Q27

[bradleygirard]

Kicking myself for getting this as my only incorrect answer in the entire RC section. In order to not make the mistake again, and hopefully help others not make the mistake, I will try my hand at explaining it.

The question stem asks us 'information in the passage most strongly supports which one of the following statements?'

(a) this is our correct answer. After having read a whole passage about these pests, the cyclamen mites, it may be tempting to eliminate this one upon first glance. However the passage does state in paragraph one that for there to be significant damage the population of cyclamen mites has to reach a certain level, and it also states that the typhlodromus mites generally subdue them before that point.
(b) the two common methods of reproduction is indeed an interesting point, and obviously works in favor of the typhlodromus, but is never stated to be a necessary component. For all we know they would still do just as good of a job if they were born differently.
(c) other pests are never mentioned, and furthermore, the reasons for why the two mites work so well together make this a particularly easy answer to eliminate.
(d) once again, the opposite of this answer is almost explicitly stated in the first paragraph.
(e) stupidly, I chose this one, and fell into a trap I have fallen into before on the science section of RC. Word to the wise, be very careful about the distinction between what has been observed happening and what has been shown in experiments. This seems to be a pretty common slight of hand trick by the test makers. They will introduce something in the reading as an experiment, and then an answer choice will reflect its actual occurrence.
Hope this helps.

[sissixz]

Great explanation, same to you, this is also my only incorrect answer in the entire RC section.

I write down "?" mark near option A, and later on when I review it again, I realized E was out of nowhere. cause this question is not "Inference".

[Dkrajewski30]

Brad's explanation is a good one, though I found different support for A. (That said, I answered the question through POE.)

A, to me, is close to a 'must be true'. If it's not true, and the strawberry crops cannot sustain the main elements needed in the experiment, then how the hell were all these experiments on strawberry crops sustained? I think it's fair to assume that the experiments have to go on for a decent period of time (weeks, say) in order to get meaningful results. Of course, there's a slight, slight chance this isn't the case and that one can derive meaningful results with just brief experiments, and this is why A need not be true, but this thought seems comparatively implausible. And if it was the case that strawberry crops could sustain the elements only for mere days, then why bother to use the strawberries? Use something more suitable.

While I understand Brad's support for A, I also see the above thought as adequate support for A as well.

[tommywallach]

Hey Dkrajewski30,

I agree that your explanation for answer choice (A) is the correct one. Obviously, the whole point of this passage is that the predator mites keep the other mites in check, so both populations can survive and the crops do okay. It's not really an issue of the predator mites doing their work within a certain amount of time (i.e. 2 years). If significant damage were done to the crops even with the predator mite, there really wouldn't be anything worth talking about in the whole passage!

Good work!

-t

[HelenH783]

I chose answer C and, though I see how A is right, am still having trouble knocking C out.

Most of the traits that make Typhlodromus an effective predator are provided specifically in relation to cyclamen mites being their prey (T have higher reproductive rates, T can survive winters when the C population dwindles and hides), but a couple could extend to making them good predators of other strawberry plant pests (seasonal synchrony of T with "the growth of prey populations and ability to survive at low prey densities" which seems intentionally open to other species, subsistence on other food in the winter... And the final line of P2 likens T's predatory strengths to those of other predators that control prey populations.)

Why is C wrong? Is it that "certain" other pests is too specific, as no other pests are explicitly presented in the passage?

Looking at this again, I think C is wrong because the question stem is one that truly limits us to information presented in the passage (as opposed to, say, Q24, an "author is likely to agree" question that could go a bit beyond the scope of the passage)... for C to be right, the passage would have had to specifically point out other pests that T can subdue.

Further thoughts or clarification would be appreciated!

[ChuyiY376]

C is wrong because it is out of scope. Big T is effective in controlling cyclamen mites first of all because it is a natural predator of cyclamen mites, and all the other factors contribute to its success. We don't know from the passage if it preys on any other pests at all, let alone controlling them.

[JoeyY14]

Hi, just for clarify, so for B, “it is crucial” actually means that “it is necessary”, right? I chose B because I thought crucial is somewhat equal to important. Thanks for help!