Logical reasoning PrepTest 106 · Section 2 · Question 23

Question prompt

Garbage dumps do not 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

Argument

Valid or Flawed

Flawed

Question Type

Bizarro / Weaken Questions

Stimulus Summary

Baboons in Kenya that eat from garbage dumps grow up faster and have more kids than others, so garbage dumps don’t harm wildlife.

Answer Anticipation

Bizarro Weaken questions tend to have answers that cluster around the same flaw, so we should find an abstract flaw that has a pattern to how it’s weakened, and then we should head straight into the answers. Here, the argument concludes that garbage dumps don’t harm wildlife. What does it use to back this up? The baboons in Kenya who eat food in garbage dumps, that mature faster and have more offspring than those who don’t. So we’re going after this evidence to weaken the argument. How can we do so? Well, first, is there any indication that these baboons are representative of wildlife generally? Nope, so anything suggesting they aren’t would weaken the argument. Also, there’s no indication that the dumps aren’t also hurting these baboons in some key way - maybe they have more offspring, but fewer survive, or they’re more sickly than other baboons. And there’s also no indication that maturing faster and having more offspring is a good thing - maybe baboons that mature more slowly live longer, healthier lives. Anything that calls into question whether these baboons are representative or, overall, are being helped by the dump will serve to weaken this argument.

Answer choices

  1. A
    The baboons that feed Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice A is not credited
    This answer calls the sample into question. Maybe the baboon species that eats from the dump matures faster and has more offspring than the other species regardless of whether they eat from the dump! If that’s the case, then the dump isn’t resulting in any benefit, and so the argument is weakened.
  2. B
    The life expectancy of Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice B is not credited
    This answer brings up a downside to eating the garbage, so even if there are some benefits, it might overall be harmful.
  3. C
    The cholesterol level of Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice C is not credited
    Similar to (B), this brings up a downside of eating from the dump, so it calls into question whether they do no harm.
  4. D
    The population of hyenas Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice D matches the stem
    This answer, if anything, suggests that another animal - the hyena - is benefiting in some way from the garbage dumps, which would strengthen the argument. As such, it’s the correct answer since it certainly doesn’t weaken the argument.
  5. E
    The rate of birth Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice E is not credited
    The landfill being correlated with birth defects suggests it might be causing them, and so it might be harming the wildlife, undercutting the conclusion.

What this tests

Question analytics

Based on historical answer selection rates for this question.

Answer choice distribution

  1. A 15%
  2. B 3%
  3. C 2%
  4. D Credited 76%
  5. E 3%

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