Unripe lychee fruit contain a compound called hypoglycin, which is poi

Question

Unripe lychee fruit contain a compound called hypoglycin, which is poisonous in large quantities. No amount of ripe lychee fruit, however, contains enough hypoglycin to harm human health. In response to recent deaths of consumers who ate unripe lychee fruit, scientists have recently developed an alternative type of lychee fruit, called lychee-B, that, ripe or unripe, contains no more hypoglycin than ripened, conventional lychees. Therefore, unripe lychee-B fruits are at least as safe to eat as ripened, conventional lychees of the same size.
 
In order for the conclusion to be properly drawn, which of the following must be assumed?

A) Unripe lychee-B fruits do not contain more arsenic, oxalic acid, or other poisonous substances than do ripened, conventional lychees.
 
B) Lychee-B fruits are, on average, no bigger than conventional lychee fruits.
 
C) During the process of ripening, conventional lychee fruits lose a higher proportion of their hypoglycin than do lychee-B fruits.
 
D) Eating a large number of Lychee-B fruits is not harmful to human health.
 
E) Consumers who typically enjoy ripened, conventional lychee fruit would be willing to eat unripe lychee-B fruits.

GMATNinja · Accepted Answer

Yeah, only the GMAT could take something as tasty as lychee fruit and turn it into a not-so-delicious CR question...

The conclusion of this passage is that "unripe lychee-B fruits are at least as safe to eat as ripened, conventional lychees of the same size." Let's see how the author arrived at that conclusion.

The first two sentences are pretty straightforward:

Unripe lychee fruit contain a compound called hypoglycin. 
 Hypoglycin is poisonous in large quantities. In fact, eating unripe lychee fruit can apparently lead to death. 
 No amount of ripe lychee fruit contains enough hypoglycin to harm human health.

So far we can gather that eating unripe lychee fruit might harm your health (or even kill you) if you eat enough of it, though we can't say exactly how much would be unsafe. On the other hand, you can eat as much RIPE lychee fruit as you want and not be harmed by the hypoglycin. Note that this does not necessarily mean that you can eat as much lychee fruit as you want without suffering other negative consequences. All we know for sure is that doing so would not expose you to harm from the hypoglycin.

In response to recent deaths of consumers who ate unripe lychee fruit, scientists developed lychee-B, which, ripe or unripe, contains no more hypoglycin than ripened, conventional lychees. Since lychee-B contains no more hypoglycin than ripened, conventional lychees, we can conclude that you could eat as much ripe OR unripe lychee-B as you want without being harmed by the hypoglycin. As with ripened, conventional lychees, that doesn't mean that you won't suffer OTHER negative consequences from eating lychee-B all day long, but you certainly won't be harmed by the hypoglycin.

Based on this information, the author of the passage concludes that: "unripe lychee-B fruits are at least as safe to eat as ripened, conventional lychees of the same size." In order for that conclusion to be properly drawn, which of the following must be assumed?

Without this assumption, it is possible that unripe lychee-B fruits contain more arsenic, oxalic acid, or other poisonous substances than do ripened, conventional lychees. The information in the passage tells us that if we only consider hypoglycin, lychee-B fruits are at least as safe to eat as ripened, conventional lychees of the same size. But if lychee-B contains higher quantities of OTHER poisonous substances besides hypoglycin, then lychee-B might be less safe overall than conventional, ripened lychees. Thus, choice (A) looks like a required assumption, so hang on to it.

The conclusion specifically tells us that we are comparing lychee-B fruits to conventional lychees OF THE SAME SIZE. So even if lychee-B fruits are bigger on average, this would not impact the conclusion. Choice (B) can be eliminated.

The conclusion compares UNRIPE lychee-B to RIPENED conventional fruits. It makes no difference how much hypoglycin was in the ripened conventional fruit prior to ripening OR how much hypoglycin is lost by a lychee-B during the ripening process. Since we are told that lychee-B, ripe or unripe, contains no more hypoglycin than ripened, conventional lychees, the conclusion is possible, with or without this assumption. Eliminate (C).

As stated above, it is possible that eating a large number of conventional lychee fruits OR a large number of lychee-B fruits is harmful to human health. Choice (D) does not tell us WHICH type is more harmful or how much of each would have to be eaten to cause harmful effects. Thus, it is still possible that unripe lychee-B fruits are at least as safe to eat as ripened, conventional lychees of the same size. Eliminate (D).

The conclusion of the passage has nothing to do with whether consumers would actually be  willing  to eat unripe lychee-B fruits. The conclusion simply states that unripe lychee-B fruits are at least as  safe  to eat as ripened, conventional lychees of the same size. Even if lychee-B fruits were completely tasteless and nobody wants to eat them, the conclusion of the passage would not be impacted. Eliminate (E).

Choice (A) is the best answer.

neeleshravi · Answer

A) Unripe lychee-B fruits do not contain more arsenic, oxalic acid, or other poisonous substances than do ripened, conventional lychees.
 CORRECT. Negate this answer choice: "Unripe lychee-B fruits DO contain more arsenic, oxalic acid, or other poisonous substances than do ripened, conventional lychees." , argument breaks down, the new kind of lychee will definitely NOT be as safe for consumption as the old type.

B) Lychee-B fruits are, on average, no bigger than conventional lychee fruits.
 Take a look at the last part of the last sentence in the argument, we are comparing lychees of similar size. Hence, the size issue disappears.

C) During the process of ripening, conventional lychee fruits lose a higher proportion of their hypoglycin than do lychee-B fruits.
 Proportion is irrelevant. Final outcome is that Lychee B has lower hypoglycin than the conventional lychee.

D) Eating a large number of Lychee-B fruits is not harmful to human health.
 Already established.

E) Consumers who typically enjoy ripened, conventional lychee fruit would be willing to eat unripe lychee-B fruits.
 Irrelevant. We aren't testing "willingness" here, we are testing safety.

souvonik2k · Answer

IMO answer is B.
B)  Lychee-B fruits are, on average, no bigger than conventional lychee fruits. 
If average size of lychee-B is more than conventional lychee fruits, the argument falls apart. Then lychee-B will contain more hypoglycin than conventional lychees.

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spetznaz · Answer

+1 for A. This one was a tough one phew !! . My take :

Premise : Unripe lychee contains a certain amount of poisonous substance which ripe lychee does not. To overcome this problem , scientists have developed a new variant of lychee that does not contain this poisonous substance whether it is ripe or not.

Conclusion : Unripe variant is at least as safe as ripe lychee of same size.

Prethink : This is an assumption type question. What if the variant contains some other poisonous substance ? The conclusion compares fruits of the same size. So any option that does talks about the size of fruit will not be correct.

POE :

Option a : On the lines of our pre-think. Satisfies the negation test as well.
Option b : We are comparing fruits of the same size.
Option c : Irrelevant.
Option d : Stated already.
Option e : Irrelevant.

Hence by POE , option A is the correct answer.

mrinal0308 · Answer

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gmatexam439 · Answer

Unripe lychee fruit contain a compound called hypoglycin, which is poisonous in large quantities. No amount of ripe lychee fruit, however, contains enough hypoglycin to harm human health. In response to recent deaths of consumers who ate unripe lychee fruit, scientists have recently developed an alternative type of lychee fruit, called lychee-B, that, ripe or unripe, contains no more hypoglycin than ripened, conventional lychees. Therefore, unripe lychee-B fruits are at least as safe to eat as ripened, conventional lychees of the same size.
 
In order for the conclusion to be properly drawn, which of the following must be assumed?
 
A) Unripe lychee-B fruits do not contain more arsenic, oxalic acid, or other poisonous substances than do ripened, conventional lychees. - Lets hold on to this one. It looks good. 
 
B) Lychee-B fruits are, on average, no bigger than conventional lychee fruits. - We are not worried about the size of the fruits. 
 
C) During the process of ripening, conventional lychee fruits lose a higher proportion of their hypoglycin than do lychee-B fruits. - Even if the conventional fruit doesn't loose more hypoglycin the fact that artificial fruit is less harmful than the conventional fruit doesn't change. 
 
D) Eating a large number of Lychee-B fruits is not harmful to human health. - "large number" is exaggerating the option. 
 
E) Consumers who typically enjoy ripened, conventional lychee fruit would be willing to eat unripe lychee-B fruits. - We are not worried about the enjoyment of customers

Gordon1968 · Answer

Hello,

I am lost at the new information in the answer choice "A." The question stated the only poison as the "Hypo" and the answer now has a poison to the prompt. While I agree more poison would become an issue, is the trap the prompt mentioned the size of the fruit?
thank you in advance.

itspCv2 · Answer

Lets make it EAAASY ! Pro tip: Find fault with options on GMAT. Learn blaming it for obvious reasons you find. It helps alot

Q.Type: Assumption Pre-Think: Something that supports conclusion( unripe lychee-B fruits are at least as safe to eat as ripened, conventional lychees of the same size .) A)Ok it somewhat strengthen's >> when there's no other poison in fruit it supports conclusion. And negating this weakens arguement. So hopefully this may be our answer. B)What if they are big ? irrelevant C)Ok so ? It isn't effecting our conclusion as much as A did. N negating this doesn't effect our carguement. D) May not be. It may still be safer than Conventional lychee. E) Even if they didn't enjoy it still might be safer to eat conventional lychee. Therefore OA:A

GMATNinja · Answer

There is no trap in this question, it's just a case of working your way through the answer choices, eliminating options that don't satisfy the question.

We've done a full question breakdown  here  but in answer to your question, let's take another look at (A):
 
This answer choice is not saying that  more poison  would become an issue. Without this assumption, it's that it would be possible for lychee-B fruits to have  other kinds  of poison in greater quantities than ripened, conventional lychees.

If lychee-B fruits could have greater quantities of  other poisons  then they would not be as safe as conventional lychees of the same size. Therefore, (A) is an assumption required to properly draw the conclusion -- (A) is our answer.

The passage saying that unripe lychee-B fruits are at least as safe to eat as ripened, conventional lychees  of the same size  is not a trap. The size of the fruit is mentioned to standardize the discussion -- it's possible for an enormous, unripe lychee-B to have more hypoglycin than a small, ripened standard lychee but this isn't a fair comparison. (A) doesn't mention size but this doesn't make it a trap.

I hope that helps!

jaisonsunny77 · Answer

Type: Find the assumption 
 
Conclusion: unripe lychee-B fruits are at least as safe to eat as ripened, conventional lychees of the same size.

A) Unripe lychee-B fruits do not contain more arsenic, oxalic acid, or other poisonous substances than do ripened, conventional lychees. - the passage proceeds to equate unripe Lychee-B fruits to ripened conventional lychees in terms of safety of consumption. (A) rules out the possibility that the Unripe Lychee-B fruit may contain greater quantities of other poisonous substances than those contained in ripened conventional lychees. This, combined with the information from the passage, reinforces the conclusion that unripe lychee-B fruits are at least as safe to consume as ripened conventional lychees. Thus, (A) is the assumption that is required to establish the conclusion. Therefore,    (A) is the right answer choice.  
   
B) Lychee-B fruits are, on average, no bigger than conventional lychee fruits.  -  does not help us establish the conclusion. 
  
C) During the process of ripening, conventional lychee fruits lose a higher proportion of their hypoglycin than do lychee-B fruits.  -  the conclusion deals with ''Unripe lychee-B fruits'', not ''Ripe Lychee-B fruits''.  
 
D) Eating a large number of Lychee-B fruits is not harmful to human health.  -  the passage only mentions that Lychee-B fruits contain no more hypoglycin than ripened, conventional lychees (note that this does not mean that Lychee-B fruits are completely free from hypoglycin). Hence, it is still possible that when consumed in large quantities, Lychee-B fruits can still cause significant damage 
 
E) Consumers who typically enjoy ripened, conventional lychee fruit would be willing to eat unripe lychee-B fruits.  -  irrelevant to the conclusion.

abhishekmayank · Answer

I am little fuzzy with the given analysis.

As per the prompt, neither unripe nor ripe lychee is harmful, if not taken in the  large quantity .
Distinction (negative effect on health) between unripe or ripe lychees only starts when they are taken in large quantity. Taken in large quantity, ripe lychee is not harmful, whereas unripe is. And the unripe lychee is harmful - again only when it is taken in large quantity - because of excess of the compound, hypoglycin.

Now, the new variant of lychee-B has been developed, and it has been claimed that it matches the characteristics of ripe lychee in terms of not having more hypoglycin. So author assumes that this new variant of lychee would be safe, like ripe lychee, even if taken in large quantity.

The point I want to make is that we cant decouple the safety with the "quantity" in the given context because both ripe and unripe lychees are anyway safe in small quantity. In that sense, the option D suits more than A in the assumption. The author might be assuming that since lychee-B contains less hypoglycin than ripe lychee does, so even if taken in large quantity, it would be safe, without taking into the consideration that it is true that total amount of the compound hypoglycin in the large quantity of lychee-b is not harmful, but there is still a possibility that in totality, the large quantity of lychee-B would be harmful for some unknown reasons other than the amount of hypoglycin . And this assumption is captured in option D

I know the option A is correct, irrespective of the quantity of lychee-B consumed, but I think that decoupling the quantity with safety is not logical here, given that they together are at the "eye of the storm" over here.

GMATNinja 
 souvik101990

MHIKER · Answer

The researchers contained that the lychee B contains hypoglycin is safer as like conventional lychee. As researchers declared that the lychee B safer so it is assumed the lychee doesn't have any other poison such as arsenic, oxalic, etc. The answer is A

CEdward · Answer

Unripe lychee fruit contain a compound called hypoglycin, which is poisonous in large quantities. No amount of ripe lychee fruit, however, contains enough hypoglycin to harm human health. In response to recent deaths of consumers who ate unripe lychee fruit, scientists have recently developed an alternative type of lychee fruit, called lychee-B, that, ripe or unripe, contains no more hypoglycin than ripened, conventional lychees. Therefore, unripe lychee-B fruits are at least as safe to eat as ripened, conventional lychees of the same size.

P: UNRIPE lychee fruit contain hypoglycin, which is poisonous in large quantities
P: No amount of RIPE fruit contains enough hypoglycin to harm human health
P: Lychee-B created b/c deaths caused by UNRIPE lychee, ripe or unripe, contains no more hypoglycin than ripened lychee
C: UNRIPE lychee are AT LEAST AS SAFE

In order for the conclusion to be properly drawn, which of the following must be assumed?

A) Unripe lychee-B fruits do not contain more arsenic, oxalic acid, or other poisonous substances than do ripened, conventional lychees.

Correct! The author must also be assuming that there aren’t other reasons why unripe lychee is harmful. Try negating this and see what happens. Let’s say such fruits DO contain more poisonous substances. This would render the argument broken. The conclusion, remind yourself, is that unripe lychee-B fruits are AT LEAST AS SAFE which means they are as safe, if not, safer. So if they do contain more poisonous substances, that certainly doesn’t make them safer.

B) Lychee-B fruits are, on average, no bigger than conventional lychee fruits.

Who cares? Irrelevant.

C) During the process of ripening, conventional lychee fruits lose a higher proportion of their hypoglycin than do lychee-B fruits.

This choice attacks the truth of one of the premises. We know from the passage that lychee-B contains no more hypoglycin than ripened, lychees. We can never attack the premises.

D) Eating a large number of Lychee-B fruits is not harmful to human health.

OK, this is plausible and reasonable considering the passage. But, it fails to connect the premises to the conclusion. The conclusion that lychee-B is at least as safe hinges on the amount of hypoglycin that it contains. It also however hinges on the fact that there’s no other reason to think that unripe lychee-B might be more dangerous….what if for example it contained other poisonous substances perhaps in larger quantities than conventional lychee? Well, in that case, the conclusion would be erroneous

E) Consumers who typically enjoy ripened, conventional lychee fruit would be willing to eat unripe lychee-B fruits.

Irrelevant.

VerbalBot · Answer

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Unripe lychee fruit contain a compound called hypoglycin, which is poi

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Unripe lychee fruit contain a compound called hypoglycin, which is poi

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