#help

I understood this stimulus as the stress causing the hormones, not the other way around.

I don't think this affects the chances of getting to the correct AC, but I'm stressed because I'm not understanding where the presumption (in blue) that the hormones cause stress is coming from.

There is a correlation stated between hormones and stress, but how can I understand this stimulus to know that there is a presumption that says that the hormones cause stress, and not the stress causes hormones??

For me, it helps to note that the question stem asks for what most strengthens the argument out of the 5 ACs we are given. There may be some inferring and some making connections, but based on the 5 ACs, E is definitely the one that most strengthens the argument.

Let me know if I'm able to join as well! :)

Hey! I just did the exact same thing haha

I initially chose A because it was definitely most strongly supported, but then during BR, I really took the time to read through the words of the answers, being nitpicky and trying to pay attention to detail (which did not work in my favour for this question lol).

Here's what went through my head during BR:

A says the seeds will grow less if only plowed at night, but stimulus says that the brief exposure to sunlight is what triggers the germination (key word being brief).

D is then most strongly supported because the stimulus says that after the pigweed seeds are churned up to the surface, they are redeposited just under the surface and again, it's the brief exposure to sunlight, not prolonged exposure to sunlight.

nope :')

After seeing that my BR response was incorrect and after listening to the explanation, I think I realized that what you described up there (where we have the time to really think these things out) was what got to me as well. Sure it says brief exposure to sunlight in the stimulus, but it doesn't say that redepositing under the surface is required for germination to occur. Rather, it's the sunlight that is required, and there is no sunlight available during the night so A is definitely strongly supported. I think this is where the reason why D is incorrect comes in, since it gives such a strong condition - either it germinates or not, and that depends on whether the seeds are redeposited under the surface of the soil.

Bottom line is, you're doing great, don't chew yourself up for it! :)