Logical reasoning PrepTest 150 · Section 2 · Question 13

Correct. Argument or Facts:
Argument

Valid or Flawed:
Flawed

Question Type:
Bizarro Strengthen

Stimulus Summary:
Gliders have simple wings compared to flyers, which are a middle step in evolution. Thus, the earliest dinosaurs to fly probably glided out of trees instead of taking off from the ground.

Answer Anticipation:
Since Bizarro Strengthen questions have four answers that strengthen the argument, it's usually best to leave your anticipation more generic. Here, any answer that provides evidence that early dinosaurs probably glided out of trees will strengthen the argument, and, specifically, anything that connects evolution to gliding will be a strengthener and thus ruled out.

Answer Explanation:
If these dinosaurs raised their babies on the ground, it suggests they didn't fly by gliding from a tree. After all, how would those babies start flying if they weren't in a nest that would allow them to glide out of the tree? This is the correct answer.

Key Takeaway:
Don't be afraid to go back to the stimulus to see if a word or phrase you don't remember is in there! If an answer looks good outside of that word/phrase, it's worth the time to see if you're forgetting it.

Incorrect. These early flyers could climb? That suggests they evolved to climb so they could glide from trees. This strengthens the argument.

Incorrect. If the dinosaurs had a feature that helped gliding but not taking off, then that suggests they did the former and not the latter. This strengthens the argument.

Incorrect. We had to go back to the stimulus for this one since our summary didn't include taking off from a running start, but it does state that in the stimulus. Having feathery toes would impede their ability to take off from a running start, suggesting that they weren't doing that and thus were more likely to be gliders.

Incorrect. If the predators couldn't get into trees, the dinosaurs who could climb would be more likely to survive. Since we know flying dinosaurs lived long enough to evolve into large-winged flyers, this answer provides evidence that they spent time in trees, thus increasing the likelihood that they were gliders.