Logical reasoning PrepTest 104 · Section 4 · Question 5

Question prompt

Ticks attach themselves to Remaining source text redacted.
Why the credited answer is right

Credited answer: C

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

Argument or Facts

Facts

Valid or Flawed

NA

Question Type

Must Be True Questions

Stimulus Summary

Ticks fall off hosts ONLY WHEN they’ve drank their fill
Deer ticks on white-footed mice INVARIABLY fall off hosts between noon and sunset
White-footed mice are COMPLETELY nocturnal (daytime in underground nests)

Answer Anticipation

This Must be True question features a series of statements, all of which are pretty strong. We see language like “not before then,” “invariably,” “strictly,” and “all,” letting us know that our given premises can support a pretty strong answer!
Also, this question stem specifically calls the answer we’re looking for a “conclusion[]” of the statements above, suggesting that the correct answer will combine several statements, with a focus on central ideas in the stimulus.
Here, the focus seems to be on the relationship between deer ticks and white-footed mice. We learn that deer ticks invariably fall off of the mice during daytime hours, and that the mice spend all of the daytime hours underground in nests. Putting those together, we can conclude that the deer ticks fall off of the mice in those underground nests. Let’s find an answer stating that.

Answer choices

  1. A
    Deer ticks all attach Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice A is not credited
    While the deer ticks all fall off during the same general time period, that doesn’t mean they attach at the same time. This answer would require the assumption that deer ticks all feed at the same rate/become full at the same level, which there’s no support for in the stimulus.

  2. B
    Deer ticks sometimes drop Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice B is not credited
    Ticks attach to feed, and they only drop off when they’re full. As such, deer ticks would always feed to capacity before dropping off, contradicting this answer.

  3. C
    Deer ticks that feed Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice C matches the stem
    This answer brings our statements together, so it’s the correct answer. Deer ticks that feed on white-footed mice “invariably” drop off of the mice between noon and sunset - in other words, during the daytime. White-footed mice are “strictly” nocturnal, spending “all” daytime hours in underground nests. Since the deer ticks are dropping off of the white-footed mice during daytime hours, they must be dropping off of the mice in their nests, as this answer states.

  4. D
    White–footed mice to which Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice D is not credited
    There’s no discussion of the awareness of animals as to the ticks that are feeding on them, so this answer is out of scope.

  5. E
    White–footed mice are hosts Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice E is not credited
    There’s no discussion of seasons, nor or the number of deer ticks, so this answer is doubly out of scope.

What this tests

Question analytics

Based on historical answer selection rates for this question.

Answer choice distribution

  1. A 10%
  2. B 8%
  3. C Credited 79%
  4. D 0%
  5. E 2%

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