A student performs an experiment testing her hypothesis that a slightly acidic soil environment is more beneficial for the growth...
GMAT Information and Ideas : (Ideas) Questions
A student performs an experiment testing her hypothesis that a slightly acidic soil environment is more beneficial for the growth of the plant Brassica rapa parachinensis (a vegetable commonly known as choy sum) than a neutral soil environment. She plants sixteen seeds of choy sum in a mixture of equal amounts of coffee grounds (which are highly acidic) and potting soil and another sixteen seeds in potting soil without coffee grounds as the control for the experiment. The two groups of seeds were exposed to the same growing conditions and monitored for three weeks.
Which finding, if true, would most directly weaken the student's hypothesis?
Step 1: Decode and Map the Passage
Passage Analysis Table
| Text from Passage | Analysis |
|---|---|
| 'A student performs an experiment testing her hypothesis that a slightly acidic soil environment is more beneficial for the growth of the plant Brassica rapa parachinensis (a vegetable commonly known as choy sum) than a neutral soil environment.' |
|
| 'She plants sixteen seeds of choy sum in a mixture of equal amounts of coffee grounds (which are highly acidic) and potting soil and another sixteen seeds in potting soil without coffee grounds as the control for the experiment.' |
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| 'The two groups of seeds were exposed to the same growing conditions and monitored for three weeks.' |
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Passage Architecture & Core Elements
Main Point: A student designed an experiment to test whether acidic soil promotes better choy sum growth than neutral soil.
Argument Flow: We start with the student's hypothesis that acidic conditions benefit plant growth. She then sets up a controlled experiment comparing acidic soil against neutral soil as a control. The experiment maintains consistent conditions across both groups.
Step 2: Interpret the Question Precisely
What's being asked? We need to identify which experimental finding would most directly weaken the student's hypothesis.
What type of answer do we need? A result that contradicts or undermines the claim that acidic soil is MORE beneficial than neutral soil.
Any limiting keywords? 'Most directly weaken' tells us we want the strongest evidence against the hypothesis.
Step 3: Prethink the Answer
- The student's hypothesis claims acidic soil is MORE beneficial for choy sum growth than neutral soil
- To weaken this hypothesis, we need evidence showing that the neutral soil group performed better than the acidic soil group or both groups performed equally well
- The strongest weakening evidence would be clear superiority of the neutral soil group in some growth measure - height, weight, sprouting rate, or survival rate
- Shows the neutral soil plants were significantly taller than the acidic soil plants
- This directly contradicts the hypothesis that acidic soil is more beneficial
- Height is a clear indicator of plant growth and health
- States the neutral soil plants weighed less than the acidic soil plants
- This actually supports the student's hypothesis rather than weakening it
- Says neutral soil seeds sprouted later than acidic soil seeds
- This supports the hypothesis by showing acidic conditions promoted faster germination
- Indicates fewer neutral soil seeds sprouted compared to acidic soil seeds
- This strongly supports the hypothesis by showing better germination rates in acidic soil