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DSAT R&W Practice Question-Information and Ideas-Command of Evidence – Hard

DSAT R&W Practice Question-Information and Ideas-Command of Evidence - Hard

DSAT R&W Practice Question-Information and Ideas-Command of Evidence – Hard

DSAT R&W Practice Question-Information and Ideas-Command of Evidence – Hard is part of Expression of Ideas  : This section evaluates students’ ability to identify main ideas in a passage and the ability to make inferences  about what the text implies, not just stating the obvious facts. Interpreting, evaluating, and combining different pieces of information from multiple sources is tested

Weightage : 26%

Subtopic: Information and ideas

DSAT R&W – Exam Style Practice Questions – All Topics

Question Medium

Text
Anna Linderholm and other researchers probed the evolutionary history of size variation in cantids (wolves, foxes, dogs, and their close relatives). The researchers found that small domestic dogs (e.g., Pomeranians) as well as small wild cantis (e.g., foxes) tend to have a particular variant, known as the C allele, of the gene IGFI, a growth-related gene found in all mammals. Large cantis (e.g., grey wolves, German shepherds), however, tend to have a different variant, known as the T allele, of IGFI. The researchers concluded that the T allele is the more recent of the two alleles to emerge.

Which finding, if true, would most directly support the researchers’ conclusion?

A) The T allele is more common among wild cantis native to cold regions, whereas the C allele is more common among wild cantis native to warm regions.

B) Many domestic dogs and wild cantis are heterozygous with regard to IGFI, meaning that they carry both the C and T alleles.

C) The C allele but not the T allele is found in both bears and ferrets, which share a relatively recent common ancestor with cantis.

D) Domestic dogs are descended from populations of wild cantis in which the C allele was more prevalent than the T allele.

▶️ Answer/Explanation
Solution

Ans: C

The researchers’ conclusion about the T allele being more recent relies on evolutionary evidence. Option C provides the strongest support because:

  • Evolutionary conservation: The C allele’s presence in related species (bears/ferrets) suggests it predates the T allele
  • Genetic timeline: If the C allele exists in common ancestors but the T allele doesn’t, this confirms the T allele emerged later in canids
Question Hard

Text
Google’s introduction of Google Docs in 2006 is a quintessential instance of brand extension—the company leveraged its brand recognition as an Internet search provider to enter a product category where it had not previously competed. An outstanding question is whether perceived category similarity predicts consumers’ likelihood of purchasing brand extensions. To answer this question, Alicia Grashy et al. identified 30 extended-brand pairs (e.g., the same brand of window cleaner and dish soap) in 52 weeks of purchases by approximately 60,000 households and, for each pair, calculated the change in probability of a brand in one category being purchased if the same brand was purchased in the other category.

Based on the text, which potential study design would be most likely to produce evidence that would enable Grashy et al. to answer their research question?

A) Poll a representative sample of the households to determine the degree of brand recognition for each brand in the extended-brand pairs, then determine how, if at all, the degree of brand recognition correlates with the frequency with which a different group of households purchased at least one product of that brand.

B) Have a representative sample of the households rate the similarity of one product in each extended-brand pair to other products in the same category, then determine how, if at all, those ratings correlate with the change in probability that the team calculated for each pair.

C) Poll a representative sample of the households to determine the degree of brand recognition of each brand in the extended-brand pairs, then determine how, if at all, the degree of brand recognition correlates with the average cost of each product in the pairs.

D) Have a representative sample of the households rate the similarity of the product categories in each extended-brand pair, then determine how, if at all, those ratings correlate with the change in probability that the team calculated for each pair.

▶️ Answer/Explanation
Solution

Ans: D

The research question specifically focuses on perceived category similarity as a predictor of brand extension success. Only Option D directly tests this by:

  1. Measuring perceived category similarity (through household ratings)
  2. Correlating these ratings with the established probability changes

The other options test different variables: brand recognition (A and C) or product similarity within categories (B), none of which address the core question about category similarity.

Question Hard

Text 1
Water flowing around an obstruction creates vortices (patterns of swirls) of varying size; by detecting the vortices, fish can determine the size and position of the obstruction. Testing by Yuzo R. Yanagisuru, Otar Akaneyu, and James C. Liao using models of three head shapes—narrow (low ratio of width to length), intermediate, and wide (high ratio of width to length) showed that for large vortices, fish with intermediate heads would be better able than wide-headed fish to distinguish between vortices and general turbulence in the water. A second research team has therefore hypothesized that in low-visibility conditions, intermediate-headed fish will be more likely than wide-headed fish to detect obstructions that create large vortices.

Which finding, if true, would most directly support the second research team’s hypothesis?

A) A study using obstructions that created large vortices in low-visibility conditions found that the Synodontis macropunctata, which has a relatively wide head, bumped into more than half of the obstructions.

B) A study using obstructions that created large vortices in low-visibility conditions found that some specimens of the intermediate-headed dusky smooth-hound (Mustelus canis) bumped into the obstructions more often than other specimens of the same fish did.

C) A study using obstructions that created large vortices in low-visibility conditions found that the wide-headed Synodontis macropunctata bumped into obstructions more often than the intermediate-headed dusky smooth-hound (Mustelus canis) did.

▶️ Answer/Explanation
Solution

Ans: C

The second research team’s hypothesis states that intermediate-headed fish are more likely than wide-headed fish to detect obstructions in low-visibility conditions. Option C supports this by showing that wide-headed Synodontis macropunctata bumped into obstructions more often than intermediate-headed Mustelus canis, implying the wide-headed fish were less effective at detection, thus supporting the hypothesis.

Question

In the United States, firms often seek incentives from municipal governments to expand to those municipalities. A team of political scientists hypothesized that municipalities are much more likely to respond to firms and offer incentives if expansions can be announced in time to benefit local elected officials than if they can’t. The team contacted officials in thousands of municipalities, inquiring about incentives for a firm looking to expand and indicating that the firm would announce its expansion on a date either just before or just after the next election.

Which choice best describes data from the graph that weaken the team’s hypothesis?
A. A large majority of the municipalities that received an inquiry mentioning plans for an announcement before the next election didn’t respond to the inquiry.
B. The proportion of municipalities that responded to the inquiry or offered incentives didn’t substantially differ across the announcement timing conditions.
C. Only around half the municipalities that responded to inquiries mentioning plans for an announcement before the next election offered incentives.
D. Of the municipalities that received an inquiry mentioning plans for an announcement date after the next election, more than 1,200 didn’t respond and only around 100 offered incentives.

▶️Answer/Explanation

Ans. B

Correct Answer: B
Rationale
Choice B is the best answer. The lighter bars show what happened when the announcement was to come before the election, and the darker bars show what happened when the announcement was to come after the election. For all three of the outcomes, the light and dark bars are virtually the same, demonstrating that the announcement timing didn’t actually make a difference.

Choice A is incorrect. This accurately describes some data from the graph, but it doesn’t weaken the hypothesis. It doesn’t include the “announcement after election” data for comparison. Choice C is incorrect. This accurately describes some data from the graph, but it doesn’t weaken the hypothesis. It doesn’t include the “announcement after election” data for comparison. Choice D is incorrect. This accurately describes some data from the graph, but it doesn’t weaken the hypothesis. It doesn’t include the “announcement before election” data for comparison.

Question

Employing high-performance liquid chromatography—a process that uses pressurized water to separate material into its component molecules—astrochemist Yashiro Oba and colleagues analyzed two samples of the Murchison meteorite that landed in Australia as well as soil from the landing zone of the meteorite to determine the concentrations of various organic molecules. By comparing the relative concentrations of types of molecules known as nucleobases in the Murchison meteorite with those in the soil, the team concluded that there is evidence that the nucleobases in the Murchison meteorite formed in space and are not the result of contamination on Earth.

Which choice best describes data from the table that support the team’s conclusion?
A. Isoguanine and purine were detected in both meteorite samples but not in the soil sample.
B. Adenine and xanthine were detected in both of the meteorite samples and in the soil sample.
C. Hypoxanthine and purine were detected in both the Murchison meteorite sample 2 and in the soil sample.
D. Isoguanine and hypoxanthine were detected in the Murchison meteorite sample 1 but not in sample 2.

▶️Answer/Explanation

Ans. A

Correct Answer: A
Rationale
Choice A is the best answer. The researchers concluded that the meteorite’s nucleobases weren’t the result of soil contamination. Presence of nucleobases in the meteorite and not in soil provides evidence that those nucleobases likely didn’t come from the soil.

Choice B is incorrect. This choice doesn’t justify the conclusion. The researchers concluded that the meteorite’s nucleobases weren’t the result of soil contamination. If the nucleobases are present in both the soil and meteorite, then it’s possible that these nucleobases came from the soil. Choice C is incorrect. This choice misreads the table. Purine was not detected in the soil sample. Choice D is incorrect. This choice misreads the table. Both isoguanine and hypoxanthine were detected in both Murchison meteorite samples.

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