Continuous indoor fluorescent light benefits the health of hamsters wi

Question

Continuous indoor fluorescent light benefits the health of hamsters with inherited heart disease. A group of them exposed to continuous fluorescent light survived twenty-five percent longer than a similar group exposed instead to equal periods of indoor fluorescent light and of darkness.

The method of the research described above is most likely to be applicable in addressing which of the following questions?

The method of the research described above is most likely to be applicable in addressing which of the following questions?

(A) Can industrial workers who need to see their work do so better by sunlight or by fluorescent light?
(B) Can hospital lighting be improved to promote the recovery of patients?
(C) How do deep-sea fish survive in total darkness?
(D) What are the inherited illnesses to which hamsters are subject?
(E) Are there plants that require specific periods of darkness in order to bloom?

mikemcgarry · Accepted Answer

So, the hamsters have an inherited disease, and 24 hr/day of fluorescent light helps them more than 1/2 fluorescent light and 1/2 darkness. Something about the light promotes healing more than the darkness. Is fluorescent light better than sunlight? We don't know, that's not addressed. We are exploring some connection between light (either time of light or kind of light) and healing. (A) Can industrial workers who need to see their work do so better by sunlight or by fluorescent light? Total distractor. Nothing in the prompt is about comparing different kinds of light, or about perception instead of healing. (B) Can hospital lighting be improved to promote the recovery of patients? The effect of light on healing --- this is a promising one. (C) How do deep-sea fish survive in total darkness? Admittedly, this is somewhat paradoxical, given this prompt. This one, though, is not specifically about healing, about immune function. Also, these fish have evolved to live in total darkness, so presumably their response to light would be quite different from that of an animal (such as a hamster or a human) that has evolved in ordinary circadian rhythms of light. It's not clear whether the hamster study would "shed any light" on how these fish survive. (D) What are the inherited illnesses to which hamsters are subject? Another great distractor. This has nothing about light, which is clearly the central point of the prompt. Other inherited disease that hamsters could get ---that sounds like a huge topic, and presumable some of them would have nothing to do with exposure to light. It's not clear that the methods of research presented in this prompt would be helpful here. (E) Are there plants that require specific periods of darkness in order to bloom? The prompt was looking at how light, and availability of light, promotes healing, that is to say, immune response. This is about plants, not animals --- a huge different biologically. This is about what might be helpful about darkness, not light. This concerns, not the immune system in particular, but the ordinary life-cycle of a plant. It's not well connected to the research about hamsters. I will say, though, I think this is a flaw in the question. Technically, the question says, " The method of the research described above is most likely to be applicable in addressing which of the following questions? " Well, apart from any context, any of the science concerning healing in hamsters, the bare-bones research method of 24hr light vs. (1/2 light, 1/2 dark) would probably be exactly what you would have to use to test the hypothesis about plants needing light to bloom. I can see whoever wrote the question did not intend for this to be the answer, but whoever wrote the question did not do a particularly good job with diction, especially in that final prompt question. Technically, "method of research" could be the specific design of this experiment, which would make (E) a credible answer. (B) is clearly the answer the question authored wanted, but because the prompt was not worded well, (E) is also a credible answer. I have no idea what the source of this question is, but I would say --- this is a faulty CR question. In a well-written question, you would not have a "loophole" answer such as this. That's my 2¢ Mike

TheGraceful · Answer

GMATNinja , Although experts have posted here the explanation for the answer of this OG questio, I am NOT convinced and not able to train my mind to eliminate option D.

Your help - in explaining the answer choices in your won words & style - is greatly admired.

Waiting for your post on this.

GMATNinja · Answer

The prompt asks which question posed in an answer choice could be addressed by the method of research described in the passage. To answer this, we must first identify what exactly that method of research is.

The passage describes exposing two different groups of sick hamsters to different patterns of light. One group is exposed to continuous fluorescent light, and the other is exposed to equal periods of fluorescent light and darkness.

With that in mind, let’s take a look at (D):

So, will exposing some hamsters to continuous fluorescent light and others to equal periods of fluorescent light and darkness show what the inherited diseases of those hamsters are? No. That method of research would not help identify  which  diseases those hamsters have. Even if it were to show which hamsters had inherited diseases, we still wouldn’t know what those inherited illnesses are. For that reason, we can eliminate (D).

I hope that helps!

InnerDawn · Answer

Hey,

I'm confused between B & E. I have gone thru the exisiting explanations but I'm still unable to understand. Can you please highlight why E is incorrect?

E --> Bloom = Growth = Survive. The passage talks about survival, so possible opt.

guddo · Answer

Continuous indoor fluorescent light benefits the health of hamsters with inherited heart disease. A group of them exposed to continuous fluorescent light survived twenty-five percent longer than a similar group exposed instead to equal periods of indoor fluorescent light and of darkness.

The method of the research described above is most likely to be applicable in addressing which of the following questions?

The method of the research described above is most likely to be applicable in addressing which of the following questions?

The research method compares two similar groups and changes just one main condition, the lighting, to see whether that affects health outcome.  The key idea  is that  this is an experimental method for testing whether a lighting condition improves health or recovery . So the best match is the choice that asks a similar cause-and-effect question about lighting and health.

(A) Can industrial workers who need to see their work do so better by sunlight or by fluorescent light?

This is about visual performance, not health or recovery. The hamster study is not mainly about which light helps subjects see better.

(B) Can hospital lighting be improved to promote the recovery of patients?

This matches best. It asks whether changing lighting conditions can improve a health outcome, just as the hamster study tested whether a lighting condition improved survival.

(C) How do deep-sea fish survive in total darkness?

This is asking for an explanation of a natural adaptation, not for an experimental comparison of lighting conditions and health outcomes.

(D) What are the inherited illnesses to which hamsters are subject?

This is about identifying diseases, not about testing the effect of one environmental condition on health.

(E) Are there plants that require specific periods of darkness in order to bloom?

This is closer than A, C, or D because it also involves light and darkness, but it is about plant blooming requirements, not health or recovery. The method is most directly applicable to B.

Answer: (B)

guddo · Answer

I'd say, E is incorrect because  the method match is about the kind of outcome being tested , not just the fact that both involve life.

In the passage, the experiment tests whether  a lighting condition improves a medical/health outcome  by comparing two groups under different light schedules.

B matches that exactly: changing lighting to see whether patients recover better.

E is different. It is not about improving health or recovery. It is about whether darkness is a required trigger for blooming. That is a different kind of biological question, so it is a weaker match than B.

Continuous indoor fluorescent light benefits the health of hamsters wi

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Continuous indoor fluorescent light benefits the health of hamsters wi

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615 to 715 in 15 Days (Ria's Strategies)

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