RC 99 - Passage 25
Georges LeClerc (1707-1780) proposed a mechanism for calculating the
age of the Earth using molten spheres of iron and measuring cooling
times, after which he proposed that the Earth was at least 75,000 years
old and perhaps as old as three million years.
Some students may feel that we should not focus on the past, and
that our thoughts should be trained on new knowledge and invention,
rather than antiquated ideas. What these students do not understand is
the importance of the old ideas in shaping our current understanding of
the world around us, and that an outright dismissal of past theories
simply because they have been rejected by new evidence may limit our
understanding of current theories.
There is value of learning about hypotheses that were once espoused
to explain an observed phenomenon, but that have now been long
disproved and invalidated. Darwins theory of natural selection as the
mechanism for evolution is all too often taught in a vacuum in high school
biology classrooms, as if this brilliant naturalist developed a ground-
breaking theory on natural order which had never before been
contemplated in any form. It is only by learning about the gradual
development of evolutionary theory, and the role of some religious
individuals in shaping this theory, that students may come to see the
logic and power behind Darwins relatively simple ideas.
Many of the contributions upon which Darwin built his ideas came
from scientists who were staunch creationists themselves. These
scientists believed that all organisms on Earth had been placed here
through special creation,ďż˝- by God, because there was little evidence at
the time to support evolution. LeClerc also perceived that species were
not fixed and could change over time; he even proposed that closely
related species, such as the horse and donkey, had developed from a
common ancestor and had been modified by different climactic
conditions. Yet, LeClerc was a devout Christian creationist and devoted
much of his writing to the debunking of evolutionary ideas. Despite their
commitments to religion, LeClerc and Linnaeus both gave Darwin crucial
raw material to work with-their ideas concerning the similarities between
related species and possible connections with common ancestors cried
out for a reasonable explanation.
For centuries before Darwin, data that challenged the biblical account
of creation was surfacing in many fields of research. As explorers began
to study the forces that shape the Earth, such as mountain building and
volcanic eruptions, accounts from scripture and assertions that the Earth
was very young began to be called into question. Uniformitarian
geologists such as Charles Lyell felt that the only reason mountains and
other features of the Earths terrain had been built the way they had was
because of long, gradual processes that shaped these structures. There
was no way, he felt, that the Earth could be several thousand years old
as asserted in the Bible. In addition, the discovery of new plants,
animals, and fossils as explorers travelled to uncharted regions of the
world aroused suspicion about the paucity of animal and plant kindsďż˝- in
the Bible. Improvements in scientists abilities to estimate the age of the
Earth and the relative ages of fossils also pushed people to question old
assumptions.
Q 1: Taking into account all that was argued by the author, the main idea of this passage is that:
A. religious scientists before Darwin greatly influenced his formation of
the theory of natural selection.
B. similarities between species of plants and animals were too great to
ignore as people attempted to explain relationships in nature.
C. Darwin relied on a great deal of information from those who lived
before him as he formed his well-known conclusions about the
mechanisms of evolution.
D. old ideas should not be dismissed simply because they are old and
disproved.
E. There is no connection between old ideas and new ones
2. If the author were teaching a class on evolution in a university in the Unites States, the passage suggests that the class would spend a significant amount of time discussing:
A. the origins of Darwins theory of natural selection.
B. details of Darwins theory of natural selection.
C. the Biblical account of creation.
D. taxonomy and classification and their importance in Darwins ideas.
E. the future of evolution
I am getting confused with these 2 questions, can someone pls help me out.
RC 99 - Passage 25
Georges LeClerc (1707-1780) proposed a mechanism for calculating the
age of the Earth using molten spheres of iron and measuring cooling
times, after which he proposed that the Earth was at least 75,000 years
old and perhaps as old as three million years.
..................................
I am getting confused with these 2 questions, can someone pls help me out.
I will go for 1)A 2) D
Hey guys i come to know about a method "OCTAVE"
its a technique to solve RC effecitively..i have
the basic idea but dont know how to apply it effectively...
If anyone know about this concept pls explain....
My take is 1)A 2)C
hey...what is OCTAVE...pl explain...i am not even heard of it....
i need powerscore lsat rc bible..can anyone pm me pl.it'll be of a huge help
Hi All,
i need help in RC section... there are instances where the answer options given are so similar in nature that it becomes quite confusing...
example in OG12th edition:
the data is significantly incomplete
the data is inaccurate
what is the diff between these two? the Q choices were almost indistinguishable
Hi All,
i need help in RC section... there are instances where the answer options given are so similar in nature that it becomes quite confusing...
example in OG12th edition:
the data is significantly incomplete
the data is inaccurate
what is the diff between these two? the Q choices were almost indistinguishable
can you provide specific ques nos...that'll help...
it is in 12th edition OG, RC question no 94. the option B mentions the word "inaccurate" and the explanation says this option is significantly incomplete.
this i did not understood. if the data is inaccurate then it means the contents are wrong... but if that is significantly incomplete then it is not showing full true facts, but that does not mean the facts presented by themselves are false or inaccurate.
:(
help me out with the following RC:
the desert tortoise
Despite its 1989 designation as a threatened species under the federal Endangered Species Act, the desert tortoise, Gopherus agassizii, has declined in numbers by ninety percent since the 1980s. Although federal protection made it illegal to harm desert tortoises or remove them from the wild of the southwestern North American deserts, this measure has been insufficient to reverse the species decline, and further intervention is required.
Recovery has been slow, partly due to the desert tortoises low reproductive potential. Females breed only after reaching full size at fifteen to twenty years of age, and even then may only lay eggs when adequate forage is available. Although the number of eggs in each clutch varies, and each female might lay a few clutches in one season, the average mature female produces only a few eggs annually. From these precious eggs, hatchlings emerge wearing soft shells that will harden slowly into protective armor over the next five years. The vulnerable young are entirely neglected by adult tortoises, and only five percent ultimately reach adulthood.
Predators are blamed for most tortoise deaths; ravens, specifically, are estimated to cause more than half of the juvenile tortoise deaths in the Mojave Desert. Tortoise eggs and juveniles, with their delicate shells, can fall prey to many birds, mammals, and other reptiles. For protection from predators, as well as from desert temperature extremes, tortoises of all ages burrow into the earth. However, if rabbits and rodents are scarce, larger mammalian predators may dig tortoises out of their burrows, devouring even mature tortoises despite their hardened shells.
Even with current protections from human interference, the desert tortoise faces a tough recovery, so additional measures must be taken. First, the limited habitat of desert tortoises, with soil suitable for their burrows, must be protected from development. Next, urban expansion often has the unintended effect of increasing raven populations, so aggressive measures to control the birds are necessary to increase desert tortoise hatchling survival rates. Finally, released captive tortoises typically perish, and can pass upper respiratory tract disease into the wild population with devastating consequences, so continuing education of pet tortoise owners is essential.
It can be inferred from the passage that the desert tortoise mortality rate would be most likely to decrease if which of the following were true?
a.Male and female tortoises mated more frequently.
b.Adult tortoises provided better care for their young.
c.Forage plants were abundant in the habitat of the desert tortoise.
d.Rabbits were abundant in the habitat of the desert tortoise.
e.Desert tortoise burrows were cooler.
appears to be C
a: if forage isn't there this wont work
b:better care out of context
C:this appears good as the 2nd condition of laying eggs
d: rabbits kill
e: burrow temperature out of context
appears to be C
a: if forage isn't there this wont work
b:better care out of context
C:this appears good as the 2nd condition of laying eggs
d: rabbits kill
e: burrow temperature out of context
no this is not the answer , either b or d..can any one explain
garima99 Saysno this is not the answer , either b or d..can any one explain
a. reasoning is given in para..females reproduce at a very late stage..so not possible
b. agree with this part..if male adults help then mortality rate would decrease
c. their growth can't be helped.. a valid reason but not the most likely answer
d. rabits kill the tortoises..so they should be less
e. out of context
help me out with the following RC:
the desert tortoise
Despite its 1989 designation as a threatened --------------------------------------------- For protection from predators, as well as from desert temperature extremes, tortoises of all ages burrow into the earth. However, if rabbits and rodents are scarce, larger mammalian predators may dig tortoises out of their burrows, devouring even mature tortoises despite their hardened shells.
My take:--
option D- Rabbits were abundant in the habitat of the desert tortoise.
Expl- Have a look at the above bold portion of the passage..... if the rabbits are scarce then larger predators dig out the tortoises so if they are more then it negates this danger and they will also survive the extreme temperatures.
Hence, it will significantly decrease the desert tortoise mortality rate.
help me out with the following RC:
the desert tortoise
Despite its 1989 designation as a threatened species under the federal Endangered Species Act, the desert tortoise, Gopherus agassizii, has declined in numbers by ninety per
It can be inferred from the passage that the desert tortoise mortality rate would be most likely to decrease if which of the following were true?
a.Male and female tortoises mated more frequently.
b.Adult tortoises provided better care for their young.
c.Forage plants were abundant in the habitat of the desert tortoise.
d.Rabbits were abundant in the habitat of the desert tortoise.
e.Desert tortoise burrows were cooler.
It is Option D.
None of the other options are satisfactory.This option stands out alone to be the correct answer.
My take:--
option D- Rabbits were abundant in the habitat of the desert tortoise.
Expl- Have a look at the above bold portion of the passage..... if the rabbits are scarce then larger predators dig out the tortoises so if they are more then it negates this danger and they will also survive the extreme temperatures.
Hence, it will significantly decrease the desert tortoise mortality rate.
IIM CATCHER SaysIt is Option D.None of the other options are satisfactory.This option stands out alone to be the correct answer.
While option D does seem to be the correct answer i dont see any problem in option B either. the passage states that only 5% of the infant tortoises reach adulthood because they are neglected by adults. Can there be two correct answers to this question?
tarun g SaysWhile option D does seem to be the correct answer i dont see any problem in option B either. the passage states that only 5% of the infant tortoises reach adulthood because they are neglected by adults. Can there be two correct answers to this question?
D should be the correct choice, since mortality rates of the whole desert tortoise population is being talked about. If it would be infants, then B could have been correct.
This is what makes the data(5% reaching adulthood) incomplete.
help me out with the following RC:
the desert tortoise
:
Here's the official take on this --> Manhattan GMAT Forum.
On an unrelated note, you might want to find out if a copy-paste on material from other sites without attributing it back to the original source is an infringement of copyright.
- Sameer
MBA Crystal Ball
RC 99 - Passage 25
Georges LeClerc (1707-1780) proposed a mechanism for calculating the
age of the Earth using molten spheres of iron and measuring cooling
times, after which he proposed that the Earth was at least 75,000 years
old and perhaps as old as three million years.
Some students may feel that we should not focus on the past, and
that our thoughts should be trained on new knowledge and invention,
rather than antiquated ideas. What these students do not understand is
the importance of the old ideas in shaping our current understanding of
the world around us, and that an outright dismissal of past theories
simply because they have been rejected by new evidence may limit our
understanding of current theories.
There is value of learning about hypotheses that were once espoused
to explain an observed phenomenon, but that have now been long
disproved and invalidated. Darwins theory of natural selection as the
mechanism for evolution is all too often taught in a vacuum in high school
biology classrooms, as if this brilliant naturalist developed a ground-
breaking theory on natural order which had never before been
contemplated in any form. It is only by learning about the gradual
development of evolutionary theory, and the role of some religious
individuals in shaping this theory, that students may come to see the
logic and power behind Darwins relatively simple ideas.
Many of the contributions upon which Darwin built his ideas came
from scientists who were staunch creationists themselves. These
scientists believed that all organisms on Earth had been placed here
through special creation,ďż˝- by God, because there was little evidence at
the time to support evolution. LeClerc also perceived that species were
not fixed and could change over time; he even proposed that closely
related species, such as the horse and donkey, had developed from a
common ancestor and had been modified by different climactic
conditions. Yet, LeClerc was a devout Christian creationist and devoted
much of his writing to the debunking of evolutionary ideas. Despite their
commitments to religion, LeClerc and Linnaeus both gave Darwin crucial
raw material to work with-their ideas concerning the similarities between
related species and possible connections with common ancestors cried
out for a reasonable explanation.
For centuries before Darwin, data that challenged the biblical account
of creation was surfacing in many fields of research. As explorers began
to study the forces that shape the Earth, such as mountain building and
volcanic eruptions, accounts from scripture and assertions that the Earth
was very young began to be called into question. Uniformitarian
geologists such as Charles Lyell felt that the only reason mountains and
other features of the Earths terrain had been built the way they had was
because of long, gradual processes that shaped these structures. There
was no way, he felt, that the Earth could be several thousand years old
as asserted in the Bible. In addition, the discovery of new plants,
animals, and fossils as explorers travelled to uncharted regions of the
world aroused suspicion about the paucity of animal and plant kindsďż˝- in
the Bible. Improvements in scientists abilities to estimate the age of the
Earth and the relative ages of fossils also pushed people to question old
assumptions.
Q 1: Taking into account all that was argued by the author, the main idea of this passage is that:
A. religious scientists before Darwin greatly influenced his formation of
the theory of natural selection.
B. similarities between species of plants and animals were too great to
ignore as people attempted to explain relationships in nature.
C. Darwin relied on a great deal of information from those who lived
before him as he formed his well-known conclusions about the
mechanisms of evolution.
D. old ideas should not be dismissed simply because they are old and
disproved.
E. There is no connection between old ideas and new ones
My take is A, selection of fittest :).
B- just an example of the idea
C-definately not the main idea.
D- Very genreric
E-not in league.
2. If the author were teaching a class on evolution in a university in the Unites States, the passage suggests that the class would spend a significant amount of time discussing:
A. the origins of Darwins theory of natural selection.
B. details of Darwins theory of natural selection.
C. the Biblical account of creation.
D. taxonomy and classification and their importance in Darwins ideas.
E. the future of evolution
I am getting confused with these 2 questions, can someone pls help me out.
My take is C because, if you see the best parts of paragraph is about the Drawins inspiration from bible or old ideas. So it must be C
Jyotikumarcts SaysMy take is C because, if you see the best parts of paragraph is about the Drawins inspiration from bible or old ideas. So it must be C
1.But I think the option (c) will be a specific topic.
and the author is talking about the main idea which is general that stated by option (d).
So acc to me the answer should be (d)
2. I think it is pretty clear.
I go for (c).