GMAT - Verbal Sample Questions
Question #7
7a. Identify the purpose of osmosis using the information from the following paragraph: "Osmosis is a physical process where a fluid, such as water, moves through a partially permeable membrane towards the side of a membrane with the lowest concentration of solutes. Normally this movement of fluid will continue until each side of the membrane has an almost equal concentration of solutes. The primary purpose of osmosis in plants and animals is to move water and other fluids from one cell to another. However, osmosis also allows plants to absorb water and nutrients from the soil through their roots."
7b. This particular paragraph identifies two main purposes to the process of osmosis in relation to plants and animals. The first purpose of osmosis appears in the third sentence of the paragraph that states "the primary purpose of osmosis in plants and animals is to move water and other fluids from one cell to another." The second purpose of osmosis appears in the final sentence of the paragraph that states "osmosis also allows plants to absorb water and nutrients from the soil through their roots." The other two sentences of the paragraph do not identify the purpose of osmosis because they explain how the process works, but do not actually explain the purpose of the process. In other words, the purpose of osmosis is only identified in the third and fourth sentences of the paragraph because the first and second sentences are not related to the purpose of osmosis.