Logical reasoning PrepTest 117 · Section 2 · Question 10

Incorrect. This would suggest there would be more food around, allowing for the two—parent beetle household to raise a bigger beetle baby. This would make the paradox worse.

Correct. Argument or Facts:
Facts

Question Type:
Paradox

Stimulus Summary:
Both beetle parents bury a carcass and then help feed their new children. So it's weird that single beetle parents raise larger baby beetles.

Answer Anticipation:
This Paradox question does a good job of setting up the paradox for us by explaining the expected outcome (larvae should" benefit; "however . . . "), so we don't have to do too much work to frame the paradox.

With it so framed, we can see that this paradox—like many others—is related to a comparison. It looks at the outcome for a two—parent beetle baby versus a one—parent beetle baby, and it says that the latter is larger. Since we're trying to explain a difference between these two situations, we should look for an answer that brings up a relevant difference that can explain it, likely tied back into that small vertebrate carcass that's being used for food.

One potential answer? Fewer mouths to feed. If there's one small carcass for the family, you might expect the baby to get more food with one fewer adult around.

Answer Explanation:
This answer explains a relevant difference between the two—parent beetle household and the one—parent one, matching our specific anticipation. If both parents use the carcass as a food source, then two beetle parents would eat more of it than one, leaving less food for the baby, explaining why it's smaller in that two—parent household.

Key Takeaway:
Paradox questions generally don't bring up information just for the fun of it. Once you identify the framework that the correct answer will have to fall into (here, a relevant difference that makes a one—parent beetle home better for baby beetle size), go back and see if you can come up with an explanation that takes the established details into account.

Incorrect. While this answer establishes that it might be easier on the parents to have two around, it doesn't tie this back into baby size, so it's out of scope.

Incorrect. This describes a similarity between the situations, so it won't explain the different outcomes.

Incorrect. This answer is arguably in scope because if other insects successfully attack" the carcass, then there would be less food for the baby beetle. However, this answer is a benefit of having two parents around, and we're looking for an answer that brings up why having one parent around would result in bigger baby beetles.