PrepTest 120

Incorrect. This answer addresses one of the Sampling flaws—that it only looked at the best-selling baits, but it drew a conclusion about all baits.

Incorrect. This answer addresses another Sampling flaw—that the results are based on success by top anglers, who may have skills that make different baits successful than the average angler.

Incorrect. Yet another Sampling flaw is addressed in this answer—the top anglers used the bait in pristine northern lakes, which may lead to different results than fishing in the pond at your local park.

Correct. Argument or Facts:
Argument

Valid or Flawed:
Flawed

Question Type:
Bizarro Errors in Reasoning

Stimulus Summary:
Research firm - Compared the top 5 best-selling baits and Benton won
12 top anglers - Compared the top 5 best-selling baits when fishing for trout in a pristine northern stream and Benton won
Conclusion - Benton is the best bait for any trout fisher

Answer Anticipation:
Since this is a Bizarro Errors in Reasoning question, we can expect that there's a lot wrong with it. And reading the argument, it delivers!

Whenever an argument's conclusion is based on survey results, we should consider a Sampling flaw, and a Correlation/Causation flaw. However, since the conclusion here isn't causal, we can eliminate that as an option and focus on the Sampling flaw.

Or, should we say, Sampling flaws! To rattle some off:
(1) The argument only looked at the top 5 best-selling baits, not all baits
(2) The argument relied on the results of a dozen top anglers, which is a small sample that's also unlikely to be representative of the average angler
(3) The argument relied on a live sample of a "pristine northern lake" which may not be representative of the places where most people fish for trout
(4) The argument talks about anglers fishing for speckled trout, and they may react to different bait than other types of trout

Let's look for answers that bring up any of these sampling flaws and eliminate them (since it's a Bizarro question).

Answer Explanation:
The argument doesn't ignore this possibility—it states that, in both of the tests, Benton was the most successful. Since this answer doesn't describe something the argument does, it's incorrect.

Key Takeaway:
Bizarro Errors in Reasoning questions are rare, but when they do show up, they tend to end up focusing on 1-2 flaws that are then described through different lenses. Here, all of the incorrect answers described a Sampling flaw present in the stimulus.

Incorrect. One final Sampling flaw—the top-angler test was run on speckled trout, and so other trout may react more favorably to non-Benton bait.