PrepTest 144, Section 3, Question 24
Many homeowners regularly add commercial fertilizers to their(71 more words not shown)
Which one of the following(8 more words not shown)
- AThere is no(15 more words not shown)
- BThe macronutrients nitrogen,(11 more words not shown)
- CWidely available commercial(29 more words not shown)
- DFor soil to(34 more words not shown)
- EHomeowners who rake(19 more words not shown)
Reading the argument
The fertilizer replaces some nutrients. Who is replacing the others? The widely available products supply nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium: the macronutrients. But healthy lawn soil also needs small amounts of micronutrients such as zinc, iron, and copper. 'Small amounts' doesn't mean optional.
Letting grass clippings decay returns micronutrients to the soil. Raking the clippings away depletes those nutrients. If we keep removing them while adding only the standard fertilizer, the fertilizer won't make up for what's being lost.
What we’re looking for
For the inference question, my prediction is that the widely available fertilizer alone won't maintain the soil's health when the clippings aren't returned. Notice the limit: that doesn't mean there's no way to replace the micronutrients. It means this fertilizer doesn't supply them.
Working the answers
- A
We were told about widely available commercial fertilizers, not every fertilizer that could exist. Perhaps a specialized product ordered from a particular supplier contains both kinds of nutrients. Nothing in the passage rules that out, so we cannot conclude that no single fertilizer supplies both.
- B
Commercial fertilizers contain these macronutrients, but that doesn't make commercial fertilizer the only way homeowners can obtain them. The passage identifies one source without excluding other sources. B adds an exclusivity claim we were never given.
- CCorrect
The fertilizer supplies macronutrients but not the micronutrients that are depleted when grass clippings are removed. Because the soil needs both kinds, this fertilizer alone cannot maintain the required nutrient balance under those conditions. It doesn't replace everything the soil needs.
- D
The soil needs the nutrients; it doesn't necessarily need a particular commercial product. Homeowners might obtain the macronutrients another way. Even if a source of micronutrients is also needed, that doesn't establish D's requirement to add commercial fertilizer regularly.
- E
Removing grass clippings doesn't make long-term soil health impossible. Homeowners could replace the lost micronutrients from another source. The passage shows why ordinary commercial fertilizer alone is insufficient, not why anyone who rakes clippings is unable to maintain healthy soil.
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