During a viticulturist's presentation on growing and managing grapes, why did he state that it is imperative to encourage the grapevine's natural tendency for positive thigmotropism?

Question

A.  To encourage the vine's response to move toward the early morning light as opposed to the late afternoon sun.
B.  To encourage the roots to grow deeper and spread out.
C.  To encourage the grapes to retain their sugar for a longer period of time.
D.  To encourage the twining stems to wrap around the supporting wires.
E.  To discourage early ripening of the fruit.

Clarify Question
· What is the key concept addressed by the question?
· What type of thinking is required?
· What key words does the question contain and what do they mean?

Gather Content
· What do you already know about plant growth and thigmotropism? How does it relate to the question?

Consider Possibilities
· What other information is related to the question? Which information is most useful?

Choose Answer
· Given what you now know, what information and/or problem solving approach is most likely to produce the correct answer?

Reflect on Process
Did your problem-solving process lead you to the correct answer? If not, where did the process break down or lead you astray? How can you revise your approach to produce a more desirable result?
 

Answer 1

D.  To encourage the twining stems to wrap around the supporting wires.

Clarify Question
· What is the key concept addressed by the question?
        o This question is asking about the importance of thigmotropism.
· What type of thinking is required?
        o This question is asking you to evaluate the use of thigmotropism in grapes.
· What key words does the question contain and what do they mean?
        o Viticulturist, which refers to one who grows grapes.
        o Grapevine, which is a climbing plant
        o Thigmotropism, which is directional growth in response to encountering an object.

Gather Content
· What do you already know about plant growth and thigmotropism? How does it relate to the question?
        o Grapevines exhbit positive thigmotropism.
        o Positive thigmotropism is the directional growth of a plant towards a stimulus.

Consider Possibilities
· What other information is related to the question? Which information is most useful?
        o Thigmotropism would not play a direct role in the sugar content or ripening time of the grapes.

Choose Answer
· Given what you now know, what information and/or problem solving approach is most likely to produce the correct answer?
        o Grapes are thigmotropic vining plants, which means they need to wrap themselves around objects for support.

Reflect on Process
Did your problem-solving process lead you to the correct answer? If not, where did the process break down or lead you astray? How can you revise your approach to produce a more desirable result?
· Evaluate level:
This question asked you to assess the importance of thigmotropism.  Answering this question correctly depended on your ability to evaluate grapes and positive thigmotropism. If you got the correct answer, well done! If you got an incorrect answer, where did the process break down? Did you remember that positive thigmotropism differs from negative thigmotropism in that positive thigmotropism refers to growth around a supportive structure? Did you have trouble weighing the merits of positive thigmotropism to determine the correct answer?