Logical reasoning PrepTest 153 · Section 2 · Question 2

Incorrect. This only further underscores that playing dead must have some sort of survival value, since it's so common. It doesn't tell us why, which is what's needed to resolve this paradox.

Correct. Argument or Facts:
Argument

Valid or Flawed:
Flawed

Question Type:
Paradox

Stimulus Summary:
Why do animals play dead when caught by predators? Weird thing to do, since the predator still intends to eat them whether they play dead or not.

Strategy Overview:
In a Resolve question, always identify the two sides of the paradox and anticipate a new fact that could bring them together. Here the two sides are "some prey animals play dead when caught by predators" and "playing dead doesn't change the predator's intention to eat the prey animal." Why is this unexpected? Well, because playing dead must be a survival strategy. Time to anticipate how it might still work out.

Answer Anticipation:
Look at the key, weak word "means." In other words, the predator intends to eat the animal. Yeah, and I meant to go to the gym today . . . there still could be some way the predator won't end up actually eating the animal that's playing dead, if the stimulus only tells us it means to.

Sidenote: You might anticipate an answer like "predators don't like to eat prey that's already dead," but keep in mind, contradicting a premise isn't allowed here. The premises clearly say the predator means to eat the animal, dead or alive.

Answer Explanation:
Much better. If the predator drops a possum that's playing possum off in a hiding place, meaning to eat it later, the possum might get a chance to escape while the predator is distracted. On the other hand, a possum not playing possum would be killed before getting dropped in the burrow. This resolves the paradox.

Key Takeaway:
Don't skip the step of identifying the paradox on Paradox questions. If you're not clear on exactly what's paradoxical in the stimulus, you're vulnerable to trap answers. Try the phrasing "X is true, therefore one might expect Y. But instead, Z." In other words "Some prey animals play dead when captured by predators, therefore one might expect this causes predators not to eat them. But instead, predators mean to eat them regardless." Then you can anticipate.

Incorrect. This is just additional information. It's not especially useful unless we know that predators common in the area tend to be easily distracted when they're holding prey they believe to be dead, or something of the sort.

Incorrect. This doesn't tell us anything about why the prey do engage in this behavior. It's just a neutral additional piece of information (common for wrong answers in this category).

Incorrect. This only tells us about animals that don't play dead; we're still left guessing why those that do so do.