PrepTest 145

Incorrect. In bringing up a similarity about daytime competition, this answer doesn't explain the differences in nocturnal activity between the two populations.

Correct. Argument or Facts:
Facts

Question Type:
Paradox

Stimulus Summary:
Lemur population 1 Ð Lives in a rainforest with year-round canopy cover
Lemur population 2 Ð Lives in a deciduous forest with trees that lose leaves in winter
Both Ð More nocturnal in winter than the rest of the year
BUT! Lemur population 2 had even more nocturnal activity than population 1

Answer Anticipation:
Many, many Paradox questions involve comparing groups and finding an explanation for a difference (or, sometimes, a similarity) between them. In this one, we have two lemur populations who live in different environments, and exhibit slightly different behavior in the winter.

Since the paradox is around the winter, we should focus on what we know about that. Lemur population 1, in the rainforest, would have canopy cover during the winter, but lemur population 2 is noted as being in a forest where the trees lose their leaves in the winter. If the trees lose their leaves, then there will be less (or no) canopy cover.

Since the phenomenon that needs explaining is the higher nocturnal activity of the second lemur population, and we know they're not living with canopy cover in winter whereas population 1 is, that's almost certainly going to factor into the explanation.

Answer Explanation:
Very tricky! This answer brings up a similarity between the two populations, and it would be easy to eliminate it for that reason. However, this similarity explains why the canopy cover could actually result in the noted difference. If the primary predator is a high-flying bird that looks for prey during the day, then canopy cover would protect the rainforest lemurs from being spotted. They could get more accomplished during the day, and thus rely less on nighttime to get what they needed to get done one. However, the population in the deciduous forest would need to stay hidden during the day to protect themselves from these predators, and thus they would need to be more active during the night to make up for it.

This is one of the hardest Paradox answers to spot, and you'd be in good company if you eliminated it on the first pass! Remember, though, that we noted the canopy as being key to the stimulus and our anticipation, so any answer where the canopy is relevant should be considered.

Key Takeaway:
Paradox questions frequently deal in comparisons, asking us to explain a confusing difference or similarity between two things. In general, differences explain differences, and similarities similarities. However, that's not an absolute rule, so be sure that you stay flexible!

Incorrect. This answer would explain why the lemurs shift activity to the nighttime, but it doesn't explain why the lemurs in one type of forest do so more than in the other.

Incorrect. Even if we assume that the stimulus didn't control for population size and just looked at how many lemurs were active at night, a larger population should equate to more nocturnal activity. So if there were many more lemurs in the rain forest, that's where the higher level of nocturnal activity should have been seen, not in the deciduous forest.

Incorrect. To know if this answer provides an explanation for the activity, we'd have to know when insects are most active or, at least, most easily found. Barring that, we can't tell if this suggests the rain forest lemurs were eating more at night or during the day.