Dried grass clippings mixed into garden soil gradually decompose, providing nutrients for beneficial soil bacteria. T...
jessedalbrechtMarch 10, 2018
Why D?
Hello!
B and C seem to be viable options, since they attempt to give rationale for why dried grass clippings might increase growth. What made D stand out to me, however, was that it actually compared the rate of decomposition between dried vs. fresh grass clippings, and explained why the fresh one actually decreased growth rate. All three seemed like good options... am I on the right track in thinking D was correct because it directly compared the rate of decomposition?
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This is a Paradox question so we are looking for the answer choice that serves as a possible explanation to the discrepancy in the stimulus.
What is the discrepancy?
Adding dried grass clippings to garden soil results in better than average plant growth but fresh grass clippings causes poorer than average plant growth.
Let's take a look at (D), "Fresh grass clippings mixed into soil decompose rapidly, generating high levels of heat that kill beneficial soil bacteria."
Notice that this serves as a possible explanation for the discrepancy set forth in the stimulus so (D) would be the correct answer.
You are correct re: (B) and (C). They do not provide a reason for the difference set forth in the stimulus.
Hope that helps! Please let us know if you have any other questions.
#JWSeptember 22, 2019
I'm having a difficult time seeing the difference you're identifying between B and D. Could you please elaborate on the reason why B specifically is not answering the reasoning/difference in the stimulus?
IrinaSeptember 22, 2019
@Jwebb,
The stimulus tells us that dried clippings -> beneficial soil bacteria -> better plant growth, whereas fresh clippings -> poor plant growth. How do we explain the difference?
The correct answer (D) tells us that fresh clippings kill beneficial bacteria that contributes to better plant growth - fresh clippings -> kill bacteria -> poor plant growth. Since the stimulus tells us that bacteria contributes to better plant growth, thus answer choice is consistent with the stimulus and explains the impact of fresh clippings on plant growth. The issue with (B) is that it only strengthens the part of the argument telling us that dried clippings result in better plant growth as nutrients released by clippings are immediately available to beneficial bacteria, but it fails to provide any additional information explaining why fresh clippings result in poor plant growth. It might be tempting to infer that fresh clippings release nutrients at a slower pace, but this is an unwarranted inference. Since (B) fails to explain the disparate impact of fresh versus dried clippings, we can eliminate this answer choice.
Let me know if you have any further questions.
FS101July 12, 2020
Cooki mlol
FS101July 12, 2020
I'm sorry my phone was open and I accidentally typed something. My bad.
