Research studies have documented that chicken eggs are a

Question

Research studies have documented that chicken eggs are a good proxy to show the effects of various substances on human fetuses. The results of a new study showed that acute exposure to cell phone radiation caused an increased incidence of birth defects in chickens. The eggs were exposed to cell phone radiation continuously throughout the 21-day incubation period from an emission source placed 6 centimeters away from each egg.

Which of the following can be logically concluded from the above passage?

A. Pregnant women should avoid excessive amounts of cell phone radiation in the vicinity of the womb.
B. If the emission source had been placed closer to the eggs, the incidence of birth defects would have been even higher.
C. Pregnant women should not allow cell phones within 6 centimeters of their abdomens at any time during the pregnancy.
D. Radiation was the sole cause of the birth defects in the chickens.
E. In this case, the results will not be relevant for humans because the primary consequence was thinning of the eggs' shells, which then resulted in the birth defects.

Source: Peterson

bipolarbear · Answer

I think the answer choice is A). 
The entire passage is a fact set. Using the facts, it is clear that pregnant women should avoid excess cell phone radiation. I had to think a bit between A & C, but A address cell phone radiation, whereas C address cell phones, which may or may not emit cell phone radiation.

Neochronic · Answer

i have my doubts on the answers offered.

A says that pregnant Woman should avoid excessive exposure to cell phone radiation  to do what ????  if they are not bothered.. its weired but i felt the reasoning given here is not good enough.

I will go with B.

IF the source of emission is closer, the damage wud have been greater.
It mentioned in the passage that the acuteness of exposure increases the incidence of birth defects..

Whats is the OA ?

bigoyal · Answer

I would go with A. My reasons for:

Not B, since writer says that the "study showed that acute exposure to cell phone radiation", means that the radiation was already acute during the study with the setup of 21-day and 6 cms distance.

Not C, as it says avoid 6cm distance radiation " at any time  during the pregnancy". But the study shows the damage was done after 21-day radiation exposure. So I would conclude A rather then concluding C.

mbaMission · Answer

A: 
B: No Good. This is not stated in the passage.
C: This option is about cell phones. "Radiation" word is missing
D: This is not there in the authors argument. Author has not mentioned anything like this
E: Far Fetched.

This is my logic. Initially, i didn't liked option A. After POE i was left with only A.
A sounds more of a suggestion. Which the author may or may not like to give.

Neochronic · Answer

Source and official answer please ?

trainspotting · Answer

Though if choosing between A and C...But C is going to extreme...Focuses in the 6 cms...So i'll choose A...

paranoidvik · Answer

And I thought suggestion type answer choices are almost always wrong on the GMAT

The inference I came up with after pre thinking: Continuous exposure of cell phone radiations may lead to increased incidence of birth defects in human fetus After POE I'm left with A. Expert guidance please!! Can suggestion type answer choices ever correct on GMAT?

arindamsur · Answer

My choice is A. My explanation is same with others

Ekland · Answer

I call this type of questions live scenario question. Because you must bring in assumption from your live scenario. Ofcourse it was never in the argument that  pregnant women want less harm to fetus.  Was it?

Wasn't the conclusion quite emotional?

LakerFan24 · Answer

i was torn between a & e, but went w/ a.

however, i'd like to hear other ppl's takes on why to elim e (please not official explanation)

Vijayaravind · Answer

I would go with D because logically that is what has been stated and option A seems like an emotional answer. little far fetched.

LakerFan24 · Answer

D is nowhere near the correct answer. This is an  INFERENCE  question, so the answer need be 100% true.
- One of the main tricks the GMAT uses for Inference Q's is the use of  EXAGGERATED LANGUAGE  (seen in "D")
>  D. Radiation was the  sole  cause of the birth defects in the chickens. 
-> Really? the  sole  cause? What if there were other causes (not discussed in the passage) that also contributed meaningfully to child birth defects? Just b/c this wasn't addressed doesn't make it not true.
-> Also, if I'm picking holes here,  (D) talks about radiation in general .  WE ARE ONLY CONCERNED WITH CELL PHONE RADIATION.

CaribenaMorena · Answer

I took the question at face value. I think the answer is C. Eggs in their shell would be equivalent to a baby in the womb. I don't know if this answer is too direct.

LakerFan24 · Answer

The passage says: "The eggs were exposed to cell phone radiation  continuously  throughout the 21-day incubation period". 
Why would you think the answer should be: "Pregnant women should not allow cell phones within 6 centimeters of their abdomens  at any time  during the pregnancy."?
- I addressed this in the comment above -- this A/C is  TOO EXTREME . The idea here is that OVER-EXPOSURE = BAD. Regular exposure may not be so bad -- we, the reader, cannot know.

devikeerthansr · Answer

A is perfect conclusion. C and D are not the conclusion of the argument.

prabsahi · Answer

For people like me who think A and D are contenders

Line of thinking

The passage suggests X caused Y(radiation caused birth defects)..so we can assume its causal in nature and so Only X causes Y is implied by the author.

But notice the statement

The passage mentions that radiation caused " increased  incidence of birth defects," and this means that --- some number were already occurring due to other causes.So be careful with  TRAP wordings ..X increased means at least some X was there ..

Press Kudos if it helps!!

DmitryFarberMPrep · Answer

prabsahi  Be careful! Although you're right that "increased" implies that there could be other causes, it's also to important to note that "X caused Y"  never  implies "only X causes Y." If I say that moldy cake made me sick, I'm definitely not saying that moldy cake is the only thing in the world that can make someone sick! (If only good health were as simple as avoiding moldy cake . . . )

prabsahi · Answer

Thank you so much for clarifying this point.I had this doubt earlier as well.

So,here is my takeaway.
 
X led to Y or X caused Y model :

This doesn't necessarily necessarily mean its a causal relationtship and so the implied assumption only X causes Y can be false.

X leads to Y or X causes Y model.

This does necessarily mean its a causal relationship and so the implied assumption only X causes Y will be true!!

DmitryFarberMPrep · Answer

I'm afraid that's not right, either. Imagine that I changed the tense of my example and generalized: Moldy cake makes people sick. I could even make it 100% certain: Moldy cake always makes people sick. That still wouldn't tell us that we can't get sick any other way. To get an "only" causal relationship, we need to be told that directly:

Only X causes Y.

Y happens only as a result of X.

However, since the GMAT deals mostly with realistic situations rather than formal logic, I doubt you will ever see this on the test. It's very hard (one might say impossible) to find realistic examples in which we KNOW that only one thing could possibly cause a certain effect.

Research studies have documented that chicken eggs are a

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Research studies have documented that chicken eggs are a

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