Zooplankton, tiny animals adapted to an existence in the ocean, have e

Question

New Project RC Butler 2019  -  Practice 2 RC Passages Everyday   
Passage # 220, Date : 21-Jul-2019
 This post is a part of New Project RC Butler 2019 .  Click here for Details

Zooplankton, tiny animals adapted to an existence in the ocean, have evolved clever mechanisms for obtaining their food, miniscule phytoplankton (plant plankton). A very specialized feeding adaptation in zooplankton is that of the tadpole like appendicularian who lives in a walnut-sized (or smaller) balloon of mucus equipped with filters that capture and concentrate phytoplankton. The balloon, a transparent structure that varies in design according to the type of appendicularian inhabiting it, also protects the animal and helps to keep it afloat. Water containing phytoplankton is pumped by the appendicularian's muscular tail into the balloon's incurrent filters, passes through the feeding filter where the appendicularian sucks the food into its mouth and then goes through an exit passage. Found in all the oceans of the world, including the Arctic Ocean, appendicularians tend to remain near the water's surface where the density of phytoplankton is greatest.   1 
 C 
 1. It can be inferred from the passage that which of the following is true of appendicularians?

(A) They are exclusively carnivorous. 
(B) They have more than one method of obtaining food. 
(C) They can tolerate frigid water. 
(D) They can disguise themselves by secreting mucus. 
(E) They are more sensitive to light than are other zooplankton.

2 
 A 
 2. The author is primarily concerned with

(A) explaining how appendicularians obtain food 
(B) examining the flotation methods of' appendicularians 
(C) mapping the distribution of appendicularians around the world 
(D) describing how appendicularians differ from other zooplankton 
(E) comparing the various types of balloons formed by appendicularians

3 
 D 
 3. According to the passage, all of the following are descriptive of appendicularians EXCEPT

(A) tailed 
(B) vegetarian 
(C) small-sized 
(D) single-celled 
(F) ocean-dwelling

4 
 E 
 4. The passage suggests that appendicularians tend to remain in surface waters because they

(A) prefer the warmer water near the surface 
(B) are unable to secrete mucus at the lower levels of the ocean 
(C) use the contrast of light and shadow at the surface to hide from predators 
(D) live in balloons that cannot withstand the water pressure deeper in the ocean
(E) eat food that grows more profusely near the surface

ssd123 · Accepted Answer

1. It can be inferred from the passage that which of the following is true of appendicularians?

(A) They are exclusively carnivorous. => Not mentioned in the passage, incorrect
(B) They have more than one method of obtaining food. =>Not mentioned in the passage, incorrect
(C) They can tolerate frigid water. =>  it is mentioned in the passage as : Found in all the oceans of the world, including the Arctic Ocean - from the same we can infer that they can tolerate very cold waters 
(D) They can disguise themselves by secreting mucus. => Not mentioned in the passage, incorrect
(E) They are more sensitive to light than are other zooplankton => Not mentioned in the passage, incorrect

2. The author is primarily concerned with

(A) explaining how appendicularians obtain food => First the author describes the balloon structure and then goes ahead to describe the process in which water containing phytoplankton is pumped by the appendicularian's muscular tail into the balloon's incurrent filters. 
(B) examining the flotation methods of' appendicularians => The author just mentions it in the last line of the para stating that appendicularians tend to remain near the water's surface where the density of phytoplankton is greatest - the passage is not concerned with the examination of flotation methods of appendicularians. Incorrect
(C) mapping the distribution of appendicularians around the world => Not mentioned, incorrect
(D) describing how appendicularians differ from other zooplankton => Out of scope, incorrect
(E) comparing the various types of balloons formed by appendicularians => Out of scope, incorrect

3. According to the passage, all of the following are descriptive of appendicularians EXCEPT

(A) tailed => Water containing phytoplankton is pumped by the appendicularian's muscular tail => mentioned in the passage, incorrect
(B) vegetarian => Water containing phytoplankton is pumped by the appendicularian's muscular tail => in the beginning of the passage, phytoplankton is described as plant plankton, hence, vegetarian, mentioned in the passage, incorrect
(C) small-sized => A very specialized feeding adaptation in zooplankton is that of the tadpole like appendicularian who lives in a walnut-sized (or smaller) balloon of mucus => from this we can infer that the appendicularian is small- sized, mentioned in the passage, incorrect
(D) single-celled =>  This is not mentioned in the passage, hence the answer 
(F) ocean-dwelling => Found in all the oceans of the world => From this we can infer that appendicularians are ocean dwelling- mentioned in the passage, incorrect

4. The passage suggests that appendicularians tend to remain in surface waters because they

(A) prefer the warmer water near the surface => Not mentioned in the passage, incorrect
(B) are unable to secrete mucus at the lower levels of the ocean => Not mentioned in the passage, incorrect 
(C) use the contrast of light and shadow at the surface to hide from predators => Not mentioned in the passage, incorrect 
(D) live in balloons that cannot withstand the water pressure deeper in the ocean => Not mentioned in the passage, incorrect 
(E) eat food that grows more profusely near the surface =>  Found in all the oceans of the world, including the Arctic Ocean, appendicularians tend to remain near the water's surface where the density of phytoplankton is greatest

Skyline393 · Answer

Q1. It can be inferred from the passage that which of the following is true of appendicularians?

(A) They are exclusively carnivorous. 
(B) They have more than one method of obtaining food. 
(C) They can tolerate frigid water. 
(D) They can disguise themselves by secreting mucus. =>   the tadpolelike appendicularian who lives in a walnut-sized (or smaller) balloon of mucus equipped with filters that capture and concentrate phytoplankton. The balloon, a transparent structure that varies in design according to the type of appendicularian inhabiting it, also protects the animal and helps to keep it afloat  
(E) They are more sensitive to light than are other zooplankton.

carcass  , pls check again the answer choice for Q2,3,4.. I have a small research and found that the correct answers in the timer are not accurate with the OA... Thanks

ballest127 · Answer

Hi Expert,

Please help me with Question 1 and 3

In question 1, "It can be inferred from the passage that which of the following is true of appendicularians? " 
where ,in the passage , can we infer choice C?
Which sentence implies about "frigid water"?

In question 3, "According to the passage, all of the following are descriptive of appendicularians EXCEPT "
why B is incorrect. Which sentence , in the passage , can infer that the appendicularians are vegetarian ?

Thank you.

Chethan92 · Answer

I'll answer to your Q1:

In the last sentence of the passage, It is mentioned that appendicularians are also present in the Artic ocean. 
Hence we can infer that appendicularians CAN tolerate frigid water.

Skywalker18 · Answer

All correct in almost 6 mins, including 1 mins 30 seconds to read.
Para summary- Zooplankton, specialized adaptation, how it works

1. It can be inferred from the passage that which of the following is true of appendicularians?  
(C) They can tolerate frigid water. - Correct
Found in all the oceans of the world, including the Arctic Ocean, appendicularians tend to remain near the water's surface where the density of phytoplankton is greatest.

2. The author is primarily concerned with  
(A) explaining how appendicularians obtain food - Correct

3. According to the passage, all of the following are descriptive of appendicularians EXCEPT

(A) tailed - incorrect, appendicularian's muscular tail
(B) vegetarian - incorrect, they eat phytoplankton (plant plankton)
(C) small-sized - incorrect, Zooplankton, tiny animals
(D) single-celled - Correct
(F) ocean-dwelling - incorrect, Found in all the oceans of the world

4. The passage suggests that appendicularians tend to remain in surface waters because they  
(E) eat food that grows more profusely near the surface- Correct
appendicularians tend to remain near the water's surface where the density of phytoplankton is greatest.

For question 1, though I chose the correct answer, I took a lot of time as I felt that the correct answer was a bigger leap than I would have liked. (I do understand that artic ocean--> cold water but I thought it was a real-world inference)

AjiteshArun  ,  GMATNinja  ,  MagooshExpert  ,  GMATGuruNY  ,  VeritasPrepBrian  ,  MartyTargetTestPrep  ,  DmitryFarber  ,  VeritasKarishma  ,  generis  ,  jennpt  ,  VeritasPrepErika  , other experts - please enlighten

JaxHammer · Answer

Guys for question 1 why cant we chose option B? as the second line in passage says "  have evolved clever  mechanisms  for obtaining their food  ," like it says mechanisms which is plural, so cant we go by this and chose that there are other ways to obtain food as well?

Eeeseo · Answer

are we supposed to know/assume that Artic is cold? I thought all the answers were in the passage, and nowhere does it say anything cold.

SuprotimRoy · Answer

Because the question is specifically asking about "  appendicularians".  The word mechanisms is for all the Zooplanktons and  appendicularians is one of them.

Zooplankton, tiny animals adapted to an existence in the ocean, have e

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GMAT Reading Comprehension (RC) Questions

Zooplankton, tiny animals adapted to an existence in the ocean, have e

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