Logical reasoning PrepTest 105 · Section 2 · Question 6

Question prompt

Besides laying eggs in Remaining source text redacted.
Why the credited answer is right

Credited answer: D

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

Female wood ducks lay eggs in their own nests, or in another duck’s nest if it’s left alone Normal conditions - This rarely happens Nesting boxes constructed - Nests get so overcrowded that none of the eggs hatch

Answer Anticipation

This is one of those Must be True questions where the stimulus doesn’t really lead us to any specific anticipation as to what the right answer is going to say. It talks about wood duck egg-laying habits, and it compares what happens in normal conditions vs. conditions when humans build a lot of nesting boxes. However, it doesn’t really build to anything. When this happens, there’s a good chance that the correct answer will present a weak generalization of the situation. For example, here, the correct answer might say something like, “Human intervention into nature can sometimes make things worse,” but let’s stay flexible as we look at the answers.

Answer choices

  1. A
    Female wood ducks will Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice A is not credited
    There’s nothing in the stimulus to suggest that this is the case, as even the last statement is limited to discussing just the eggs in those boxes.
  2. B
    Nesting female wood ducks Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice B is not credited
    There’s no discussion of which ducks are more successful than others in their breeding efforts, so this answer is an unsupported comparison.
  3. C
    The nesting boxes for Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice C is not credited
    While the stimulus does discuss that the nesting boxes become crowded with eggs, this could be because they’re easily seen by ducks, not because they’re small.
  4. D
    The nesting boxes would Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice D matches the stem
    This answer doesn’t match our anticipation, but it does play into the concepts in the stimulus. Right now, the nesting boxes aren’t effective in helping ducks breed, as most if not all eggs fail to hatch because they become so crowded. As such, it’s strongly supported that if they weren’t so crowded, they’d be more effective at helping ducks to breed. And since they become crowded because of their visibility, making them less visible should make that happen. This answer is thus supported by the stimulus, so it’s the correct answer.
  5. E
    Nesting boxes are needed Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice E is not credited
    Any destruction of the wood ducks’s habitat, and why nesting boxes are being created, are both concepts that aren’t mentioned and are thus out of scope of this stimulus.

What this tests

Question analytics

Based on historical answer selection rates for this question.

Answer choice distribution

  1. A 4%
  2. B 3%
  3. C 12%
  4. D Credited 80%
  5. E 0%

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Discussion

  • Why Not C? 1 reply

    Started by nivensdc

  • Help 1 reply

    Started by JayDee8732

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