Logical reasoning PrepTest 106 · Section 2 · Question 13

Question prompt

Mature white pines intercept 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

Facts

Valid or Flawed

NA

Question Type

Argument Completion Questions

Stimulus Summary

Mature white pines: Intercept almost all sunlight Leave deep, dry litter Grow so high that even in gaps there isn’t any light This means white pines don’t grow in their own shade So if you’re in a dense forest of mature white pines, __________.

Answer Anticipation

For Argument Completion questions, we need to start by figuring out whether we’re filling in a premise or the conclusion. Here, the fill-in is at the end of a statement starting with “Thus,” so we’re looking to derive the conclusion, making this an Argument Completion (Must be True) question. Not only can we figure that out from the conclusion, but it also has a condition attached to it - the conclusion is about a dense forest that is all mature white pines. What do we learn about white pine trees? That they grow tall and block so much sun that almost none reaches the floor - and thus white pines can’t regenerate in their own shade. So if we’re in a forest of mature white pines, then those trees have been blocking out the sun for quite some time - as long as it took them to mature. And once that happened, no other white pines could have grown. As such, we can conclude that the trees are all about the same age, as older ones would have prevented the growth of newer ones.

Answer choices

  1. A
    the ages of the Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice A matches the stem
    This answer reflects our anticipation. If mature white pine trees prevent other white pine trees from growing, then a forest filled with mature white pine trees would have to be about the same age, as this answer states.
  2. B
    the land on which Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice B is not credited
    It’s possible that the land had some shrubs or other trees that didn’t block out enough sun to prevent other trees from growing, so this answer is unsupported.
  3. C
    competition among the trees Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice C is not credited
    We know that mature white pines prevent trees from regenerating in their own shade, but we don’t know that they also cause some trees to die.
  4. D
    other species of trees Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice D is not credited
    There’s no indication that other trees can grow in the shade of the white pines. In fact, they almost completely block out the sun, so, if anything, this answer contradicts what we know!
  5. E
    any differences in the Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice E is not credited
    The white pines grow to prodigious heights, but we don’t know what affects their height. It could be that the density around where they’re located has some influence on their height.

What this tests

Question analytics

Based on historical answer selection rates for this question.

Answer choice distribution

  1. A Credited 57%
  2. B 9%
  3. C 27%
  4. D 2%
  5. E 5%

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