Some cleaning fluids, synthetic carpets, wall paneling, and other products release toxins, such as formaldehyde and b...

Naz October 10, 2014

We are told that recent tests "demonstrate that houseplants remove some household toxins from the air and thereby eliminate their danger." The stimulus gives us an example of one of these tests, where "20 large plants" eliminated formaldehyde from a small, well-insulated house.

Answer choice (D) states: "If there is formaldehyde in the household air supply, its level will decrease."

If you take the stimulus to say that there has to be exactly or at least 20 plants then none of the answer choices would work. Just because the stimulus specifically points to a test that has "20" plants, we cannot assume that there MUST BE at least 20 plants for the formaldehyde to decrease. Remember, the answer choice only says that the supply of formaldehyde has decreased; it doesn't say that it has been eliminated entirely.

We only know that tests have shown that plants help remove some household toxins. The "20 large plants" test was merely mentioned as an example of one of the "recent tests" that demonstrates that houseplants help decrease the level of household toxins in the air--20 large plants seeming to eliminate the toxin entirely.

So, from the information in the passage, it COULD BE TRUE that if one places houseplants in a small, well-insulated house that contains toxin-releasing products, that if there is formaldehyde in the air supply, its level will decrease.

Hope that clears things up! Please let us know if you have any other questions.

nizhoni September 16, 2019

Why doesn't it matter that the stimulus states that a test of 20 large plants would ELIMINATE formaldehyde and (D) states it would DECREASE formaldehyde levels, versus eliminating it.

Is it because "decrease" is part and parcel of "eliminate"?