Logical reasoning PrepTest 123 · Section 3 · Question 5

Question prompt

Atrens:  An early entomologist observed Remaining source text redacted.
Why the credited answer is right

Credited answer: C

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

Strengthen with Sufficient Premise Questions

Stimulus Summary

Ants bring particles to their neighbors. One entomologist thought they were bringing food, but it turns out the particles were from a dumping site. So that entomologist was wrong.

Answer Anticipation

The entomologist's theory was about food, but the counterpoint is about stuff from a dump. The counterpoint only rebuts the initial point if the dump doesn't have food in it. The correct answer will have to bridge that gap.

Answer choices

  1. A
    Ant societies do not Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice A is not credited
    Incorrect. Nothing in the argument relates ant to human behavior, so this answer choice is out of scope. If anything, this answer choice would suggest Atrens is wrong, since humans throw out a ton of food.
  2. B
    There is only weak Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice B is not credited
    Incorrect. The argument is about what ants do, not why they do it. Ants could give food without intending it as a gift.
  3. C
    Ant dumping sites do Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice C matches the stem
    Correct. This answer choice connects the dumps with not having food. If these sites don't have food particles, then particles carried from them to neighboring ant colonies don't have food, and the early entomologist was wrong.
  4. D
    The ants to whom Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice D is not credited
    Incorrect. Neither the early entomologist nor the later researchers talked about the neighbors accepting or using these particles. The argument is just about the ants who carry food to their neighbors, so this answer is out of scope.
  5. E
    The entomologist cited retracted Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice E is not credited
    Incorrect. The conclusion is about whether this scientist was wrong. Even if she retracted her findings, she could still have been correct. This answer choice doesn't justify the conclusion.

What this tests

Question analytics

Based on historical answer selection rates for this question.

Answer choice distribution

  1. A 10%
  2. B 8%
  3. C Credited 53%
  4. D 12%
  5. E 16%

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