Logical reasoning PrepTest 144 · Section 3 · Question 12

Incorrect. If these trees are best suited to the local climate, why aren't they outliving the rarer trees? If anything, this makes the paradox worse.

Incorrect. Without tying reproduction into longevity, this answer doesn't provide an explanation for that length of life.

Incorrect. This answer has no effect on any information in the stimulus—it seems weird to raise that in studying a forest, researchers didn't add in new tree species.

Incorrect. This might explain why it's good that some trees survive, but not why it's specifically the rarer trees that do so.

Correct. Argument or Facts:
Facts

Question Type:
Paradox

Stimulus Summary:
General rule Ð The most common tree species reproduces the most; the rarest tree survives the longest.

Answer Anticipation:
This stimulus presents three points of comparison between two sets of trees in a forest: the most common reproduce the most; least common survive the longest. So the elements of comparison are the commonality, reproduction rates, and longevity of the trees. Since there are several elements, it'll be important to note what, exactly, we're meant to explain.

That's where the question stem comes in. It tasks us with explaining the discrepancy in the longevity of the trees—why the rarer trees are longer-lived. Since this stimulus is very much based on bringing up differences between the trees, the correct answer will almost certainly bring up a relevant difference between these trees that plays a role in determining the longevity of them.

Note that this relevant difference could tie into one of the other differences—the rarity or the reproduction rate—but it doesn't have to. If there's a difference between these species that has nothing to do with those factors while still being a difference that could explain the longevity of the trees, it'll serve as a correct answer.

Answer Explanation:
This answer highlights a relevant difference between the two species in question. If a tree loses a competition for necessary resources, that tree will die. If that happens more frequently with the more common species because they face more competition than the rarer species, then that would bring their average lifespan down, thus explaining why the rarer species survives longer.

Key Takeaway:
When a Paradox question brings up an unexpected difference between two groups, the correct answer will usually bring up a separate unexpected difference that directly explains the other discrepancy.