Text 1Microbes are tiny organisms in the soil, water, and air all around us. They thrive even in very harsh...
GMAT Craft and Structure : (Structure) Questions
Text 1
Microbes are tiny organisms in the soil, water, and air all around us. They thrive even in very harsh conditions. That's why Noah Fierer and colleagues were surprised when soil samples they collected from an extremely cold, dry area in Antarctica didn't seem to contain any life. The finding doesn't prove that there are no microbes in that area, but the team says it does suggest that the environment severely restricts microbes' survival.
Text 2
Microbes are found in virtually every environment on Earth. So it's unlikely they would be completely absent from Fierer's team's study site, no matter how extreme the environment is. There were probably so few organisms in the samples that current technology couldn't detect them. But since a spoonful of typical soil elsewhere might contain billions of microbes, the presence of so few in the Antarctic soil samples would show how challenging the conditions are.
Fierer's team and the author of Text 2 would most likely agree with which statement about microbes?
Most microbes are better able to survive in environments with extremely dry conditions than in environments with harsh temperatures.
A much higher number of microbes would probably be found if another sample of soil were taken from the Antarctic study site.
Microbes are likely difficult to detect in the soil at the Antarctic study site because they tend to be smaller than microbes found in typical soil elsewhere.
Most microbes are probably unable to withstand the soil conditions at the Antarctic study site.
Step 1: Decode and Map the Passage
Create Passage Analysis Table
| Text from Passage | Analysis |
|---|---|
| Text 1: "Microbes are tiny organisms in the soil, water, and air all around us. They thrive even in very harsh conditions." |
|
| "That's why Noah Fierer and colleagues were surprised when soil samples they collected from an extremely cold, dry area in Antarctica didn't seem to contain any life." |
|
| "The finding doesn't prove that there are no microbes in that area, but the team says it does suggest that the environment severely restricts microbes' survival." |
|
| Text 2: "Microbes are found in virtually every environment on Earth. So it's unlikely they would be completely absent from Fierer's team's study site, no matter how extreme the environment is." |
|
| "There were probably so few organisms in the samples that current technology couldn't detect them." |
|
| "But since a spoonful of typical soil elsewhere might contain billions of microbes, the presence of so few in the Antarctic soil samples would show how challenging the conditions are." |
|
Provide Passage Architecture & Core Elements
Main Point: Both texts agree that the Antarctic environment severely challenges microbe survival, whether through complete restriction (Text 1) or reducing populations to nearly undetectable levels (Text 2).
Argument Flow: Text 1 presents Fierer's surprising finding that Antarctic soil appears lifeless despite microbes typically thriving in harsh conditions, interpreting this as evidence of severe environmental restrictions. Text 2 offers a different explanation—that microbes are probably present but too few to detect—while agreeing that the scarcity demonstrates how challenging the conditions are.
Step 2: Interpret the Question Precisely
What's being asked? We need to find a statement that both Fierer's team AND the author of Text 2 would agree with about microbes.
What type of answer do we need? A point of agreement between two different perspectives on the same research finding.
Any limiting keywords? "most likely agree" - we need the statement that both parties would find reasonable based on their stated positions.
Step 3: Prethink the Answer
- Both texts agree on the core idea: the Antarctic environment is extremely difficult for microbes to survive in
- Text 1 thinks this leads to apparent absence, Text 2 thinks this leads to extremely low numbers, but both see the environment as severely challenging for microbe survival
- So the right answer should reflect their shared view that the Antarctic conditions are too harsh for most microbes to survive successfully
Most microbes are better able to survive in environments with extremely dry conditions than in environments with harsh temperatures.
- Claims microbes handle dry conditions better than harsh temperatures
- Neither text compares different types of harsh conditions or makes claims about which conditions microbes handle better
A much higher number of microbes would probably be found if another sample of soil were taken from the Antarctic study site.
- Suggests another sample would probably yield higher numbers
- Text 2 specifically argues the current samples probably DO contain microbes, just too few to detect
Microbes are likely difficult to detect in the soil at the Antarctic study site because they tend to be smaller than microbes found in typical soil elsewhere.
- Claims Antarctic microbes are smaller than those elsewhere
- Neither text mentions anything about microbe size differences
Most microbes are probably unable to withstand the soil conditions at the Antarctic study site.
- States most microbes probably cannot withstand the Antarctic soil conditions
- Text 1 directly supports this: the environment "severely restricts microbes' survival"
- Text 2 supports this: conditions are so "challenging" that only extremely few microbes can survive