The Spotted Mole is a Rodent that Burrows Underground and GMAT Critical Reasoning

Question: The Spotted Mole is a rodent that burrows underground and eats all forms of vegetable matter. Farmers are concerned that this mole could eat some of their commercial fruits, planted in above-ground planters and bins. The farmers need not worry about the Mole, though, because throughout the region in which the Spotted Mole is found, birds of prey such as hawks and falcons are active, and these birds would prey upon the Spotted Mole if the mole came above ground at all. Therefore, the Spotted Mole poses no threat to these totally above-ground fruits.

Which one of the following is an assumption on which the argument depends?

(A) The birds of prey capture and kill every single Spotted Mole that comes above ground.
(B) Some land-based mammals active in this region, such as fox, will also hunt and eat the Spotted Mole on a regular basis.
(C) No other animal could pose as significant a threat to the above-ground fruits as could the Spotted Mole.
(D) The times of day the Spotted Mole feeds are the same as the times of day that the birds of prey are in the air.
(E) Larger burrowing mammals, such as badgers or weasels, can dig up the burrows of the Spotted Mole, endangering those that remain underground.

Correct Answer: D
Explanation: Mole eats underground crops but farmers are concerned it will eat some of their commercial fruits, planted in above-ground planters and bins. Farmers need not worry as mole has predator birds, and would eat them if they came above the ground. Mole poses no threat to above-ground crops
The times of day the Spotted Mole feeds are the same as the times of day that the birds of prey are in the air.- Correct. If the mole and the prey have different times, suppose the mole comes out of the ground at night when the birds are not looking for prey then the argument falls apart. So choice D is the correct assumption.
Let’s examine the other options available.

Option A
The birds of prey capture and kill every single Spotted Mole that comes above ground.- Incorrect. The farmers need not worry about the Mole, because throughout the region in which the Spotted Mole is found, birds of prey such as hawks and falcons are active. And these birds would prey upon the Spotted Mole if the mole came above ground at all. The Spotted Mole poses no threat to these totally above-ground fruits.

Option B
Some land-based mammals active in this region, such as fox, will also hunt and eat the Spotted Mole on a regular basis.- Incorrect. The argument states that the Spotted Mole is a rodent that burrows underground and eats all forms of vegetable matter. Farmers are concerned that this mole could eat some of their commercial fruits, planted in above-ground planters and bins. They are not worried about land-based mammals like foxes and the argument does not mention it.

Option C
No other animal could pose as significant a threat to the above-ground fruits as could the Spotted Mole.- Incorrect. The Spotted Mole is one of the main threats to the above-ground fruits however it isn’t the only concern of the farmers. There are other mammals that concern the farmers.

Option E
Larger burrowing mammals, such as badgers or weasels, can dig up the burrows of the Spotted Mole, endangering those that remain underground.- Incorrect. The argument does not mention large burrowing mammals like badgers and weasels. The region has birds of prey such as hawks and falcons who are active, and these birds would prey upon the Spotted Mole if the mole came above ground at all. So these birds would prey on badgers and weasels if they are spotted.

“The decline of the mountain yellow-legged frog in the high”-  is a GMAT critical reasoning topic. This GMAT critical comes with five options and candidates need to choose the one which is correct. GMAT critical reasoning tests the logical and analytical skills of the candidates. To answer the question, a candidate can either find a piece of evidence that would weaken the argument or have logical flaws in the argument. Candidates get 65 minutes to answer 36 MCQ questions in the critical reasoning section of the GMAT.

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