Q16 - Poppy petals function to attract

[willaminic]

I did right on this question by eliminating all other choices, but i still have some doubt on B's phrase "Even if" .... ok, this is a must true type question, so should not the right answer never introduce some "new information"? can anyone explain this to me? Thank you.

[giladedelman]

Ah, but it is NOT a "must be true" question! It's just asking us for what's most strongly supported.

You're right that the wrong answers are super easy to eliminate on this one. So how do we support the correct answer (B)? Well, we know that when the substance is released into an uncut poppy -- that is, a flower that's still attached to its plant -- the petals wilt within a few days. So if we cut off the poppy, thereby releasing the substance, we would expect it to wilt similarly even if we gave it nutrients, since the poppies tend to wilt even when they're still attached to the nutrient-giving plant.

Does that make sense?

[Nina]

i'm trying to examine the reason for eliminating each wrong answer, but not quite sure about the reason for E.

is it wrong because of a detail creep from "poppy flowers" to "poppy plants", or is it because the statement "are unable to draw nutrients from soil or water"? i think we could infer that the reason for the flower's wilting after the substance has been released is that this substance causes the flower "unable to draw nutrients from soil or water". am i right about this?

Thanks for help!

[tommywallach]

Hey All,

This is an inference question, so we don't need to look for a conclusion. Let's focus on what we know.

1) Petals attract pollinators.
2) Pollination causes petals to wilt in 1-2 days.
3) No pollination, petals remain fresh as long as nourished.
4) Cutting an unpollinated flower has same effect as pollination.

(A) The passage never tells us the effect on insects of wilted or unwilted petals (the first sentence doesn't distinguish).

(B) CORRECT. The last sentence tells us that cutting an unpollinated poppy causes the wilting in 1-2 days. And we already know that any pollinated poppy will wilt in 1-2 days. So any cut poppy, pollinated or unpollinanted, will not keeps its flowers beyond 2 days.

(C) All we know about in the passage are poppies.

(D) We don't know the science behind this, so we can't pick this answer.

(E) We don't know if the substance stops the absorption of nutrients, we only know that wilting happens. Think of something similar: a disease that causes the brain to atrophy. Does this happen because the body can't absorb nutrients? Not necessarily. The nutrients could go elsewhere (in the case of flowers, the nutrients could go to the stem instead of the petals).

Hope that helps!

-t

[DavidH327]

I have eliminated other answer choices but I dont understand wh B is the right choice.

Why do we have to assume that poppy flower will be cut? Can poppy flower remain uncut and nourished which will allow it to "remain fresh for a week or longer"?

Aanswer B says "even if given necessary nutrients, their petals will tend to wilt within a few days"
But couldnt it be equally possible that their petals "will not have" a tendency to wilth within a few days?

Please let me know what I am missing.

Thank you.

[HughM388]

Is it fair to ask that, since it is a most-strongly-support question, we should not suppose that "all necessary nutrients" provided by the cutter (or the subsequent nutrient provider) of the poppy might include certain nutrients that, though not present in the uncut poppy's "natural" nutrient supply, might include some additional nutrients, deemed "necessary" by the nutrient provider, that can counteract the "substance whose release is triggered by pollination?"

This possibility seems reasonable and plausible. In fact, I'd be surprised if the flower industry hasn't discovered or devised a "nutrient" that can counteract the natural wilting process, so that the bloom of a flower can be prolonged much longer than a few days and than it would be otherwise. Is this highly reasonable and plausible scenario less valid here because it's a most-strongly-support question?