 12:23
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Quote:
1. The passage is primarily concerned with

(A) evaluating the evidence of a major geologic period and determining its duration
(B) describing an evolutionary phenomenon and speculating about its cause
(C) explaining the mechanisms through which marine life-forms evolved during a particular period
(D) analyzing the impact on later life-forms of an important evolutionary development
(E) contrasting a period of evolutionary change with other such periods
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Option B is more correct than C. Therefore, option B is the right answer.
The main idea of the passage is: The passage talks about a phenomenon, explains its cause and then says that the cause may not be true. Thus, the passage explains a phenomenon (effect of radiations) and then speculates about the cause (relationship b/w env factors and life forms is not fully understood).
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The dry mountain ranges of the western United States contain rocks 17 Aug 2020, 23:36
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My paragraph summaries were as follows:

1.Evidence was found indicating/ providing clues to the significant radiations during O.P
(Next author might elaborate the evidence or describe further what role did the radiations play)
2.Author tells us what happens during the radiations
Marine family expanded. Radiations lasted a long while but the changes in species lasted a short while.
3. Predicting the cause of the ordovician radiation through ecological evidence
4.Concluding that the evidence is not enough to make concrete statements on the actual relationship
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The dry mountain ranges of the western United States contain rocks 19 Aug 2020, 07:56
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hi gmat ninja i have to tried to comprehend the passage as much as i can, i want you to comprehend the passage so that i can check my comprehension
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The dry mountain ranges of the western United States contain rocks 29 Aug 2020, 13:54
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Can anyone explain me why B is the correct option from Q.5?

B. They may have created conditions favorable to the evolution of many "new life-forms".

Everything looks fine except the "new life forms".As per the passage, radiations are periods when "existing" life-forms gave rise to variations that would eventually evolve into entirely "new species"

Also,in the final sentence - these kinds of environmental changes may have resulted in an enriched pattern of habitats and nutrients, which in turn gave rise to the "Ordovician radiation"

There is no mention of "new life forms" rather they explicitly mentioned "new species"

This is why i eliminated B and chose D, even though it is not completely covered in the passage.
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The dry mountain ranges of the western United States contain rocks 01 Sep 2020, 00:57
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priyamvada123
Can anyone explain me why B is the correct option from Q.5?

B. They may have created conditions favorable to the evolution of many "new life-forms".

Everything looks fine except the "new life forms".As per the passage, radiations are periods when "existing" life-forms gave rise to variations that would eventually evolve into entirely "new species"

Also,in the final sentence - these kinds of environmental changes may have resulted in an enriched pattern of habitats and nutrients, which in turn gave rise to the "Ordovician radiation"

There is no mention of "new life forms" rather they explicitly mentioned "new species"

This is why i eliminated B and chose D, even though it is not completely covered in the passage.
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Hey priyamvada123,

I am not sure what is your doubt regarding as the answer to question 5 as the answer is E and not B. So if you could let me know your issue, I would be glad to help you out.


Thanks.
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The dry mountain ranges of the western United States contain rocks 07 Sep 2020, 20:25
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In Question#2, can anyone explain why the correct answer is not E?

And , in fact, there is evidence of major ecological and geological changes during this period: the sea level dropped drastically and mountain ranges were formed, in this instance, rather than leading to large-scale extinctions, these kinds of environmental changes may have resulted in an enriched pattern of habitats and nutrients, which in turn gave rise to the Ordovician radiation.

Option E states that "They hastened the formation of the extensive dry regions found in the western united states.".
I must say that I was torn between option B and E, but the highlighted portion made me incline towards option E.

Experts VeritasKarishma GMATNinja ? Your thoughts, please :)

Also, how to tackle such questions when these two options are so so close and seem indestructible. :? :cry:
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The dry mountain ranges of the western United States contain rocks 09 Sep 2020, 06:03
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Hiii experts,
Can you please tell me in the 3rd question(The last sentence...) why C is wrong and E is correct because I felt like option C,D and E meant almost the same thing in one way or the other?
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The dry mountain ranges of the western United States contain rocks 09 Sep 2020, 08:05
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dontmesswithme
Hiii experts,
Can you please tell me in the 3rd question(The last sentence...) why C is wrong and E is correct because I felt like option C,D and E meant almost the same thing in one way or the other?
Show more

Hi dontmesswithme,

Quote:
it concludes that the evidence presented in the passage is insufficient to support the proposed hypothesis because it comes from a limited geographic area.
Show more

Option C is clearly incorrect, because even if we say that that the last sentence is a conclusion, the second part of the sentence is very vague, we cannot infer if the proposed hypothesis comes from a limited geographic area.

Option D
Quote:
it warns the reader against seeing a connection between the biological and geologic changes described in the passage.
Show more

The author is not warning any such thing and he is also not against any such relationship. He is simply telling the reader that the information about the information about the relationship between environmental factors and the diversification of life forms is not yet understood.

whereas option E:
Quote:
(E) it alerts the reader that current knowledge cannot completely explain the relationship suggested by the evidence presented in the passage.
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is the correct choice,as the author is alerting the reading in the last sentence that the relationship between environmental factors and the diversification of life forms is not yet completely understood.

Hope This Helps.
Thanks.
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The dry mountain ranges of the western United States contain rocks 09 Sep 2020, 08:12
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sssanskaar
In Question#2, can anyone explain why the correct answer is not E?

And , in fact, there is evidence of major ecological and geological changes during this period: the sea level dropped drastically and mountain ranges were formed, in this instance, rather than leading to large-scale extinctions, these kinds of environmental changes may have resulted in an enriched pattern of habitats and nutrients, which in turn gave rise to the Ordovician radiation.

Option E states that "They hastened the formation of the extensive dry regions found in the western united states.".
I must say that I was torn between option B and E, but the highlighted portion made me incline towards option E.

Experts VeritasKarishma GMATNinja ? Your thoughts, please :)

Also, how to tackle such questions when these two options are so so close and seem indestructible. :? :cry:
Show more


Hi sssanskaar,

I'll share my thoughts on the question.

I think B is a better answer than E because in E the word "extensive" is a little extreme. True that the the sea level dropped drastically, we cannot conclude that extensive dry regions found in the western United States, were formed.

B on the other hand is a lot clearer and easily inferable from the lines : "these kinds of environmental changes may have resulted in an enriched pattern of habitats and nutrients, which in turn gave rise to the Ordovician radiation."

Hope This Helps.
Thanks.
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The dry mountain ranges of the western United States contain rocks 10 Sep 2020, 22:26
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sssanskaar
In Question#2, can anyone explain why the correct answer is not E?

And , in fact, there is evidence of major ecological and geological changes during this period: the sea level dropped drastically and mountain ranges were formed, in this instance, rather than leading to large-scale extinctions, these kinds of environmental changes may have resulted in an enriched pattern of habitats and nutrients, which in turn gave rise to the Ordovician radiation.

Option E states that "They hastened the formation of the extensive dry regions found in the western united states.".
I must say that I was torn between option B and E, but the highlighted portion made me incline towards option E.

Experts VeritasKarishma GMATNinja ? Your thoughts, please :)

Also, how to tackle such questions when these two options are so so close and seem indestructible. :? :cry:
Show more

sssanskaar

The options are not close. There is a clear winner.

(B) They may have created conditions favorable to the evolution of many new life-forms.

these kinds of environmental changes may have resulted in an enriched pattern of habitats and nutrients, which in turn gave rise to the Ordovician radiation

So the passage mentions very clearly that these geologic changes may have resulted in more favourable conditions for new life forms.

(E) They hastened the formation of the extensive dry regions found in the western united states.

The geologic changes are 'sea level dropping' and 'mountains forming'. 'They' mentioned in this option are the geologic changes. How can mountain formation hasten the formation of dry regions? Mountain formation are the dry regions.
The point is that these geologic changes provided various habitats and nutrients which gave rise to many new life forms.
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The dry mountain ranges of the western United States contain rocks 05 Oct 2020, 10:15
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vaibhav003
hi gmat ninja i have to tried to comprehend the passage as much as i can, i want you to comprehend the passage so that i can check my comprehension
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vaibhav003 do you have a specific question about the passage that we can answer? If your question is just about understanding the passage as a whole, check out this article for our general RC process and recommendations, or a full list of our live YouTube RC videos can be found here.

I hope that helps a bit!
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The dry mountain ranges of the western United States contain rocks 13 Oct 2020, 21:54
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Hey Guys!!
Can you please explain me why option B is Correct for Question2 and not option D, they seem very similar?

Thanks and Regards,
Rajat
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The dry mountain ranges of the western United States contain rocks 17 Oct 2020, 04:53
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Dear Experts,

In Q3, why is the answer choice (D) wrong? Is it solely based on the usage of the words 'warns' and alerts' as stated by few other explanations. Kindly help resolve.

Thanks
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The dry mountain ranges of the western United States contain rocks 21 Oct 2020, 08:11
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sagarsangani123
Dear Experts,

In Q3, why is the answer choice (D) wrong? Is it solely based on the usage of the words 'warns' and alerts' as stated by few other explanations. Kindly help resolve.

Thanks
Show more

Hi sagarsangani123,

Please refer the below links:

https://gmatclub.com/forum/the-dry-mountain-ranges-of-the-western-united-states-contain-rocks-248026-20.html#p2528356

https://gmatclub.com/forum/the-dry-mountain-ranges-of-the-western-united-states-contain-rocks-248026-20.html#p2617630

The last sentence of the passage: "However, the actual relationship between these environmental factors and the diversification of life forms is not yet fully understood."

Yes, the word: "warn" in option D is actually suggesting warning by the author. The author is not warning, he is simply informing the readers that the relationship between environmental factors and the diversification of life forms is not yet completely understood. We are simply trying to understand the tone of the sentence and infer what the author is trying to convey.

Let me know if you still have doubts.
Thanks.
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The dry mountain ranges of the western United States contain rocks 21 Oct 2020, 08:24
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RajatGMAT777
Hey Guys!!
Can you please explain me why option B is Correct for Question2 and not option D, they seem very similar?

Thanks and Regards,
Rajat
Show more



Hi RajatGMAT777,


Quote:
(B) They may have created conditions favorable to the evolution of many new life-forms.
Show more

B can be inferred from the lines: "And, in fact, there is evidence of major ecological and geological changes during this period: the sea level dropped drastically and mountain ranges were formed, in this instance, rather than leading to large-scale extinctions, these kinds of environmental changes may have resulted in an enriched pattern of habitats and nutrients."

These lines suggest that geological changes during the period might have resulted in evolution of many new life-forms.

Quote:
(D) They may have been a factor in the development of new species adapted to living both on land and in water.
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Though it seems really close to option B, but the passage doesn't talk about any new species adapting to living both on both on land and in water.

Hope This Helps.
Thanks.
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The dry mountain ranges of the western United States contain rocks 31 Oct 2020, 13:35
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Can someone explain 3rd question. I am not convinced with the solution.
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The dry mountain ranges of the western United States contain rocks 27 Dec 2020, 09:50
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Can anyone explain why Option D is incorrect for question 3?

Thanks
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The dry mountain ranges of the western United States contain rocks 13 Jan 2021, 10:44
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pushpambehal
Can anyone explain why Option D is incorrect for question 3?

Thanks
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Check out this post by VeritasKarishma, and let us know if that doesn't clear things up!
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