GMAT Question of the Day

April 29, 2014

 

 

Every weekday, GMAT Hacks publishes a realistic GMAT practice question. In general, you'll see Quant problems on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, and Verbal questions on Tuesday and Thursday. You'll always be able to find them at www.gmathacks.com/daily.

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Today's Practice GMAT Question:

Zoologist: Meerkats are desert mammals that live in groups and are believed to exhibit altruistic behavior. While the group is foraging, a single meerkat will stand guard, keeping watch for predators and giving loud warning cries when danger appears. However, this behavior is not true altruism: Meerkats on guard duty do not face a greater risk of being killed, and solitary meerkats will also stand guard.
 
Which of the following, if true, most seriously undermines the reasoning in the zoologist's argument?
(A) Some meerkat populations are nomadic and rarely return to the same place to find food.
(B) The degree to which an activity may lead to immediate death is not the only determinant of altruism.
(C) Several desert species prey on meerkats, and meerkats are most at risk when they are foraging for food, even if one of the group stands guard.
(D) A solitary meerkat who stands guard may be part of a group except for when it forages for food.
(E) When meerkats stand guard, they forego opportunities to forage for food even though others in the group may not share food with them.


 

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Need more work in this area? In Total GMAT Verbal, there is an entire chapter, including practice problems, that covers Weaken.

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About the author: Jeff Sackmann has written many GMAT preparation books, including the popular Total GMAT Math, Total GMAT Verbal, and GMAT 111. He has also created explanations for problems in The Official Guide, as well as 1,800 practice GMAT math questions.

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