- PowerScore Staff
- Posts: 1819
- Joined: Dec 06, 2013
- Wed Jan 26, 2022 12:43 pm
#93525
shawnhaq,
The idea that termites are burrowing to hide from predators is just not in answer choice (E). We can't add that information to the answer - there is no common sense reason why that would be true, so it's pure speculation.
The only thing answer choice (E) does is show that, often, species that feed on sand termites are found near fairy circles. I could use that to say something like "Maybe sand termites live near fairy circles, if the species that feed on them are often found there." The problem with that is...it doesn't tell us anything we don't already know - the stimulus already says that sand termite colonies were found in every fairy circle they investigated. So establishing that there is a good chance sand termites live near fairy circles is just giving us a good chance of showing something the stimulus proved to a much higher degree of certainty already. Other than that, answer choice (E) does nothing - it does nothing to show that the sand termites (which we already know colonize the fairy circles) are the REASON why the circles exist in the first place.
Answer choice (A) gives evidence that fairy circles are caused by something that damages grass only at the roots. This makes the cause more likely to be something close under the surface, enhancing the case that the termites caused the circles.
Robert Carroll
The idea that termites are burrowing to hide from predators is just not in answer choice (E). We can't add that information to the answer - there is no common sense reason why that would be true, so it's pure speculation.
The only thing answer choice (E) does is show that, often, species that feed on sand termites are found near fairy circles. I could use that to say something like "Maybe sand termites live near fairy circles, if the species that feed on them are often found there." The problem with that is...it doesn't tell us anything we don't already know - the stimulus already says that sand termite colonies were found in every fairy circle they investigated. So establishing that there is a good chance sand termites live near fairy circles is just giving us a good chance of showing something the stimulus proved to a much higher degree of certainty already. Other than that, answer choice (E) does nothing - it does nothing to show that the sand termites (which we already know colonize the fairy circles) are the REASON why the circles exist in the first place.
Answer choice (A) gives evidence that fairy circles are caused by something that damages grass only at the roots. This makes the cause more likely to be something close under the surface, enhancing the case that the termites caused the circles.
Robert Carroll