QUESTION TEXT: Some plants have extremely sensitive biological…
QUESTION TYPE: Weaken
CONCLUSION: You could tell a thermometer that read “1 degree Celsius” was accurate to within 1 degree if you saw both:
- Rhododendrons with uncurled leaves, AND
- A mature crocus whose blossoms weren’t open.
REASONING: If it were zero or colder, the rhododendron leaves would curl. If it were 2 degrees or higher, the crocus blossoms would open.
ANALYSIS: This sounds like a good argument. The right answer introduces a new consideration: rhododendrons are really tall, and it’s chilly up there.
So a thermometer on the ground could say 1 degree, and be correct, even the rhodendrons could be at -1, and curled.
___________
- This sounds good, but we don’t care about rhododendron blossoms. We only know what their leaves do.
It also doesn’t matter that crocuses only blossom a few weeks per year. The stimulus talks about mature but unopened blossoms, which will open if it gets warm enough. Presumably this method is only available during crocus blossom season.
- This is one of the least relevant answers I’ve ever seen. We’re talking about how to judge whether a thermometer is accurate. This just tells us that people get cold at a certain temperature.
- We don’t care about how the two plants grow. We care about how they react to temperature.
- CORRECT. This does it: the plants aren’t experiencing the same temperature. They can’t serve to accurately judge a thermometer to 1 degree, since they themselves will be off by more than 2 degrees.
- That’s fine. The whole point of the stimulus is that the two plants can tell us whether a thermometer is accurate.
Free Logical Reasoning lesson
Get a free sample of the Logical Reasoning Mastery Seminar. Learn tips for solving LR questions
Leave a Reply