Q19

[mrudula_2005]

Is B wrong because it describes the research results of a hypothesis rather than a hypothesis itself?

Thanks

[giladedelman]

Great question. You're right on the money. Answer (B) describes the results of an experiment, rather than the hypothesis it's testing. Another problem is that the passage doesn't specifically describe the experiment in question; it merely tells us the results.

(A), on the other hand, is correct because it clearly identifies the mouse tumor hypothesis, and because the passage specifically describes the experiment that tested that hypothesis.

[kelseyjschutte]

I'm still not convinced. The first sentence of paragraph 2 says that this lady had begun by "Hypothesizing that many of the immature nerve cells produced in the development of an organism are normally programmed to die" and to confirm the theory she did this experiment with the chick embryos.

I can kind of see that it is a stretch to see that many cells are programmed to die and embryos grow more cells than they need, but it isn't too bad.
From this, how is B wrong?

[ManhattanPrepLSAT1]

Great question kelseyjschutte!

This is one is designed to with some traps! You are correct that in the beginning of paragraph 2 the author describes a hypothesis that is confirmed by research. The issue though is that no specific experiment is discussed that tested the hypothesis.

Later in the paragraph, Levi-Montalcini hypothesized something else as well--a chemical produced by tumors was responsible for nerve growth. Here an experiment about chick embryos is discussed.

So of the two hypotheses, a specific experiment to test latter is described--answer choice (A).

Incorrect Answers
(B) states the wrong hypothesis for which an experiment is described.
(C), (D), and (E) describe findings from later research but not a tested hypothesis.

[raziel]

Also, notice that the question asks for a "specific" experiment. We don't know what type of experiment she conducted in order to test the hypothesis.

Further, a hypothesis comes before the results. Whereas in (B) we are given the results