When Ducklings are Exposed to Music.

Question: When ducklings are exposed to music, they gain about six percent more weight for a given amount of feed than ducklings that are not exposed to music.

Which of the following, if true, most helps to explain the extra weight gains referred to above?

1. Music played for ducklings must be kept at a low level because ducklings exposed to loud music gain less weight than ducklings exposed to no music.
2. Ducklings exposed to classical music gained more weight than ducklings exposed to popular music.
3. Ducklings are less active when they hear music so less of the food they eat is expanded in movement, and more contributes directly to the duckling’s growth.
4. When ducklings gain six percent more weight on a given amount of grain, the farmers’ profit increases because they can spend less money on grain to feed the ducklings.
5. When female ducklings were exposed to music, the percentage of fertile eggs that they laid as adults increased by over 27 percent in comparison to ducklings not exposed to music.

Answer: C
Explanation: This is a GMAT critical reasoning question. We have to choose the option that helps in explaining the extra weight gained by the ducklings.

Let’s go through each of the available options and select the most suitable one.

Option A: Music played for ducklings must be kept at a low level because ducklings exposed to loud music gain less weight than ducklings exposed to no music.
Option A states that the music that is played for ducklings must be at a low level because the ducklings that are exposed to loud music gain less weight than those who are exposed to no music. This statement is not the concern of the argument. The passage talks about how ducklings gain more weight when they are exposed to music than ducklings that are exposed to no music for a given amount of feed. Low or high music gives no reasoning behind this argument. So, Option A is incorrect.

Option B: Ducklings exposed to classical music gain more weight than ducklings exposed to popular music.
According to Option B, those ducklings that are exposed to classical music gain more weight as compared to those who are exposed to popular music. This statement is not relevant to the argument. We have to find the reason behind the weight gain of ducklings when they are exposed to music, not compare the various music types. The types of music is of no relevance here. So, Option B is incorrect.

Option C: Ducklings are less active when they hear music so less of the food they eat is expanded in movement, and more contributes directly to the duckling’s growth.
This option says that when ducklings hear music, they become less active so that less of the food they consume is expanded in their movement and causes the duckling’s growth directly. This statement gives us correct reasoning of why ducklings gain more weight when exposed to music, compared to those who are exposed to no music. Since it has explained the argument correctly, Option C is correct.

Option D: When ducklings gain six percent more weight on a given amount of grain, the farmers’ profit increases because they can spend less money on grain to feed the ducklings.
Option D states that when the ducklings gain six percent more weight, the profit of the farmers' increases as they don’t have to spend more money on feeding the ducklings. This statement is entirely irrelevant to the given passage as the profits of the farmers are nowhere mentioned in the argument. So, Option D is incorrect.

Option E: When female ducklings were exposed to music, the percentage of fertile eggs that they laid as adults increased by over 27 percent in comparison to ducklings not exposed to music.
Option E states that when female ducklings are exposed to music, the percentage of their fertile eggs increases by over 27 percent more than those who are not exposed to music. The argument in the passage did not mention female or male ducklings in specific. So, this statement does not give any reasoning. So, Option E is incorrect.

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