Botanist: In an experiment

Answer choices

1. A

   Weakens4% picked this

   It is much easier in principle for genetic traits to be passed from wild plants to their domesticated relatives than it is for such

   This hurts the plausibility of passing "pesticide resistance" from the domesticated/GMO kind to the wild/weedy relative. According to this answer, that's the harder direction to pass.

   4%
2. B

   No Impact20% picked this

   When the ratio of domesticated radishes to wild radishes in the field increased, the speed with which the flower color passed to

   This could be helpful info if we were trying to figure out how to speed up the passing of one trait from a domesticated plant to its wild relative. But we don't want to hear more about what worked with radishes. We really need to know if the stuff that worked with radishes, and with flower color, would also work with other crops and with pesticide-resistance.

   20%
3. C

   Weakens3% picked this

   Radishes are not representative of crop plants in general with respect to the ease with which various traits are passed among

   This is our nightmare. The author is extrapolating from the sample of what worked in the radish experiment. She's assuming that the radish experiment is a representative sample of what would generally work for crops / traits. If we learn that radishes are an outlier, that it's unusually easy with radishes for traits to pass from one species to a relative species, then it becomes less likely that this same behavior would also work well with other crop plants.

   3%
4. D

   Weakens, if anything14% picked this

   The flower color of the domesticated radishes had not been introduced into them

   One of the three differences we're worried about as we move from the experiment on radishes to the conclusion about other crop plants is that the radishes were domesticated (selectively bred to have a certain flower color) whereas the author is talking about genetically engineering the trait of pesticide resistance. That difference could potentially mean that what worked for radishes doesn't work for the author's plan. If, however, we knew that the domesticated radish's flower color had been genetically engineered, that would strengthen the argument. We would know that a genetically engineered trait is definitely capable of passing. This answer is saying that flower color was not genetically engineered, underscoring the potential difference between the author's Evidence and Conclusion.

   14%
5. E

   Correct59% picked this

   It is more difficult for flower color to be transferred between domesticated and wild radishes than it is for almost any other trait to

   Why this is right

   This is the "If I can ... make it there, I'll make it .... anywhere, ... it's up to you, New, York, New York" strengthener. We were worried that "just because it worked with flower color doesn't mean it will work with some other trait, like pesticide resistance". This answer allays that concern by saying, "Are you nuts? Flower color is the hardest trait to pass. If that one is possible, then all other traits are possible. to pass." So this increases the plausibility that pesticide-resistance could be a transmittable trait.

   Skill tested: Strengthen · how this choice captures the argument's function is the move to repeat next time.

   59%