Solutions
Get detailed explanations to advanced GMAT questions.
Question
Whales originated in the freshwater lakes and rivers of ancient Asia about sixty million years ago. Not until about ten million years later did species of whales develop specialized kidneys enabling them to drink salt water. Although fossil evidence shows that some early whale species that lacked such kidneys sometimes swam in the Earth’s saltwater oceans, these species must have had to return frequently to freshwater rivers to drink.
Which of the following is most strongly supported by the information given?
Option A:
Fossils of whale species dating from between sixty million and fifty million years ago will not be found on continents that were at the time separated from ancient Asia by wide expanses of ocean.
Option B:
Among whale fossils that date from later than about fifty million years ago, none are fossils of whale species that drank only fresh water.
Option C:
Fossils of whale species that drank fresh water will not be found in close proximity to fossils of whale species that drank salt water.
Option D:
The earliest whales that drank salt water differed from fresh-water-drinking whales only in their possession of specialized kidneys.
Option E:
Between sixty million and fifty million years ago, the freshwater lakes and rivers in which whales originated were gradually invaded by salt water.
Difficulty Level
EasySolution
Option A is the correct answer.
Option Analysis
Question type: Inference based
Summary of the argument: Since this is an inference question, it is best to read the argument and the jump to the options to select the option that is 100% true based on the information given.
A) Correct Answer
B) This is an extreme answer choice. The usage of the word “none” makes the answer choice difficult to infer.
C) There is no such comparison.
D) We do not know if kidneys were the only differentiating factors.
E) We do not have information to talk about this geographical invasion.
Related Questions
- Unearthed in China, fossils of feathered dinosaurs offer the most dramatic evidence yet discovered…
- After more than four decades of research and development, a new type of jet engine is being tested that…
- According to public health officials, in 1998 Massachusetts became the first state in which more…
- Birds known as honey guides exhibit a unique pattern of behavior: the bird leads another animal, such as a…
- By merging its two publishing divisions, the company will increase their share of the country’s..