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- Wed Jan 21, 2015 12:00 am
#73612
Complete Question Explanation
Justify the Conclusion. The correct answer choice is (C).
The author tells us about an early entomologist who had a hypothesis about some ants, who were observed to be carrying stuff to their neighbors. The early entomologist thought the ants were bringing food to the neighbors - how very neighborly of them! But our author says no, that's wrong, because all the ants were doing was emptying their own dump sites. They were just taking out the trash, so they were definitely NOT bringing food to the neighbors.
The stem asks for an answer that would cause the conclusion to "follow logically," which means if we add the correct answer to the argument in the stimulus, the conclusion would have to be true. So what would prove that the entomologist was wrong, and that the ants were definitely NOT bringing food to their neighbors?
A good prephrase here, since we know that the stuff the ants were carrying was stuff emptied from their dump sites, would be that there was no food among the contents of the dump sites. If there was no food in what they were carrying, that would prove they were not carrying food to the neighbors.
Answer choice (A): Even if ants do not always interact with each other the ways that humans do, it still could be that they were carrying food to the neighbors. This answer does not prove the conclusion that they were not doing that.
Answer choice (B): Having "only weak evidence" isn't strong enough to prove that the ants were not carrying food to the neighbors.
Answer choice (C): This is the correct answer choice. If the dumping sites contain no food, and if all they were carrying was stuff taken from their dump sites, then clearly they were not carrying food, to the neighbors or anywhere else. This very strong answer eliminates all doubt and proves the conclusion must be true.
Answer choice (D): The fact that the ants who received the particles never carried the particles into their own colony might do a little to support the claim that the particles were not food. One would think that if it was food, they would have carried it inside. But this isn't strong enough to completely prove that the particles were not food, because the ants who received the food might not have wanted it, or needed it, or trusted the ants who brought it, or perhaps these ants store their food outside the colony somewhere. Without more information, this answer only slightly strengthens the claim but comes nowhere close to justifying it.
Answer choice (E): Like answer D, this answer strengthens the argument that the entomologist was wrong about the particles being food brought to the neighbors. If the entomologist retracted his earlier claims, that would suggest that he at least thought he was wrong. But like answer D, it isn't strong enough to prove anything. Perhaps the entomologist was right the first time, and wrong to retract his conclusion?
Justify the Conclusion. The correct answer choice is (C).
The author tells us about an early entomologist who had a hypothesis about some ants, who were observed to be carrying stuff to their neighbors. The early entomologist thought the ants were bringing food to the neighbors - how very neighborly of them! But our author says no, that's wrong, because all the ants were doing was emptying their own dump sites. They were just taking out the trash, so they were definitely NOT bringing food to the neighbors.
The stem asks for an answer that would cause the conclusion to "follow logically," which means if we add the correct answer to the argument in the stimulus, the conclusion would have to be true. So what would prove that the entomologist was wrong, and that the ants were definitely NOT bringing food to their neighbors?
A good prephrase here, since we know that the stuff the ants were carrying was stuff emptied from their dump sites, would be that there was no food among the contents of the dump sites. If there was no food in what they were carrying, that would prove they were not carrying food to the neighbors.
Answer choice (A): Even if ants do not always interact with each other the ways that humans do, it still could be that they were carrying food to the neighbors. This answer does not prove the conclusion that they were not doing that.
Answer choice (B): Having "only weak evidence" isn't strong enough to prove that the ants were not carrying food to the neighbors.
Answer choice (C): This is the correct answer choice. If the dumping sites contain no food, and if all they were carrying was stuff taken from their dump sites, then clearly they were not carrying food, to the neighbors or anywhere else. This very strong answer eliminates all doubt and proves the conclusion must be true.
Answer choice (D): The fact that the ants who received the particles never carried the particles into their own colony might do a little to support the claim that the particles were not food. One would think that if it was food, they would have carried it inside. But this isn't strong enough to completely prove that the particles were not food, because the ants who received the food might not have wanted it, or needed it, or trusted the ants who brought it, or perhaps these ants store their food outside the colony somewhere. Without more information, this answer only slightly strengthens the claim but comes nowhere close to justifying it.
Answer choice (E): Like answer D, this answer strengthens the argument that the entomologist was wrong about the particles being food brought to the neighbors. If the entomologist retracted his earlier claims, that would suggest that he at least thought he was wrong. But like answer D, it isn't strong enough to prove anything. Perhaps the entomologist was right the first time, and wrong to retract his conclusion?
