The following text is from a 2020 environmental research report. Dr. Martinez had spent months analyzing soil samples from the...
GMAT Craft and Structure : (Structure) Questions
The following text is from a 2020 environmental research report. Dr. Martinez had spent months analyzing soil samples from the contaminated industrial site, running countless chemical tests and comparing her findings with historical pollution data. After reviewing the accumulated evidence from multiple laboratory analyses and field studies, she was finally able to determine the primary source of the contamination that had puzzled investigators for years.
As used in the text, what does the word "determine" most nearly mean?
Assess
Identify
Dictate
Conclude
Step 1: Decode and Map the Passage
Create Passage Analysis Table
| Text from Passage | Analysis |
|---|---|
| "Dr. Martinez had spent months analyzing soil samples from the contaminated industrial site, running countless chemical tests and comparing her findings with historical pollution data." |
|
| "After reviewing the accumulated evidence from multiple laboratory analyses and field studies," |
|
| "she was finally able to determine the primary source of the contamination that had puzzled investigators for years." |
|
Provide Passage Architecture & Core Elements
Main Point: Dr. Martinez successfully identified the primary contamination source after conducting months of thorough scientific investigation.
Argument Flow: The passage follows a chronological progression from extensive data collection and testing, through comprehensive evidence review, to the final breakthrough where Dr. Martinez identified the contamination source that had long puzzled other investigators.
Step 2: Interpret the Question Precisely
This is a fill-in-the-blank question asking us to choose the best logical connector. The answer must create the right relationship between what comes before and after the blank.
Step 3: Prethink the Answer
- Looking at how "determine" is used here, Dr. Martinez had been collecting evidence for months
- After reviewing all this accumulated evidence, she was finally able to "determine the primary source"
- In this context, "determine" means she figured out or discovered what the source was after investigation
- The word suggests she identified something that was previously unknown - the contamination source had "puzzled investigators for years" until she was able to pinpoint what it was
Assess
- "Assess" means to evaluate or judge the value/importance of something
- This doesn't fit because Dr. Martinez wasn't evaluating the contamination source - she was discovering what it actually was
Identify
- "Identify" means to recognize or establish what something is
- This perfectly matches the context - she figured out what the primary source was after it had been unknown
Dictate
- "Dictate" means to command or control
- Dr. Martinez wasn't controlling the contamination source - she was discovering what it was
Conclude
- "Conclude" means to bring to an end or to decide based on reasoning
- While she did conclude her investigation, the sentence specifically says she "determined the source," not that she concluded something about it