RC : There is no consensus among researchers regarding what

[RonPurewal]

honestly, the best answer to that question is this:
C is correct.
B is not C.
therefore, B is incorrect.

Ron is not a girl. Ron is not a "middle". Therefore, Ron is a guy (not sure)
Understood!

i'm not seeing the analogy here, actually.
the point is that the possibilities are binary—'C' or 'anything else'.

you've presented a situation with three categories rather than two, so i don't see the relevance. perhaps you could clarify.

(if this is nothing more than a joke, then of course let's not waste time analyzing it)

[NL]

Yea, it's kind of dumb reasoning, but I had a full stomach of laughing. (unexpected reward)

Okay, here is a hand-touch-hand, foot-touch-foot analogy of yours:
- Ron is the King of analogy. I'm not Ron. Therefore, I'm not the King (of analogy)

(Ehem, note that how many elements is not the most important factor in this situation. That should be a superlative comparison)

[RonPurewal]

ok.
well, let's bring the discussion back around to the problem. thanks.

[Macklemost]

when you REVIEW these problems—

for each answer choice, imagine a passage for which that choice is CORRECT. very generally speaking, WHAT KIND OF STUFF would be IN such a passage?


primary purpose = B:
THESE people think that the vomeronasal organ does SOMETHING with odors.
THOSE people, on the other hand, think that the vomeronasal organ does SOMETHING ELSE with odors.
[followed by evidence for and/or against each side]

the passage looks nothing like this.


primary purpose = C:
THESE people define 'pheromone' in THIS way.
THOSE people, on the other hand, define 'pheromone' in THIS OTHER way.
[followed by some discussion of WHY there's more than one definition... what is uncertain? what do the two groups perceive and/or value differently? etc.]

the passage looks EXACTLY like this.

Ron, I still can't figure out what CONSTITUTE mean in choice C even after reading the whole thread. Does it mean "define"?

[RonPurewal]

basically, yeah... "make up the fundamental identity of"

when they use words like that, they'll provide enough context for you to FIGURE OUT what the words mean. (GMAC will make sure that this exam doesn't devolve into a "vocabulary test".)
case in point: you just totally FIGURED OUT what "constitute" means, by using THIS context. (good job, by the way.)

[JbhB682]

2. According to the passage, the fact that pheromones are processed by the VNO in many animal species has been taken as evidence of which of the following?

(A) The accessory and main olfactory systems are not separate
(B) Odorants and pheromones are not distinct types of chemicals.
(C) Odorants and pheromones both elicit a specific behavioral response.
(D) Pheromones do not trigger conscious sensations of smell.
(E) Pheromones aid animals in tracking prey.

Hi Sage - selected B for this but the OA is D

Could you please explain how to eliminate B

[Sage Pearce-Higgins]

Since this is an 'according to the passage' question, we're looking for something the answer choice that is actually stated in the passage. For these type of questions, looking for the right answer, rather than eliminating wrong answers, can be a faster route. The relevant sentence here is 'Evidence that pheromone responses may not involve conscious odor perception comes from the finding that in many species, pheromones are processed by the vomeronasal (or accessory olfactory) system...'

I can see that answer B is tempting, as we're told that 'the distinction between pheromones and odorants...can be blurry'. However, the fact that pheromones are, for most species, processed by the VMO actually acts as evidence against the blurry distinction. I mean, if odorants are processed one way, and pheremones are processed another way, then the distinction is clear.

One of the clues in this question is the phrase 'has been taken as evidence'. This shows that we're not just looking for any old thing stated in the passage, but for a connection between evidence and claim. That might help guard against answer B.