Question: Insectivorous plants, which unlike other plants have the ability to trap and digest insects, can thrive in soils that are too poor in minerals to support non insectivorous plants. Yet the mineral requirements of insectivorous plants are not noticeably different from the mineral requirements of non insectivorous plants.
The statements above, if true, most strongly support which one of the following hypotheses?
(A) The insects that insectivorous plants trap and digest are especially abundant where the soil is poor in minerals.
(B) Insectivorous plants thrive only in soils that are too poor in minerals to support non insectivorous plants.
(C) The types of minerals required by non insectivorous plants are more likely than are the types of minerals required by insectivorous plants to be found in soils poor in minerals.
(D) The number of different environments in which insectivorous plants thrive is greater than the number of different environments in which non insectivorous plants thrive.
(E) Insectivorous plants can get some of the minerals they require from the insects they trap and digest
Insectivorous plants, which unlike other plants have the ability to trap and digest insects - is a GMAT Critical question. This particular GMAT Critical Reasoning topic has been taken from ‘The PowerScore Critical Reasoning Bible 2021’. GMAT critical reasoning questions examine how well a candidate can analyze the argument, find its flaws, and develop a plan of action. In GMAT critical reasoning an assumption is an implied hypothesis. So we are looking for something that is implied in the argument. In case it is wrong or maybe disable the argument. The GMAT CR section contains 10 -13 GMAT critical reasoning questions out of 36 GMAT verbal questions.
Answer: E
Explanation:
This is an assumption is an implied hypothesis type of question. Let us demystify the argument provided in the passage to establish our goal.
The argument says:
1)Insectivorous can even grow in soil where Non Insectivorous can not grow.
2)the mineral required for the growth of insectivorous plants are not noticeably different
So automatically the question arises that how are the Insectivorous are getting their minerals? Our goal is to find a reason which can be a hypothesis to the theory established in argument by the author.
Let us check the options one at a time:
(A) The insects that insectivorous plants trap and digest are especially abundant where the soil is poor in minerals. - This states that the insectivorous plants trap their prey usually where the soil is poor in minerals. This does not state or imply any hint from where they are getting the minerals to survive. Hence, this is incorrect.
(B) Insectivorous plants thrive only in soils that are too poor in minerals to support non insectivorous plants. - This option means that insectivorous plants give space to non-insectivorous plants to grow on soils with lots of minerals. This does not satisfy or answer our question of why they dont grow on soils with minerals or where they get the minerals from. Hence, this is also incorrect.
(C) The types of minerals required by non insectivorous plants are more likely than are the types of minerals required by insectivorous plants to be found in soils poor in minerals - This option also compares the types of minerals required but does not give us the source of minerals. Since this does not answer the question that we are looking for, this is also incorrect.
(D) The number of different environments in which insectivorous plants thrive is greater than the number of different environments in which non insectivorous plants thrive. - This somewhat tries to answer the question by talking about the environment. However, it is still not clear from where the insectivorous plants are getting the minerals. Hence, we can rule this option out.
(E) Insectivorous plants can get some of the minerals they require from the insects they trap and digest - This option directly answers the question. It says that insectivorous plants get some of the minerals from the insects they capture. Hence, this is the implied hypothesis that we were looking for. Option E is the correct answer.
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