After observing thirty-year-old albatrosses, biologists determined tha

Question

After observing thirty-year-old albatrosses, biologists determined that migration distance in mature albatrosses is directly tied to the lifespan of other fledglings in their brood. Albatrosses that hatched alone or whose fellow fledglings did not survive after their first molting were observed to follow shorter migration paths after thirty years than those that had been accompanied by one or more other fledglings.

If the biologists' determination is accurate, it follows that

A. a few albatrosses who molted before maturity are capable of migrating further after thirty years as a result

B. the migration distance of thirty-year-old albatrosses is connected to the migration distance of other fledglings

C. it is the survival of other fledglings rather than just the birth of those fledglings that more directly affects the migration distance of albatrosses after thirty years

D. albatrosses that migrated long distances after their first molting are more likely to migrate long distances after thirty years as well

E. the lifespan of other fledglings is more important to albatrosses after their first molting than it is after thirty years

KarishmaB · Accepted Answer

30 year old albatrosses were observed.
It was found that those albatrosses that hatched alone or whose fellow fledglings did not survive after their first molting were observed to follow shorter migration paths after 30 years

Conclusion: Migration distance in mature albatrosses is directly tied to the lifespan of other fledglings in their brood

So the albatrosses whose fellow fledglings survived went longer distances than albatrosses whose fellow fledglings did not survive (or there weren't any fellow fledglings to begin with)

It follows that:

A. a few albatrosses who molted before maturity are capable of migrating further after thirty years as a result

Albatrosses who melted before maturity are not discussed in the argument.

B. the migration distance of thirty-year-old albatrosses is connected to the migration distance of other fledglings

The migration distance of other fledglings is not discussed. Their survival is discussed.

C. it is the survival of other fledglings rather than just the birth of those fledglings that more directly affects the migration distance of albatrosses after thirty years

Correct. The argument links migration distance to 'survival of the other fledglings', not the birth of other fledglings. The albatrosses who had no fellow fledglings did not fly far. The ones who had fellow fledglings (so birth happened) but the fledglings did not survive also do not fly far.
The albatrosses whose fellow fledglings survived flew far.

D. albatrosses that migrated long distances after their first molting are more likely to migrate long distances after thirty years as well

Migration distance after molting is not discussed. Only migration distance 30 yrs later is discussed.

E. the lifespan of other fledglings is more important to albatrosses after their first molting than it is after thirty years

The argument does not tell us whether lifespan of other fledglings is important to albatrosses after the albatrosses' first molting. It could be more or less important at that time to them. What we do know is that lifespan of other fledglings is important to albatrosses after 30 yrs.

Answer (C)

saxena21nov · Answer

Was between C and E.

I chose C

E goes too far in saying that the lifespan of other fledglings is more important to albatrosses after their first molting than it is after thirty years.

We cannot infer that the lifespan was important or not. It was just directly related to the migration distance of albatrosses after thirty years.

Maybe the bird doesn't want to migrate and wants to relax

I hope its clear

Thank you
Arunabh saxena

I hope its clear Thank you Arunabh saxena

rish2708 · Answer

This question has similar framework to another official question: https://gmatclub.com/forum/researchers- ... 81016.html

Hoozan · Answer

GMATNinja   GMATNinja Two please could you help me understand why (E) is incorrect while (C) is

rishit924 · Answer

Dear Experts,

Albatrosses that hatched alone or whose fellow fledgelings did not survive after their first moulting were observed to follow shorter migration paths after thirty years than those that had been accompanied by one or more other fledgelings.

C it is the survival of other fledgelings rather than just the birth of those fledgelings that more directly affects the migration distance of albatrosses after thirty years

How can we infer that the survival of fledgelings has more effect than its birth? I can't find any comparison in the given passage.

Please help. Thanks in advance

nightblade354 · Answer

After observing thirty-year-old albatrosses, biologists determined that migration distance in mature albatrosses is directly tied to the lifespan of other fledglings in their brood. Albatrosses that hatched alone or whose fellow fledglings did not survive after their first molting were observed to follow shorter migration paths after thirty years than those that had been accompanied by one or more other fledglings.

C: biologists determined that migration distance in mature albatrosses is directly tied to the lifespan of other fledglings in their brood
P: Albatrosses that hatched alone or whose fellow fledglings did not survive after their first molting were observed to follow shorter migration paths after thirty years than those that had been accompanied by one or more other fledglings

Simple argument: Because the birds we observed with less siblings took shorter migrations paths after 30 years, therefore we can determine that distance is tied to lifespan of their siblings. So many assumptions being made, chiefly that correlation is causation, but we are not trying to weaken the argument. We simply need to know the facts, so don't overthink the question! .

If the biologists' determination is accurate, it follows that

A. a few albatrosses who molted before maturity are capable of migrating further after thirty years as a result --  What does pre-maturity have to do with the argument? This is a set of the species that we never discussed. Out. 
 
B. the migration distance of thirty-year-old albatrosses is connected to the migration distance of other fledglings --  We have to be careful with this answer. We would be attributing the cause to a different catalyst. We would be saying that distance is caused by birds following others and not because of age. And this is, of course, not supported by the argument.

C. it is the survival of other fledglings rather than just the birth of those fledglings that more directly affects the migration distance of albatrosses after thirty years --  Perfect answer. Per the conclusion, there is a direct link between mortality of siblings and flight distance. We are never told about the number of siblings (so long as there is at least one), but we are told that the older they live, the further they fly. We do not know if quantity is the issue. We are just told quality is what determines distance.

D. albatrosses that migrated long distances after their first molting are more likely to migrate long distances after thirty years as well --  How do we know this? We only know about 30 year old birds. Maybe they didn't. Maybe every other year the birds travel far, but on the off years they travel a short distance. We just don't know about the past travel distances compared to the birds that they are describing in the argument.

E. the lifespan of other fledglings is more important to albatrosses after their first molting than it is after thirty years --  OK, but what does this have to do with our argument about distance? This just says there is a connection, but one that fades over time. We have no idea if this is true, per our argument.

GMATNinja · Answer

I'm late to the party here, but I'll add my two cents, just in case it helps somebody.

This passage tests us albatrosses born alone or whose fledglings did not survive their first molting had shorter migration paths than albatrosses whose fledglings survived their first molting.

We are not given any information about the effect on an albatross of the lifespan of its fledglings after this first molting. Therefore, we cannot tell whether the lifespan of other fledglings is more or less important after their first molting than it is after 30 years -- this means (E) cannot be the correct answer.

Now, looking at (C):
 
The passage splits albatrosses into two groups:
  The first group is those albatrosses " that hatched alone or whose fellow fledglings did not survive after their first molting ". These albatrosses have a shorter migration path. 
 The second group contains all the albatrosses whose fledglings did survive their first molting. These albatrosses have a longer migration path

This split tells us that an albatross' migration length is unaffected by whether that albatross is born alone or born with fledglings that die before their first molting. The migration length is  only  extended if its fledglings  live beyond their first molting .

This is how we can tell it is the survival of other fledglings, rather than just their birth, that more directly affects the migration distance of an albatross. From this, (C) is our answer.

I hope that helps!

P.S. Can anyone confirm which paper test this question came from?

sriramsundaram91 · Answer

Took 13 minutes to solve this question because of how intricate the options given are

Essence:
You must realize that Albatrosses that are old 30+ years will travel longer if they have company (i.e.) their fledglings.
Question you ask yourself what if there was an albatross without fledglings (no siblings/parents) i.e. none in their group or also called "brood".
Answer given in the passage is they observed that lonely old (30+ age) albatrosses don't migrate long. i.e. they are afraid they will survive may be.

I didn't know what molting or molted means but still I was able to figure out the correct answer choice

A. a few albatrosses who molted before maturity are capable of migrating further after thirty years as a result -- Not true because lonely albatrosses don't migrate long regardless of molting status.

B. the migration distance of thirty-year-old albatrosses is connected to the migration distance of other fledglings -- Partly true. Reserved for now.

C. it is the survival of other fledglings rather than just the birth of those fledglings that more directly affects the migration distance of albatrosses after thirty years -- Very true, when albatrosses travel in groups rather than alone, when old or 30 years later, they travel longer distances. A group can also consist of 2 members.

D. albatrosses that migrated long distances after their first molting are more likely to migrate long distances after thirty years as well - Incorrect, what about if the have their fledglings dead before thirty, so the albatross that survived will migrate smaller distance as it has no company

E. the lifespan of other fledglings is more important to albatrosses after their first molting than it is after thirty years - (incorrect) No, life span of other fledglings is more important after thirty years actually because it decides how long albatrosses can migrate.

Now B vs C; I eliminated B because the migration distance of 30 year old is not connected to other fledglings, because we could assume that the migration distance of all fledglings are extremely low but still could see them migrating long distances together or vice versa 30 year old albatrosses migration distance could be extremely low but they could still travel longer because as a group they could survive longer migration together. Or all albatrosses in the brood could have a very low migration distance individually but still as a group they could travel much longer distances.

After observing thirty-year-old albatrosses, biologists determined tha

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After observing thirty-year-old albatrosses, biologists determined tha

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