Logical reasoning PrepTest 152 · Section 2 · Question 13

Incorrect. The size of the population doesn't impact a paradox about the change in the size of the population.

Incorrect. It's hard to know what impact this has on the paradox. If anything, it might suggest that the moose in the second region would be susceptible to disease since the habitat isn't great, but that's a jump, so this answer is wrong.

Incorrect. This answer does raise a difference between the regions that's related to population. It's trying to trap you into thinking that the wolves are preying on more moose in the first area since they have more options in the second. However, there's no indication that the wolf packs can explain the recent sharp decline in the population in one area. Additionally, the relevant information isn't how many types of prey are available to the wolves, but rather how many wolves there are and how much of their diet is made up of moose between the two regions.

Correct. Argument or Facts:
Argument/Facts

Valid or Flawed:
Flawed/NA

Question Type:
Paradox

Stimulus Summary:
S: Deer have a parasite that can transfer to moose, so the increase in the deer population is probably the cause of the decrease in the moose population.

R: Nearby, the deer population is up but the moose population isn't down.

Answer Anticipation:
A very interesting paradox question! Instead of being presented with a seemingly conflicted situation, we're presented with seemingly conflicting viewpoints. However, we're asked to "resolve the apparent conflict," making this a Paradox question.

Remember—in a Paradox question, we don't want to highlight how one side of the paradox is correct and the other is wrong. Instead, we're looking for a new piece of information that resolves the discrepancy by explaining how both sides of the paradox could be true. Here, we need to figure out how one area could see a decrease in moose population because of an increase in the deer population, whereas another location has an increase in deer population without a drop in moose population. While it's a bit hard to anticipate what it's going to say, it'll have to be some type of comparison between the two areas.

Answer Explanation:
If the moose and deer overlap in one region, a dangerous parasite would be able to hop from the deer to the moose. That couldn't happen in the region where the populations don't overlap (or, at least, it'd happen at a lower rate). This answer highlights a relevant difference between the two areas that could explain the different outcomes, so it's the correct answer.

Key Takeaway:
Paradox questions frequently deal in comparisons. But remember when you're looking for an answer that brings up a comparison—that comparison has to be a relevant one. Irrelevant comparisons are frequently thrown into the answer choice set in order to both slow you down and trap you.

Incorrect. Without knowing how the two regions stack up on these metrics, this answer is out of scope.