PrepTest 138, Section 1, Question 8
The characteristic smell or taste of a plant,(453 more words not shown)
Which one of the following(9 more words not shown)
- AAlthough the secondary(25 more words not shown)
- BLong-term competition between(35 more words not shown)
- CThe particular secondary(30 more words not shown)
- DDue to long-term(24 more words not shown)
- EBecause plant mutations(22 more words not shown)
Reading the passage
We've already connected the whole discussion: secondary substances give plants distinctive tastes and smells, and interaction with insects helps explain which substances plants have today. Some attract helpful insects, others defend against plant eaters, and insects adapt in response.
What we’re looking for
We want that evolutionary relationship, not just one defensive effect or one consequence for an insect's diet.
Working the answers
- A
Defense is one important role, but some secondary substances attract pollinators. A also leaves out the continuing evolutionary interaction that explains the chemicals' presence. It captures only part of the account.
- B
The narrowing described at the end concerns the range of plants suitable for any one insect species. It does not concern a shrinking range of secondary chemicals in plants. B then shifts to how many insect species eat each plant, which also isn't the relationship the final paragraph establishes.
- CCorrect
This connects the particular chemicals, the tastes and smells they produce, and the evolutionary interaction that helps explain them. The opening defines what needs explaining; the following paragraphs explain insect selection and adaptation.
- D
Diversity and similarity among related plants are mentioned, but the author doesn't show that insect pressure caused that entire pattern. D emphasizes those classification details rather than explaining the broader relationship developed afterward.
- E
Mutations do produce new secondary substances, but E makes that the explanation for plants' entering competition with insects. The emphasis is on how interaction with insects influences which substances are retained, not an account of how the competition originally began.
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