Logical reasoning PrepTest 113 · Section 4 · Question 10

Question prompt

Lydia: Red squirrels are Remaining source text redacted.
Why the credited answer is right

Credited answer: E

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

Argument or Facts

Argument/Argument

Valid or Flawed

Flawed/Flawed

Question Type

Methods of Reasoning Questions

Stimulus Summary

L: Phenomenon - Red squirrels make holes in sugar maple trees and drink the sap
Potential explanations - They’re after sugar or water (the only components of the sap)
Premise - Water is easily available elsewhere in the area
Conclusion - They’re probably after the sugar
G: There’s so little sugar in the sap, so they’re probably after something other than sugar.

Answer Anticipation

Lydia’s argument falls into a common pattern, and when that happens in a Methods of Reasoning question, we can frame our anticipation around the pattern! Here, she brings up a phenomenon and attempts to explain it.
How does she go about explaining it? She brings up two possible explanations that she believes are the only ones, rules one out, and then concludes the other is probably the true explanation. Let’s find an answer reflecting that.

Answer choices

  1. A
    dismissing potentially disconfirming data
    Why choice A is not credited
    Lydia rules out an explanation, but that’s different from dismissing data.
  2. B
    citing a general rule Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice B is not credited
    There’s no general rule presented by Lydia.
  3. C
    presenting an observed action Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice C is not credited
    She attempts to explain a single behavior, not relate it to the wider behavior of red squirrels.
  4. D
    drawing an analogy between Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice D is not credited
    There’s no analogy or separate situation raised here, so this answer is completely off base.
  5. E
    rejecting a possible alternative Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice E matches the stem
    Lydia concludes one explanation for an observed phenomenon is probably true based on ruling out what she believes to be the only likely alternative, so this answer is correct.

What this tests

Question analytics

Based on historical answer selection rates for this question.

Answer choice distribution

  1. A 6%
  2. B 3%
  3. C 7%
  4. D 2%
  5. E Credited 81%

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