PrepTest 117, Section 3, Question 20
Current maps showing the North American regions where(53 more words not shown)
Each of the following, if(15 more words not shown)
- AHome gardeners can(10 more words not shown)
- BSome of the(11 more words not shown)
- CWeather patterns can(9 more words not shown)
- DWeather conditions are(10 more words not shown)
- EWeather patterns have(6 more words not shown)
Reading the argument
Newer data and more weather stations sound helpful. But what makes the new map better for a gardener?
The existing maps use weather data collected 60 years earlier from a few hundred stations. Age alone doesn't establish that every old recommendation is wrong. Perhaps some regional conditions are still similar. What I want to know is whether the updated information gives gardeners a better guide to which plants will flourish where they live.
The new maps draw on several thousand modern stations, computerized data, and gardeners' reports. A gardener saying, for example, that tomatoes have grown especially well in a particular place could add something useful to the weather readings. More recent measurements could also matter if conditions have changed. These are plausible reasons for the promised improvement, but we still want support connecting the extra information to better guidance.
What we’re looking for
This is an EXCEPT question: four answers help support greater usefulness, and one doesn't. I'd look for facts showing why the added data, the new measurements, or the gardeners' experience makes the maps better. The exception will fail to supply a reason for that improvement.
Working the answers
- A
The gardeners contribute information about plant flourishing that weather stations don't provide. That makes their inclusion a real addition, not just another copy of the same weather data. It supports the idea that the new maps give users a more useful picture of growing conditions.
- BCorrect
Some stations currently in use are more than 60 years old. That doesn't tell us why the new maps would be more useful. An old station can collect new observations, so we also shouldn't confuse the age of the equipment or site with the age of the information.
The relevant question is whether the new map's information improves gardeners' decisions. B gives us an age fact about some stations without establishing better information, more accurate coverage, or a benefit from the gardeners' reports. It is the answer that doesn't support the claimed improvement.
- C
More information allows a more accurate account of weather patterns. The new maps use thousands of stations instead of hundreds, so this links their larger information base to a reason the account could improve. That supports the promised usefulness.
- D
Weather is the most important factor in where plants grow. That makes better weather information particularly relevant to the maps' purpose. The expanded collection of weather data is more likely to matter to gardeners if it concerns the leading factor in whether their plants will thrive.
- E
Changed weather patterns give us a direct reason to update information collected 60 years earlier. Even if the old maps accurately described their own period, they may no longer describe the conditions gardeners face in the passage's present. New measurements can capture changes the old data cannot.
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