Logical reasoning PrepTest 149 · Section 3 · Question 22

Incorrect. If Charlesvill has more wind than Taychester, causing it to lose more heat, then that would drive up the cost of heating in that city, providing an explanation for the paradox.

Correct. Argument or Facts:
Facts

Question Type:
Bizarro Paradox

Stimulus Summary:
Taychester is colder than Charlesville, but residents spend more on heating in Charlesville.

Answer Anticipation:
Forming an anticipation in a Bizarro question requires a slightly different approach from in a normal version of a question type. In a normal version, there will be only 1 answer that addresses that question type, so having a specific anticipation can be helpful. In a Bizarro version, each incorrect answer will address the question type (here, 4 answers will address the paradox), so we should leave our anticipation more general to anticipate these 4 wrong answers instead of anticipating something specific as the right answer.

Here, one city is noted as being colder than another, suggesting that it would cost more to heat a house in the colder area. However, costs are higher in the warmer place. Any answer that brings up a reason that it might be more expensive to heat a house in the warmer area will resolve the paradox—from heating fuel costs being higher, to houses being bigger, to people just liking it much warmer there.

Answer Explanation:
The stimulus notes that the temperature in Taychester is "always" 10+ degrees cooler than in Charlesville, which means that that holds true even during these swings of temperature in Charlesville. As such, this answer makes the paradox worse.

Key Takeaway:
For Bizarro versions of questions, keep your anticipation more general so that you can capture each of the incorrect answers that addresses the question type. And your anticipation should be designed to find (and eliminate) the incorrect answers, not identify the correct one.

Incorrect. The stimulus jumps from temperature to costs. If heating costs more in Charlesville, then that could explain the higher costs despite needing to provide less heat.

Incorrect. Charlesville is warmer than Taychester, so the residents there would be more likely to keep their houses warmer in the winter, thus driving up their heating costs and resolving the paradox.

Incorrect. Taychester is in a colder climate, and thus this answer establishes they're better insulated. That could allow them to keep their homes warm with less heating, thus explaining why their heating costs are lower.