Logical reasoning PrepTest 101 · Section 2 · Question 15

Question prompt

The authors of a Remaining source text redacted.
Why the credited answer is right

Credited answer: A

The notes below walk through why it fits the stem and how to eliminate the rest.

Argument or Facts

Argument

Valid or Flawed

Flawed

Question Type

Main Point Questions

Stimulus Summary

Recent article: There’s no evidence the rate of extinction of animal species is speeding up
Author: More North American fish species went extinct in the second half of the 20th century compared to the first, so there is evidence of a faster extinction rate.

Answer Anticipation

When a stimulus has two viewpoints, the main point is frequently the Author’s opinion of the opposing point.
Here, the stimulus is a debate between the authors of a recent article and the author of the stimulus. The recent article concludes that “no evidence exists” that the rate of extinctions is accelerating. The author of the argument immediately refutes that, stating that they are wrong. Since that’s the author’s opinion of the opposing point, it’s almost certainly the main point of the argument.
That’s backed up by the rest of the argument providing a specific example that seems to provide evidence of an accelerating rate of extinction.
Before we head to the answers, however, we should rephrase the conclusion - instead of looking for an answer stating that the article is wrong, we should state what it means for them to be wrong. Since they say there is no evidence that the rate of extinction is accelerating, the author concludes that there is evidence that that rate is increasing.

Answer choices

  1. A
    There is evidence that Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice A matches the stem
    This answer reflects the author’s opinion of the opposing point, rephrased to reflect the content, so this is the correct answer.

  2. B
    The future rate of Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice B is not credited
    The debate is over whether the acceleration is already happening, not whether it will in the future. Also, the author uses available evidence to conclude that the rate is increasing, so this contradicts that argument.

  3. C
    The rate of extinction Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice C is not credited
    This answer may reflect an assumption of the author’s argument in using the North American fish as representative of the rate of extinction of all animals, but the main point is built off of this assumption, it’s not the assumption itself.

  4. D
    Forty species and subspecies Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice D is not credited
    This is evidence in support of the conclusion, not a conclusion.

  5. E
    A substantial number of Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice E is not credited
    The argument is that the rate of extinction is increasing, not that there are a substantial number of any subset of animals at risk of extinction. Additionally, the argument is about animals overall, using fish as a representative example - it’s not specifically about fish.

What this tests

Question analytics

Based on historical answer selection rates for this question.

Answer choice distribution

  1. A Credited 92%
  2. B 2%
  3. C 5%
  4. D 1%
  5. E 1%

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