For pollinating certain crops such as cranberries, bumblebees are far

Question

For pollinating certain crops such as cranberries, bumblebees are far more efficient than honeybees. This is because a bumblebee tends to visit only a few plant species in a limited area, whereas a honeybee generally flies over a much broader area and visits a wider variety of species.

Which one of the following is most strongly supported by the information above?

(A) If a honeybee visits a wider variety of plant species than a bumblebee visits, the honeybee will be less efficient than the bumblebee at pollinating any one of those species.

(B) The number of plant species other than cranberries that a bee visits affects the efficiency with which the bee pollinates cranberries.

(C) The broader an area a bee flies over, the smaller the number of plant species that bee will be able to visit.

(D) Cranberries are typically found concentrated in limited areas that bumblebees are more likely than honeybees ever to visit.

(E) The greater the likelihood of a given bee species visiting one or more plants in a given cranberry crop, the more efficient that bee species will be at pollinating that crop.

guddo · Answer

For pollinating certain crops such as cranberries, bumblebees are far more efficient than honeybees. This is because a bumblebee tends to visit only a few plant species in a limited area, whereas a honeybee generally flies over a much broader area and visits a wider variety of species. 
 
Which one of the following is most strongly supported by the information above?

The passage explains the difference in pollination efficiency by pointing to how many different plant species the bees visit and how widely they travel.  So the information supports a connection between the variety of species visited and pollination efficiency.

(A) If a honeybee visits a wider variety of plant species than a bumblebee visits, the honeybee will be less efficient than the bumblebee at pollinating any one of those species.

Incorrect. This generalizes the result to  every species the bees visit . The passage only supports the claim for certain crops, such as cranberries. So we cannot conclude that the honeybee will be less efficient at pollinating each of the other species as well.

(B) The number of plant species other than cranberries that a bee visits affects the efficiency with which the bee pollinates cranberries.

Correct.   This remains focused on  cranberry pollination . The other plant species are mentioned only as a factor affecting how much of the bee’s activity is devoted to cranberries. Since the passage explains bumblebees’ greater cranberry-pollination efficiency partly by their visiting fewer species, (B) is directly supported.

(C) The broader an area a bee flies over, the smaller the number of plant species that bee will be able to visit.

Incorrect. The passage suggests the opposite pattern: honeybees cover broader areas and visit a wider variety of species.

(D) Cranberries are typically found concentrated in limited areas that bumblebees are more likely than honeybees ever to visit.

Incorrect. Nothing says bumblebees are more likely than honeybees to visit cranberry-growing areas.

(E) The greater the likelihood of a given bee species visiting one or more plants in a given cranberry crop, the more efficient that bee species will be at pollinating that crop.

Incorrect. The passage does not define efficiency in terms of the likelihood of visiting at least one plant. It focuses on the bee's pattern of visiting species and areas.

Answer: (B)

Hellohello007 · Answer

Hi you rejected A for being too broad

but then, B also says plant species  other than cranberry,  meaning it is also speaking about species which are not cranberry, as in all those, so isnt this too broad as well?

guddo · Answer

I’d say (B) is different because it does  not  make a claim about every plant species individually.

(A) says that whenever a honeybee visits a wider variety of species, it will be less efficient at pollinating  any one of those species . That extends the conclusion to all such plants.

(B) stays focused on  cranberries , the example actually discussed. It says the number of other species a bee visits affects how efficiently it pollinates cranberries. That is exactly the relationship the passage uses to explain why bumblebees are more efficient at pollinating cranberries.

So (B) mentions other species, but only as a factor affecting cranberry pollination. It does not generalize the pollination result to all those other species.

GMATcracker101 · Answer

Conclusion:  For pollinating certain crops such as cranberries, bumblebees are far more efficient than honeybees.

Support:  This is because a bumblebee tends to visit only a few plant species in a limited area, whereas a honeybee generally flies over a much broader area and visits a wider variety of species.
 
Which one of the following is most strongly supported by the information above?

(A) If a honeybee visits a wider variety of plant species than a bumblebee visits, the honeybee will be less efficient than the bumblebee at pollinating any one of those species.  INCORRECT. The focus here is not on the efficiency to pollinate any species, but rathar only 'certain crops such as cranberries', honeybee might be more efficient in pollinating other crops. Hence, this is not supported.

(B) The number of plant species other than cranberries that a bee visits affects the efficiency with which the bee pollinates cranberries.  CORRECT. The passage is specific to the pollination of cranberries, and the reason bumblebees are more efficient than honeybees is that bumblebees are limited to a few plant species and that the honeybees visit a wider variety of species hence this follows.

(C) The broader an area a bee flies over, the smaller the number of plant species that bee will be able to visit.  INCORRECT. The statement clearly mentioned that the honeybee visits a wider variety of species, so this is incorrect.

(D) Cranberries are typically found concentrated in limited areas that bumblebees are more likely than honeybees ever to visit.  INCORRECT. Nothing in the statements directs us towards either the honeybee or the bumblebee visiting a particular area. It only states that Bumblebees tend to be in limited areas and honeybees wider area, it is not about the area where cranberries can or cannot be found.

(E) The greater the likelihood of a given bee species visiting one or more plants in a given cranberry crop, the more efficient that bee species will be at pollinating that crop.  INCORRECT. Extra-information from outside the passage. Hence, incorrect.

egmat · Answer

Hi Hellohello007,

Good catch, and this is exactly the kind of overlap worth untangling. The phrase "plant species other than cranberries" shows up in both, but it is doing a  completely different job  in A than in B.

Look at  what each choice is ultimately about  - i.e., what gets pollinated in the conclusion:

(A)   ends with "...less efficient at pollinating  any one of those species ." The thing being pollinated here is the whole  wide variety  of species. That is the broad part. The passage only ever commits to a claim about  cranberries  - it never tells us how well either bee pollinates all those other flowers. So A's  outcome  reaches past what the passage supports.

(B)   ends with "...the efficiency with which the bee pollinates  cranberries ." The outcome stays locked on cranberries - exactly what the passage is about. The "other species" appears only as the  cause , not the outcome.

That is the key: in B, "plant species other than cranberries" is the  input  (how many different species the bee bounces around visiting), and the passage explicitly uses that input to explain the efficiency gap - bumblebees are better  because  they stick to few species. So B isn't broadening the conclusion; it's just naming the causal factor the passage already gave you.

Quick way to feel the difference - watch where each sentence lands:

"Visiting lots of other flowers makes a bee worse at pollinating  cranberries ." - stays in scope (this is B).

"Visiting lots of other flowers makes a bee worse at pollinating  each of those flowers too ." - jumps out of scope (this is A).

Same opening words, but only the second one makes a claim the passage never backs up. "Too broad" is about  what the conclusion covers , not about whether the words "other species" appear.

Answer: B

For pollinating certain crops such as cranberries, bumblebees are far

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For pollinating certain crops such as cranberries, bumblebees are far

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