PrepTest 102

Incorrect. "Some" outliers don't mean that the female sage grouses are analyzing potential mates for health.

Incorrect. It's unclear if the antibiotics made the male sage grouses healthy, or if the antibiotics were given far enough ahead of the courtship rituals to have an impact, so this answer doesn't necessarily affect the argument.

Incorrect. The hypothesis attempts to explain the reason for the male sage grouses that do inflate their air sacs, so the failure of some to engage in this ritual doesn't provide evidence for or against that explanation—especially since this answer doesn't state whether these grouses mated.

Correct. Argument or Facts:
Argument

Valid or Flawed:
Flawed

Question Type:
Strengthen

Stimulus Summary:
Phenomenon - Male sage grouses show their usually hidden air sacs to female sage grouses during a courtship ritual
Explanation/hypothesis - This lets the female sage grouse pick a healthy mate

Answer Anticipation:
The question stem asks specifically about a hypothesis, so we should tailor our approach to that. And, as with most hypotheses, this one serves to explain a phenomenon.

When dealing with a Strengthen question that explains a phenomenon, there are generally two types of answers. The first will eliminate alternative explanations—each one eliminated will strengthen the remaining explanations. The second will connect the phenomenon to the hypothesis—providing support for how the explanation serves as an explanation.

For alternatives, there are probably a lot of potential ones, so we shouldn't get too in the weeds with anticipating them. For a connection, there's nothing really in the stimulus suggesting that the air sacs can be used to determine health, so anything connecting those ideas would strengthen this explanation.

Let's head into the answer choices looking for either of these types of answers!

Answer Explanation:
This answer connects the phenomenon to the explanation. If the air sac can visibly indicate infections, then it makes sense that this ritual could be used to help assess health. As such, this answer strengthens the hypothesis.

Key Takeaway:
When dealing with a Strengthen question that explains a phenomenon, there are generally two types of answers. The first will eliminate alternative explanations—each one eliminated will strengthen the remaining explanations. The second will connect the phenomenon to the hypothesis—providing support for how the explanation serves as an explanation.

Incorrect. While this answer connects to sage grouse health, it doesn't connect to the air sac at all, so it's out of scope.