GMAT Online Practice Questions and Answers

Correct Answer: B

Correct Answer: C

Correct Answer: B

What makes a rhinoceros look like a rhinoceros, or a petunia like a petunia? Understanding the basis of the generation of the forms, patterns, or shapes of complex organisms is a principal subject of biologist Gerald Edelman's stimulating book Topobiology, which explores the links among the development, evolution, form, and function of organisms. In older scientific language, one could say that Edelman has brought a new dimension to morphology, the study of the form and shape of animate and plants, and to histology, the study of the minute structure of tissues. The major thrust of his book te what he calls a morphoregulatory hypothesis, which can be described as the outline of a molecular basis for the formation of pattern, involving three types of genes. In the morphoregulatory sequence, morphoregulatory genes control the production of molecules that cause the formation of clusters of cells. When the cell dusters begin to communicate, they activate another type (selector genes) that then select and switch on a third type of gene (historegulatory genes). In the organisms they have studied, Edelman and his colleagues have found cell adhesion molecules (resulting from morphoregulatory gene action) that are attached to the surface of different cells and link them in clusters. These molecules can appear at different times in the development of a multicellular system, and at various specific sites on the cells. Furthermore, their chemical structure can vary. This tremendous variation allows a great flexibility in the kinds of linkages the molecules effect. A second class of adhesion molecules plays a comparable role In attaching cells to the developing scaffolding of filaments that lie outside cells. Also of particular interest to researchers are what are called cell Junction molecules, composed of clusters of proteins providing small channels from the inside of one cell to the Inside of another. These three types of molecules facilitate a kind of conversation among eels that determines the course of development of organisms. It has been possible to demonstrate how Important these molecules are by treating tissues with agents that block their functions, thus effectively and drastically changing the organism's development.

Correct Answer: C

Salespersons have employed two major sales tactics in order to influence customers to make relatively high-priced selections when presented with sequenced product lines (lines with graduated attributes and prices). The top-down tactic begins by presenting information on the highest-priced model and descends down the product line, explaining the sacrifices made with each step down. The way people use decision heuristics (rules of thumb) to simplify complex, information-rich decision tasks may explain the success of top-down selling. The "anchoring-and-adjustment" theory suggests that such mental shortcuts can systematically bias the decision outcome, as decision-makers start from an initial value or anchor point and adjust to yield a final decision. The bottom-up sales tactic starts by presenting the lowest- priced model as the reference point and steps up to higher-priced models. Salespersons seek to communicate that the more expensive item is actually a better value. But nothing in the decision-heuristics literature supports the bottom-up strategy as an effective tactic, and to the extent that the anchoring-and- adjustment theory explains the effectiveness of top-down selling, it suggests that the bottom-up tactic should be ineffective. Furthermore, some psychologists suggest that customers may attribute less honesty and credibility to a salesperson who is trying to step them up the product line to a more expensive model; if true, this could limit the tactic's effectiveness.

Correct Answer: E

Many policymakers adopt a macro approach to environmental problems in emerging markets (countries experiencing rapid economic growth): discussing ambitious regulations in global faums and looking to giant multinational companies and non- governmental organizations (NGOs) for insight. But examining what successful companies in these countries are already doing to make growth more environmentally sustainable may make more sense. One study identifies several such firms that are turning eco-consciousness into a source of competitive advantage. The most salient quality of these highly profitable companies Is that they turn limitations (of resources, labor, and Infrastructure) into opportunities. An Indian cement company suffering water shortages developed the world's most water-efficient cement-making method, using air-cooling rather than water cooling. A Philippines utility reduced its water loss through wastage and illegal tapping from 63 percent (1997) to 12 percent (2010) by making water more affordable for lower-Income consumers. A Chinese company makes air conditioners powered with buildings' waste heat, reducing strain on the electric grid. The companies also seek to shape their business environment to support sustainable objectives. Some lobby regulators: a Brazilian organic-sugar producer works with Brazil's government to establish an organic certification system. Some form partnerships: Kenya's Equity Bank allies with international groups to reduce its risks when lending to smallholders or single-family farms; a Brazilian cosmetics company works with suppliers to produce sustainable packaging. Some firms also work to reach and educate lower-income consumers, sacrificing short-term profits to create future markets: a Chilean forestry company organizes local carpenters into networks and connects them to low-income customers. One could quibble with the study. Switzerland's Phil Rosenzweig has argued that management writers are prone to a halo effect: they treat a company's temporary success as proof that It has discovered some eternal principle of good management. That some successful companies have embraced environmental sustainability does not prove that It makes companies successful. Some firms, having prospered, can afford splurging on green Initiatives; some pursue eco-Initiatives for public relations purposes. Nonetheless, the study Is thought-provoking. Critics argue that environmentalism Is a rich- world luxury, but such fears are overblown. When natural resources are scarce and consumers are cash-strapped, sustainability can be a lucrative business strategy.

Correct Answer: A

Correct Answer: E

Correct Answer: C

Correct Answer: C

Correct Answer: A

Despite overall physiological bilateral symmetry, many species exhibit lateralized biases, i.e., preferences for right- or left-oriented behavior. When approaching prey, for example, some predator species favor their right eye; some prey species respond more quickly when their left eye detects a predator. Similar behavioral asymmetries occur in humans. Most notable is right- and lefthandedness; less notable is the tendency to turn right when entering a room. Paul Farnsworth found that more successful students tended to choose seats near the front, a little to the right. He argued that external factors such as teacher location might have affected this lateral bias. But it is now known that processing differences between the two brain hemispheres can also contribute to behavioral asymmetries. George Karev found that when presented with a movie theater seating diagram, right-handed people were more likely than left-handed people to choose a seat on the right, facing front. But he hypothesized that, since the right hemisphere processes visuospatial and emotional information, the people who chose right- side seats did so because that would put the screen in their left visual field, optimizing information flow to the right hemisphere. Although the right hemisphere is thought to be dominant in processing emotion, some evidence suggests that the left hemisphere plays a role. The valence model proposes that the left and right hemispheres process positive and negative emotion respectively, while the approach-withdrawal model posits that the left hemisphere processes emotion expressed in approach behavior and the right hemisphere processes emotion expressed in withdrawal behavior. Victoria Harms and colleagues suggested that since a paper seating plan was used in the theater-seating studies by Karev and others, the exhibited preference might be due simply to handedness: people choose the same side of the paper as their favored hand. Consequently, the Harms research was designed to study choices in an actual movie theater. Also, hoping to distinguish between various explanations, they studied seating choices for comedies (presumed to contain Positive emotional content), dramas (presumed to contain negative emotional content), and documentaries (presumed to have balanced emotional content). They found significant--though not universal-- preference for seats on the right, facing front, regardless of movie genre and of handedness.