Mexican Tetra Cavefish Experiment

CAT 2025 Slot 2 · Verbal Ability & Reading Comprehension · Medium · VARC

This is a medium Verbal Ability & Reading Comprehension question from the CAT 2025 Slot 2 paper. It tests VARC. The full answer key and a step-by-step explanation are below — try it yourself first, then reveal the solution.

Based on the passage on Mexican tetra cavefish:

Which one of the following results for the cross between surface fish (with eyes) and cavefish (without eyes) would invalidate Riddle's inference from the experiment?

  1. A.

    Some offspring with eyes had white fat.

  2. B.

    Some offspring with eyes had yellow fat.

  3. C.

    Some eyeless offspring had white fat.

  4. D.

    Only eyeless offspring had yellow fat.

Answer

D

Explanation

Riddle inferred that there was no link between eye presence/size and the accumulation of carotenoids (which cause yellow fat). If only eyeless offspring had yellow fat, it would demonstrate a direct genetic linkage between eyelessness and yellow fat, thereby invalidating her inference that they are unlinked.

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