Admission Tests GRE General Test Sample Questions:

1. Larvae of many marine invertebrate species delay their metamorphosis into juveniles when cues signaling an appropriate juvenile environment are absent thereby increasing the likelihood of thriving as juveniles and of ultimately reaching adulthood Nevertheless, delayed metamorphosis has potential costs for juveniles including reduced growth and increased mortality Nearly all evidence of such costs involves species whose larvae do not feed but rather subsist on stored nutrients, indicating that insufficient energy reserves may be an underlying cause of these costs. Supporting this hypothesis are laboratory studies showing that in a certain bryozoan. the prolonged larval swimming that results from delayed metamorphosis is associated with size reductions in the juvenile feeding organ (the lophophore) and that one factor influencing the size of juveniles of certain barnacle species is how long larvae delay metamorphosis However, other studies show that while significantly fewer juvenile Capitella worms survived to adulthood when metamorphosis had been delayed, prolonged larval swimming had no significant effect on juvenile size, suggesting, perhaps, that in some species, factors other than insufficient energy reserves account for the negative effects of the larval stresses that result from delayed metamorphosis.
According to the passage, larvae of many marine invertebrate species delay their metamorphosis into juveniles when the larvae

A) receive signals that nutrients in the habitat in which they are swimming are insufficient for juveniles
B) receive signals that the habitat in which they are swimming is favorable for larval growth
C) do not receive signals that juveniles of other marine invertebrate species are present m the habitat in which they are swimming
D) receive signals that the habitat in which they are swimming is more suitable for adults than for juveniles
E) do not receive signals that the habitat in which they are swimming is suitable for juveniles

2.

A) Quantity B is greater.
B) Quantity A is greater.
C) The two quantities are equal.
D) The relationship cannot be determined from the information given.

3. In 1995 the United States National Park Service reintroduced wolves into Yellowstone National Park, from which they had been eliminated decades before by overhunting. Biologists hoped the reintroduction would return the park's mix of animals to a more natural state. After the wolves* disappearance, the population of their onetime prey, the elk. had burgeoned. Subsequently, new tree growth declined as multiplying elk browsed young trees, denuding certain areas of the park. Following the wolves" return, the elk population declined and young trees rebounded. Most scientists attribute the vegetation changes to the wolves" return.
However. Patton observes that Yellowstone has not had a harsh winter since wolf numbers reached high levels and suggests that elk may not have needed to resort to trees for food.
If the view attributed to the majority of scientists is correct, which of the following must be true?

A) Browsing by species other than elk probably had a significant impact on young trees in Yellowstone.
B) Human activity contributed both to the decline and to the resurgence of new tree growth in Yellowstone.
C) The reintroduction of wolves to Yellowstone has had negative as well as positive effects on vegetation in the park.
D) The rate at which young trees rebounded in Yellowstone following the reintroduction of wolves was in part due to weather patterns.
E) The elk population in Yellowstone had probably begun to decline prior to the reintroduction of wolves to the park.

4. Which of die following is a reasoning error committed by the argument?

A) It treats a condition that is necessary* to achieve a certain goal as though it were sufficient to achieve that goal.
B) It fails to distinguish adequately between methods of achieving a certain goal available at one time and methods of achieving that goal available at another time.
C) It contuses being the first to discover a method of achieving a certain goal with being the first to publish that method.
D) It supposes that if something is essential to one way of achieving a certain goal, then it is essential to any way of achieving that goal.
E) It claims that a person who did not originate a method for achieving a certain goal would not understand that method.

5. Exhibit.

Greg's income last year was $45,000. The graph above shows the distribution of his income, by income source. Based on the information given, which of the following statements about his income last year are true?
Indicate all such statements.

A) His income from social security was 56 percent greater than his income from earnings.
B) More than j of his income was from assets and earnings combined.
C) His income from earnings was $11,250.

Solutions: