An artificial pond of this type has been constructed on the western shore of the Dead Sea in Israel in order to test its suitability as a source of low-One proposed method of controlling the algae was the application of an algicide.However, the Dead Sea is a closed body of water without any outlet and as such is very easily contaminated.Extensive use of chemicals in numerous future full-scale solar ponds would lead to such contamination of the Dead Sea, which now enjoys a lucrative tourist trade.


A recent experiment has supplied a more promising method for controlling the algae.To repress the algae cells' capacity for accommodating themselves to environmental changes, the water in the solar pond was first made more saline through evaporation and then diluted by a rapid inflow of fresh water.This shock reduced the cells' ability to regulate the movement of water through their membranes.They rapidly absorbed water, resulting in distortions of shape, increase in volume, and impairment to motility.Their buoyancy adversely affected, the cells sank to the bottom of the pond, where they encountered the hot waters of the storage layer and were destroyed.This method allows for effective control of nuisance algae while leaving solar ponds as one of the cleanest technologies providing energy for human use.

Which of the following, if true, would seriously undermine the validity of the conclusions drawn from the experiment described in the last paragraph of the passage?

(A) The algae cells that sank to the bottom of the pond were destroyed only after a time lag of twenty-four hours.
(B) The lateral motility of the algae cells that sank to the bottom of the pond was not impaired.
(C) The water with which the artificial solar pond was diluted contained microorganisms that kill algae.
(D) The algae cells that sank to the bottom of the pond were actually killed by the rapid change in pressure.
(E) The higher salinity brought about through evaporation increased the transparency of the upper levels of water in the pond.