When marine biologist Brittany Williams played different ocean recordings to groups of oyster larvae, groups that heard sounds of a...
GMAT Craft and Structure : (Structure) Questions
When marine biologist Brittany Williams played different ocean recordings to groups of oyster larvae, groups that heard sounds of a healthy oyster reef were the most ______. They were twice as likely as other groups to show signs of making a permanent home. This suggests that playing recordings of a healthy ocean reef may encourage oysters to create such a reef.
Which choice completes the text with the most logical and precise word or phrase?
Step 1: Decode and Map the Passage
Create Passage Analysis Table
| Text from Passage | Analysis |
|---|---|
| 'When marine biologist Brittany Williams played different ocean recordings to groups of oyster larvae,' |
|
| 'groups that heard sounds of a healthy oyster reef were the most ______.' |
|
| 'They were twice as likely as other groups to show signs of making a permanent home.' |
|
| 'This suggests that playing recordings of a healthy ocean reef may encourage oysters to create such a reef.' |
|
Provide Passage Architecture & Core Elements
Main Point: Playing sounds of healthy oyster reefs to larvae makes them more likely to settle and potentially create reefs.
Argument Flow: The passage describes an experiment where different ocean recordings were played to oyster larvae groups. The groups that heard healthy reef sounds showed the strongest response, being twice as likely to show settling behavior. This leads to the conclusion that such sound recordings might be useful for encouraging reef formation.
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
- The missing word describes groups of oyster larvae that heard healthy reef sounds
- The very next sentence tells us these groups were 'twice as likely as other groups to show signs of making a permanent home'
- This means they reacted positively and actively to the sounds - they were more engaged or reactive compared to other groups
- The word needs to capture that these larvae showed a strong, positive reaction to the healthy reef sounds, leading to increased settling behavior
Responsive
- 'Responsive' perfectly captures that these larvae reacted to the healthy reef sounds
- Being twice as likely to settle shows they were responding to what they heard
- ✓ Correct
Inactive
- 'Inactive' suggests the larvae were passive, which contradicts the evidence that they were twice as likely to show settling signs
- ✗ Incorrect
Liked
- 'Liked' does not work grammatically or logically in this context
- We cannot measure whether larvae 'liked' something
- ✗ Incorrect
Distressed
- 'Distressed' would suggest negative reaction to the sounds, contradicting the positive outcome of increased settling behavior
- ✗ Incorrect