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- Mon Feb 13, 2017 5:01 pm
#32729
Complete Question Explanation
Resolve the Paradox. The correct answer choice is (E)
The stimulus describes puzzling results in a study of tropical forests: trees of the rarest of species tend to survive longer than trees of the most common species, even though the latter reproduce the most. The question stem asks us to explain what might have caused this correlation. Note that the correct answer must explain how the situation came into being without questioning the factual veracity of the observations made.
Answer choice (A): This answer choice explains why the most common species of trees tend to reproduce the most, but fails to answer the question why trees of the rarest of species survive longer. Remember—if an answer choice supports or explains only one side of the paradox, that answer will be incorrect.
Answer choice (B): Even if older trees reproduce the least, that does not explain why this particular species of trees is the rarest. What is preventing younger trees of that species to reproduce at the same rate as some of the more common species of trees? This answer choice falls short of explaining the phenomenon described in the stimulus.
Answer choice (C): One would expect a properly conducted study of tropical forests not to introduce any new species into the forests. This fact alone has no bearing on the question at stake.
Answer choice (D): This answer choice describes a benefit that results from having the rarest species of trees survive the longest: they help the forest recover in case of destruction. This is irrelevant to the question of why trees of this particular species tend to survive longer than trees of the most common species. If the longest-surviving species are so valuable for the survival of the forest, from an evolutionary standpoint we would expect them to be far more common than they are. This answer choice makes the discrepancy even more confusing.
Answer choice (E): This is the correct answer choice. If trees of the most common species have more competition for resources than do the trees of the rare species, this would explain why the most common species do not survive the longest: they are simply competing for limited resources with a greater number of trees than any other species. The rare species, by contrast, probably need resources for which there is very little competition. No wonder they also survive the longest. This answer choice effectively explains the results in the study, and is therefore correct.
Resolve the Paradox. The correct answer choice is (E)
The stimulus describes puzzling results in a study of tropical forests: trees of the rarest of species tend to survive longer than trees of the most common species, even though the latter reproduce the most. The question stem asks us to explain what might have caused this correlation. Note that the correct answer must explain how the situation came into being without questioning the factual veracity of the observations made.
Answer choice (A): This answer choice explains why the most common species of trees tend to reproduce the most, but fails to answer the question why trees of the rarest of species survive longer. Remember—if an answer choice supports or explains only one side of the paradox, that answer will be incorrect.
Answer choice (B): Even if older trees reproduce the least, that does not explain why this particular species of trees is the rarest. What is preventing younger trees of that species to reproduce at the same rate as some of the more common species of trees? This answer choice falls short of explaining the phenomenon described in the stimulus.
Answer choice (C): One would expect a properly conducted study of tropical forests not to introduce any new species into the forests. This fact alone has no bearing on the question at stake.
Answer choice (D): This answer choice describes a benefit that results from having the rarest species of trees survive the longest: they help the forest recover in case of destruction. This is irrelevant to the question of why trees of this particular species tend to survive longer than trees of the most common species. If the longest-surviving species are so valuable for the survival of the forest, from an evolutionary standpoint we would expect them to be far more common than they are. This answer choice makes the discrepancy even more confusing.
Answer choice (E): This is the correct answer choice. If trees of the most common species have more competition for resources than do the trees of the rare species, this would explain why the most common species do not survive the longest: they are simply competing for limited resources with a greater number of trees than any other species. The rare species, by contrast, probably need resources for which there is very little competition. No wonder they also survive the longest. This answer choice effectively explains the results in the study, and is therefore correct.