The male sage grouse has air sacs that when not inflated, lie hidden

Question

Competition Mode Question

The male sage grouse has air sacs that when not inflated, lie hidden beneath the grouse’s neck feathers. During its spring courtship ritual, the male sage grouse inflates these air sacs and displays them to the female sage grouse. Some scientists hypothesize that this courtship ritual serves as a means for female sage grouse to select healthy mates.

Which one of the following, if rue, most strongly supports the scientists’ hypothesis?

(A) Some female sage grouse mate with unhealthy male sage grouse.

(B) When diseased male sage grouse were treated with antibiotics, they were not selected by female sage grouse during the courtship ritual.

(C) Some healthy male sages grouse do not inflate their air sacs as part of the courtship ritual.

(D) Male sage grouse are prone to parasitic infections that exhibit symptoms visible on the birds’ air sacs.

(E) The sage grouse is commonly afflicted with a strain of malaria that tends to change as the organism that causes it undergoes mutation.

unraveled · Answer

The male sage grouse has air sacs that when not inflated, lie hidden beneath the grouse’s neck feathers. During its spring courtship ritual, the male sage grouse inflates these air sacs and displays them to the female sage grouse. Some scientists hypothesize that this courtship ritual serves as a means for female sage grouse to select healthy mates.

Which one of the following, if rue, most strongly supports the scientists’ hypothesis?

(A) Some female sage grouse mate with unhealthy male sage grouse. - WRONG. If at all it weakens. But this is irrelevant.

(B) When diseased male sage grouse were treated with antibiotics, they were not selected by female sage grouse during the courtship ritual. : No support

(C) Some healthy male sages grouse do not inflate their air sacs as part of the courtship ritual. Doest not explain how females select healthy grouse

(C) Some healthy male sages grouse do not inflate their air sacs as part of the courtship ritual. - WRONG. A prediction which can go on either side can be made since nothing is given in the passage.

(D) Male sage grouse are prone to parasitic infections that exhibit symptoms visible on the birds’ air sacs. - WRONG. But do the female birds choose or reject. It not given in the passage.

(E) The sage grouse is commonly afflicted with a strain of malaria that tends to change as the organism that causes it undergoes mutation. WRONG. Again reasoning similar to that of option applicable here.

IMO Answer B.

globaldesi · Answer

The male sage grouse has air sacs that when not inflated, lie hidden beneath the grouse’s neck feathers. During its spring courtship ritual, the male sage grouse inflates these air sacs and displays them to the female sage grouse. Some scientists hypothesize that this courtship ritual serves as a means for female sage grouse to select healthy mates.

If scientists hypothesize that inflated air sacs display must be a sign of healthy grouse that means something about the air sacs should be identification for female grouse to evaluate health fo grouse.

Which one of the following, if rue, most strongly supports the scientists’ hypothesis?

(A) Some female sage grouse mate with unhealthy male sage grouse.  NO support rather weaken

(B) When diseased male sage grouse were treated with antibiotics, they were not selected by female sage grouse during the courtship ritual. : No support

(C) Some healthy male sages grouse do not inflate their air sacs as part of the courtship ritual. Doest not explain how females select healthy grouse
 
 (D) Male sage grouse are prone to parasitic infections that exhibit symptoms visible on the birds’ air sacs. :  This is our answer as passage explains how female are able to identify the healthy grouse by marks absence 
 
 (E) The sage grouse is commonly afflicted with a strain of malaria that tends to change as the organism that causes it undergoes mutation.  No support

D IMO

h31337u · Answer

The male sage grouse has air sacs that when not inflated, lie hidden beneath the grouse’s neck feathers. During its spring courtship ritual, the male sage grouse inflates these air sacs and displays them to the female sage grouse. Some scientists hypothesize that this courtship ritual serves as a means for female sage grouse to select healthy mates.

Which one of the following, if rue, most strongly supports the scientists’ hypothesis?

(A) Some female sage grouse mate with unhealthy male sage grouse.

(B) When diseased male sage grouse were treated with antibiotics, they were not selected by female sage grouse during the courtship ritual.

(C) Some healthy male sages grouse do not inflate their air sacs as part of the courtship ritual.

(D) Male sage grouse are prone to parasitic infections that exhibit symptoms visible on the birds’ air sacs.

(E) The sage grouse is commonly afflicted with a strain of malaria that tends to change as the organism that causes it undergoes mutation.

Hypothesis is ritual is way to select a healthy male. 
This hypothesis is supported by the fact that male bird shows its air sac during this ritual.

Choice (B)  says that if a male bird is infected, though it is treated, the bird wont be chosen. 
This shows air sac shows male bird' healthiness and when the air sac does not look healthy to female, the male bird does not get chosen.

chaitralirr · Answer

The male sage grouse has air sacs that when not inflated, lie hidden beneath the grouse’s neck feathers. During its spring courtship ritual, the male sage grouse inflates these air sacs and displays them to the female sage grouse. Some scientists hypothesize that this courtship ritual serves as a means for female sage grouse to select healthy mates.

Stimulus: states that the male grouse has air sacs which it inflates so that it can display it to female sage grouse other times the sac lie not inflated. some scientists hypothesize that this is a courtship ritual and serves as a means for female to select healthy mates.

IMO D: States that health males are prone to a parasitic infection which can be easily understood by inflated sacs. 
Which one of the following, if rue, most strongly supports the scientists’ hypothesis?

(A) Some female sage grouse mate with unhealthy male sage grouse.

(B) When diseased male sage grouse were treated with antibiotics, they were not selected by female sage grouse during the courtship ritual.

(C) Some healthy male sages grouse do not inflate their air sacs as part of the courtship ritual.

(D) Male sage grouse are prone to parasitic infections that exhibit symptoms visible on the birds’ air sacs.

(E) The sage grouse is commonly afflicted with a strain of malaria that tends to change as the organism that causes it undergoes mutation.

madboy1105 · Answer

Not B as it does not say anything about the diseases grouse not treated with antibiotics. We are comparing healthy vs unhealthy grouse, not treated vs untreated

bronaugust · Answer

The male sage grouse has air sacs that when not inflated, lie hidden beneath the grouse’s neck feathers. During its spring courtship ritual, the male sage grouse inflates these air sacs and displays them to the female sage grouse. Some scientists hypothesize that this courtship ritual serves as a means for female sage grouse to select healthy mates.

Which one of the following, if true, most strongly supports the scientists’ hypothesis?

What is important to understand here is the question requirement. What does the examiner want me to do as a solver? Clearly, the examiner wants me to choose an answer option that will most strongly support the hypothesis of the scientists. And what is the hypothesis? Clearly, the portion that says 'this courtship ritual serves as a means for female sage grouse to select healthy mates' is the hypothesis or the conclusion of the scientists. Well, what exactly is the ritual then? It is stated before. That the male sage grouse inflates these air sacs and displays them to the female sage grouse is the actual ritual. So, what must the right answer be doing? It should be establishing a relationship between health and air sacs. In other words, the health of a male sage grouse can be determined by the condition of its air sacs. Now, let us eliminate the options that do not match with what we have with us.

(A) Some female sage grouse mate with unhealthy male sage grouse. -  OUT OF SCOPE . Does not establish the link between health and air sacs. Not worried about what SOME female sage grouse do.  ELIMINATE

(B) When diseased male sage grouse were treated with antibiotics, they were not selected by female sage grouse during the courtship ritual. : No support

(C) Some healthy male sages grouse do not inflate their air sacs as part of the courtship ritual. Doest not explain how females select healthy grouse

(C) Some healthy male sages grouse do not inflate their air sacs as part of the courtship ritual. -  OUT OF SCOPE . Not worried about what SOME healthy male sage grouse do.  ELIMINATE

(D) Male sage grouse are prone to parasitic infections that exhibit symptoms visible on the birds’ air sacs. -  SHOWS THE RELATION BETWEEN HEALTH AND AIR SACS, THEREBY SUPPORTING THE HYPOTHESIS.  No reason to eliminate.  KEEP -  If the air sacs exhibit symptoms of parasitic infections, female sage grouse will be able to identify the male sage grouse with the infections during the ritual.  Thus, the hypothesis that the courtship ritual serves as a means for female sage grouse to select healthy mates is strengthened.

(E) The sage grouse is commonly afflicted with a strain of malaria that tends to change as the organism that causes it undergoes mutation. -  OUT OF SCOPE.  Not worried about what the sage grouse is commonly affected by. What about the link between air sacs and health?  ELIMINATE

SomeOneUnique · Answer

The male sage grouse has air sacs that when not inflated, lie hidden beneath the grouse’s neck feathers. During its spring courtship ritual, the male sage grouse inflates these air sacs and displays them to the female sage grouse. Some scientists hypothesize that this courtship ritual serves as a means for female sage grouse to select healthy mates.

Which one of the following, if true, most strongly supports the scientists’ hypothesis?

(A) Some female sage grouse mate with unhealthy male sage grouse.

(B) When diseased male sage grouse were treated with antibiotics, they were not selected by female sage grouse during the courtship ritual.

(C) Some healthy male sages grouse do not inflate their air sacs as part of the courtship ritual.

(D) Male sage grouse are prone to parasitic infections that exhibit symptoms visible on the birds’ air sacs.

(E) The sage grouse is commonly afflicted with a strain of malaria that tends to change as the organism that causes it undergoes mutation.

Conclusion of the given argument is courtship ritual serves as a means for female sage grouse to select healthy mates. 
 In order to strengthen the conclusion, we need an option that makes us believe more in the conclusion.

A: If some grouse mate with healthy mates then some may mate with unhealthy grouse. This option may have no bearing on the conclusion. 
 B: What happens when a male sage grouse gets inflected is not discussed in the argument and hence this option is out of scope. 
 C: This looks relevant because it speaks about the health of healthy male sages during courtship; courtship is discussed in the argument. I will keep this option. 
 D: This option too seems relevant because it speaks about the health of male sage grouse in terms of air sacs which is discussed in the argument. I will keep this option as well. 
 E: Bacteria that harm grouse are discussed by the author of the argument. Moreover, I will eliminate E because I don't see this filling any gaps in the argument. 
 C v. D 
 C: If healthy male sage do not display the desired behavior then we will not be able to comment on anything, let alone the argument. 
 We are left with option D, we can pick D by elimination. 
 Yet let's see why D makes sense more than any other option. 
 D: If courtship ritual displays undesirable behavior then female sage grouse will not select that mate. Because the courtship ritual as a means to select a mate is   strengthened by this option, it makes us believe in the conclusion more. Therefore, D is the correct option.

AbhishekP220108 · Answer

Author conclusion depends on air sacs, logical gap author left for us to identify is that air sac is sign of healthy mate. So possible strengthened would be healthy mate gets selected based on their air sac or apart from air sac there are no other criteria for selection, or something which tells in air sac with relation to health

Analyse the option choices

A. Its a possible weakened so eliminate

B. Talks about health but not included air sac eliminate

C. Not relevant

D. If sage are affected and it's visible on air sac then yes its a parameter for selection or disqualification. keep

E. Not relevant

The male sage grouse has air sacs that when not inflated, lie hidden

Prep Toolkit

Top 5 GMAT Debrief Videos

615 to 715 in 15 Days (Ria's Strategies)

More than Quant/Verbal Abilities: Speed vs. Accuracy

745 with Only Self-Prep and GMAT Club

From 555 to 765: 210-point Improvement

Perfect 805 Score Debrief by Julia

My Rewards

GMAT Critical Reasoning (CR) Questions

The male sage grouse has air sacs that when not inflated, lie hidden

Prep Toolkit

615 to 715 in 15 Days (Ria's Strategies)

More than Quant/Verbal Abilities: Speed vs. Accuracy

745 with Only Self-Prep and GMAT Club

From 555 to 765: 210-point Improvement

Perfect 805 Score Debrief by Julia

My Rewards