PTF97.S3.Q16: Zebra mussels, a nuisance...

Angiogram

I am a bit confused on why the answer is E and not D. I feel like D makes less of an assumption than E in stating that the algae would clog the pipes and the mussels stop that from being the case. In E, there is mention of transforming the algae. In hindsight, I can sort of see how mussels absorbing hazardous waste would then mean that they themselves are hazardous waste, but I'm having trouble definitively understanding why E is the glaringly right choice over D.

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JesseWeNeedToCook

Based on the information of the passage there is nowhere you can infer that algae block pipes. It is stated that mussels block pipes, and that mussels eat algae. That doesn't mean algae can block pipes.

This by itself should be enough to pick E as an answer.

However E is right because it does this clever trick / pratical reasoning.

If the mussles are removing hazardous material from water, I think it is reasonable to assume they are somehow processing (transforming) or storing the hazardous material inside themselves.

i.e. It wouldn't make sense for them to be absorbing 10 grams of radioactive waste, letting it pass through their internal system and then releasing that same 10 grams of radioactive waste unprocessed or transformed. We wouldn't really call that removal, or least that doesn't seem to be how the paragraph is intending the use of that term.

E. Is saying essentially, if they aren't transforming these dangerous chemicals in any way, then they must be storing them in their original dangerous form, and therefore the mussels must then be treated as hazardous waste.

Which doesn't seem like a crazy leap in logic considering they are storing / building up this hazardous waste inside themselves.

1stWorldProblems

hi Walter, breathe.

1stWorldProblems

I love your username btw