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B states the old plan does not change.
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ChrisLele
The problem, according to the argument, is that the fungus in the tulu plant cannot be detected until after the plants is 30 weeks old. And since most plants are sold at 24 weeks, many end up with an infected tulu plant. An easy solution would to not allow tulu plants less than 30 weeks old to be sold. That way plants that are 30+ weeks old can effectively be tested for the fungus, thereby making sure no fungus-infected tulu plants are sold. Answer choice (D) clearly matches this logic.

Hope that helps!

Argument says "...requiring all tulu plants to be tested for fungal rot BEFORE being sold", so answer D logic flaws also - one can make a test of plants which are less than 24 weeks old, but sell them only after they are 30 weeks old, satisfysing both initial requirement of goverment and D answer requirement.

I think it is a rare example of RC where logic of correct answer is not airtight.
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Option B: Since some people may not be aware of the significance of such labeling, such labeling might have very little effect. So option B is wrong.
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ChrisLele
The problem, according to the argument, is that the fungus in the tulu plant cannot be detected until after the plants is 30 weeks old. And since most plants are sold at 24 weeks, many end up with an infected tulu plant. An easy solution would to not allow tulu plants less than 30 weeks old to be sold. That way plants that are 30+ weeks old can effectively be tested for the fungus, thereby making sure no fungus-infected tulu plants are sold. Answer choice (D) clearly matches this logic.

Hope that helps!


can you please explain, question falls in which type?

Is it inference based question or strengthening the argument question?

Evaluation of Plan
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warriorsquared
Hey all,

Thanks for the comments here, they're really helpful.

It would be amazing if someone could walk me through where my logic is wrong.

I saw both C and D as attractive answers, and chose C. I'll explain my rationale for all answer choices. Does my logic stink anywhere? More importantly, can someone explain why D works isntead of C, and where my logic is wrong?

(A) -- a notice won't reassure gardeners since they are still just as likely to buy fungal-ridden tulus
(B) -- labeling a tulu that is less than 30 weeks old will similarly not help gardeners avoid buying fungal-ridden tulus
(C) To me, C works assuming you can find another way to test plants less than 24 weeks old. Clearly current methods of testing this plant are not good enough. I liked this answer because, assuming the research pays off, the government can still meet their original goal (to reassure gardeners that the plants have been tested). Plus, as an added bonus, this answer choice won't force customers into changing their buying habits -- after all, the fact that customers buy tulus <24 weeks old indicate that they prefer these types of tulus. The only assumption here is that the research pays off...
(D) To me, D works so long as people buy tulus >30 weeks old even though they don't currently do so. As long as the assumption that people will simply buy older tulus (i.e. that there is no preference for young tulus over old tulus), this answer choicew works.
(E) Sounded kind of extreme when I first read it, and C + D looked attractive so I didn't give this one much thought. It seems like it won't necessarily stop people from buying fungal-ridden tulus as the quarentine occurs after the fact. Seems like a weak choice to me.

If someone could explain where my logic sucks on C vs. D, that'd be great :)


In C, research MIGHT result in a solution which would let us test 24 weeks or prior but we are looking for answer which is a sure shot/definite solution
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Hope your preparation is going well.

While we work on the argument we are looking for a plan which can solve the problem of gardeners by rightly identifying the infected Tulu plants. As the argument suggests that identification of the rotten species can be only done after a period of 30 weeks and plants are sold before they are 24 weeks, so the predicted answer should provide a solution to overcome the challenge.

A –This does not provide respite to the gardeners.

B-This answer choice does not address the problem.

C-This answer choice does not provide an immediate solution as per the expectation of the question.

D- This answer choice ensures that the gardeners are aware of the fact that whether the infected plants are fungal infected or not.

E-This answer fails to provide resolution to the problem.

Hope the explanation helps.

All the best!!

Keep practicing!
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betterscore
The tulu, a popular ornamental plant, does not reproduce naturally, and is only bred and sold by specialized horticultural companies. Unfortunately, the tulu is easily devastated by a contagious fungal rot. The govt ministry plans to reassure worried gardeners by requiring all tulu plants to be tested for fungal rot before being sold. However, infected plants less than 30 weeks old have generally not built enough fungal rot to be detected reliably. And many tulu plants are sold before they are 24 weeks old.

Which of the following, if performed by the govt ministry, could logically be expected to overcome the problem with their plan to test fungal rot.

(C) researching possible ways to test tulu plants less than 24 weeks old for fungal rot.

(D) Ensuring that tulu plants are not sold before they are 30 weeks old.
The government's planning is all about for less than 30 weeks old plants NOT 24 weeks plants. Less than 30 weeks could be 29 weeks too. So, researching on less than 24 weeks plants does not guarantee the research on 29 weeks plants.
One more thing:
In C, the word "research" NEVER guarantee that the plan will be successful or the govt can expect to overcome the problem.
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Dear VeritasKarishma AjiteshArun GMATGuruNY IanStewart MarkSullivan,

Is choice D. the more general case of choice E.?
Those 2 choices seem very similar to me.

Bringing wording from choice E., I view choice D. as:
Quarantining all tulu plants from [ANY] horticultural companies at which any case of fungal rot has been detected until those tulu plants can be tested for fungal rot.

I inserted the brackets for clarity.
In my view, "until those tulu plants can be tested for fungal rot" equates more than 30 weeks old, which seems to matches the original choice D.

Is my understanding right?
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varotkorn
Dear VeritasKarishma AjiteshArun GMATGuruNY IanStewart MarkSullivan,

Is choice D. the more general case of choice E.?
Those 2 choices seem very similar to me.

Bringing wording from choice E., I view choice D. as:
Quarantining all tulu plants from [ANY] horticultural companies at which any case of fungal rot has been detected until those tulu plants can be tested for fungal rot.

I inserted the brackets for clarity.
In my view, "until those tulu plants can be tested for fungal rot" equates more than 30 weeks old, which seems to matches the original choice D.

Is my understanding right?
Hi varotkorn,

Why did you remove "at which any case of fungal rot has been detected"? That bit actually specifies which companies will have their plants quarantined.

Quarantining all tulu plants from horticultural companies at which any case of fungal rot has been detected until those tulu plants can be tested for fungal rot.

This means that if even one case is detected, the entire group will be quarantined. But the point is that the first case may not be detected at companies that sell their plants before the 30 week mark. Keep in mind that we already know that "many tulu plants are sold before they are 24 weeks old".
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AjiteshArun

This means that if even one case is detected, the entire group will be quarantined.

Dear AjiteshArun,

I got your point.
I just wonder if choice D. practically means quarantining all tulu plants from all horticulture companies until they are all 30 weeks old -- i.e., until those tulu plants can be tested for fungal rot?

(D) Ensuring that tulu plants are not sold before they are 30 weeks old.
(E) Quarantining all tulu plants from horticultural companies at which any case of fungal rot has been detected until those tulu plants can be tested for fungal rot.


The bolded portions above seem to convey the same meaning. And if I deleted the red portion in choice E., then choice D. and deleted choice E. would be the same IMO.
I'm not sure if I'm right?

So, I think, in a way, choice D. is just a general broader version of choice E.

Side note: This question reminds me of COVID-19.
So, I'm very interested in this question and look into answer choices (too?) thoroughly :)
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varotkorn
Side note: This question reminds me of COVID-19.
So, I'm very interested in this question and look into answer choices (too?) thoroughly :)
Hi varotkorn,

The current pandemic is an extremely serious matter, but let's say that the virus that causes the disease has an incubation period of 10 days. Would you give governments considering a lockdown the following advice?

Quarantining all people from apartments and offices at which any case of COVID-19 has been detected until all the people in those apartments and offices can be tested for COVID-19.

That could be part of an early stage response, but I think you'd agree that this plan is not as good as a full lockdown, because we come back again to that point about the first case (how reliably and quickly that first case can be found).
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(A) Releasing a general announcement that tulu plants less than 30 weeks old cannot be effectively tested for fungal rot - An announcement wont discourage from buying infected plants - Incorrect

(B) Requiring all tulu plants less than 30 weeks old to be labeled as such - Labelling it will not solve the problem at hand - Incorrect

(C) Researching possible ways to test tulu plants less than 24 weeks old for fungal rot - Long term solution rather than a short term one and research is out of context here- Incorrect

(D) Ensuring that tulu plants not be sold before they are 30 weeks old - This would make sure the infected plants are identified before sold - Correct

(E) Quarantining all tulu plants from horticultural companies at which any case of fungal rot has been detected until those - Extreme steps to stop infection and might not reduce it - Incorrect
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I don't get why D is correct.

Requiring the plant to be sold after 30 weeks old doesn't mean the plant will be tested for fungus at/after 30 weeks old. The plant can be tested for fungus at 10 weeks old and sold at 30 weeks old... it doesn't help with the plan to test fungus.

can someone explain??
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xingcenliu
I don't get why D is correct.

Requiring the plant to be sold after 30 weeks old doesn't mean the plant will be tested for fungus at/after 30 weeks old. The plant can be tested for fungus at 10 weeks old and sold at 30 weeks old... it doesn't help with the plan to test fungus.

can someone explain??

D certainly does not guarantee the company will take all the necessary steps to test, but it does ensure that the testing can be done more reliably because we know from the passage that plants less than 30 weeks old don't show enough fungus.
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ChrisLele
The problem, according to the argument, is that the fungus in the tulu plant cannot be detected until after the plants is 30 weeks old. And since most plants are sold at 24 weeks, many end up with an infected tulu plant. An easy solution would to not allow tulu plants less than 30 weeks old to be sold. That way plants that are 30+ weeks old can effectively be tested for the fungus, thereby making sure no fungus-infected tulu plants are sold. Answer choice (D) clearly matches this logic.

Hope that helps!

ChrisLele: Could you please help me with a quick clarification? How can we say that most tulu plants are sold at 24 weeks? As per the original set of statements " And many tulu plants are sold before they are 24 weeks old. "

Thanks,
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EatMyDosa
ChrisLele: Could you please help me with a quick clarification? How can we say that most tulu plants are sold at 24 weeks? As per the original set of statements " And many tulu plants are sold before they are 24 weeks old. "

Thanks,
Hi EatMyDosa,

I think you're right. There's no way for us to get to most from many (ChrisLele's broader point is still valid, though).
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The tulu, a popular ornamental plant, does not reproduce naturally, and is only bred and sold by specialized horticultural companies. Unfortunately, the tulu is easily devastated by a contagious fungal rot. The govt ministry plans to reassure worried gardeners by requiring all tulu plants to be tested for fungal rot before being sold. However, infected plants less than 30 weeks old have generally not built enough fungal rot to be detected reliably. And many tulu plants are sold before they are 24 weeks old.

Which of the following, if performed by the govt ministry, could logically be expected to overcome the problem with their plan to test fungal rot.

(A) Releasing a general announcement that tulu plants less than 30 weeks old cannot be effectively tested for fungal rot

(B) Requiring all tulu plants less than 30 weeks old to be labeled as such.

(C) researching possible ways to test tulu plants less than 24 weeks old for fungal rot.

(D) Ensuring that tulu plants are not sold before they are 30 weeks old.

(E) Quarantining all tulu plants from horticultural companies at which any case of fungal rot has been detected until those tulu plants can be tested for fungal rot.


Hi Experts GMATNinja KarishmaB

I accept the explanation for (D) but where am I going wrong with (B).

The Question says
Quote:
The tulu, a popular ornamental plant, does not reproduce naturally, and is only bred and sold by specialized horticultural companies. Unfortunately, the tulu is easily devastated by a contagious fungal rot. The govt ministry plans to reassure worried gardeners by requiring all tulu plants to be tested for fungal rot before being sold. However, infected plants less than 30 weeks old have generally not built enough fungal rot to be detected reliably. And many tulu plants are sold before they are 24 weeks old.

The Govt plans to reassure that the gardeners are not at risk when buying tulu....right?
And so why can't (B) work, as it mentions that they if sold must be labelled and hence gardeners who wants to take the risk can do so, rather they can buy the plants at a discount since they are not tested.. Everyone else can buy the tested tulus.

If we go the (D) route it may create problems for horticulture companies since there would be a ban on selling tulu...and the price may become higher than expected hurting gardeners too.

Please let me know your views...

Thanks!
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