A finding question about an experiment tests whether a result supports the stated conclusion. Put the conclusion in a few words, naming what changes and which plants or people are affected. Then find the groups being compared and the time or conditions when the claimed benefit should appear. Predict the result: a supporting finding must show the claimed benefit for the treated group compared with the group without that treatment. Results about related traits alone may miss the claim.
Hints
- Hint 1
Put the final conclusion in a few words. What does Ramirez say the fungi help the seedlings tolerate?
- Hint 2
Find the treatment difference between the groups. Which parts of the setup stayed the same?
- Hint 3
After Ramirez withholds water, compare the groups on the effect named in her conclusion.
Step-by-step
Match the drought result to the claim
Step 1State the claimed benefit
Ramirez concludes that AM fungi enhance drought tolerance in desert marigold seedlings. What does that claim ask us to support? It says live fungi help seedlings tolerate a lack of water, so a useful result must show a drought benefit, not a change in plant growth alone.
- Step 2
Find the treatment comparison
Which groups let us test the fungi’s role? One received a live AM fungal inoculation, and the other received a heat-killed (inactive) inoculation. The seedlings were genetically similar and their growing conditions were matched, so live versus inactive fungi is the difference we want to connect to drought tolerance.
- Step 3
Use the drought period
The drought test begins when she withheld water from all pots. When should a benefit show up? Our prediction is that the live group handles water loss better during the drought. The results about the same total root biomass and more extensive root hair networks describe well-watered seedlings, so neither tests that prediction.
- Step 4
Connect the results to tolerance
Does a result show a drought advantage? The finding with similar wilting after spore removal shows no advantage for the live group in that changed setup. But higher leaf water content means the live group kept more water in its leaves during drought. Surviving an average of three days longer than the inactive group shows greater drought tolerance. Choice D.