- PowerScore Staff
- Posts: 8916
- Joined: Feb 02, 2011
- Tue Jul 18, 2017 7:43 am
#37402
Complete Question Explanation
Resolve the Paradox. The correct answer choice is (E)
The stimulus contains a fact set. Although the coyotes prey on wild cats and plover, the plover
population plummeted dramatically after the coyotes were removed from the island.
Note that the stimulus does not contain a true paradox, just an odd situation that is presented without
explanation. The correct answer must explain how the situation came into being while allowing both
sides of the situation to be factually correct. As in all Resolve questions, since you are not seeking
to disprove one side of the situation, look for an answer choice that contains a possible cause of the
situation.
Answer choice (A): This answer choice explains why plover birds are such easy prey for the coyotes,
but does not little to explain why the removal of coyotes from the island resulted in the birds’
extinction. This is a classic incorrect answer to a Resolve question, explaining only one side of the
situation.
Answer choice (B): The fact that wild cat and plover populations fluctuate together does not explain
why coyote and plover populations apparently do as well. Be careful to identify the facts precisely
before examining each answer choice.
Answer choice (C): The fact that coyotes are impervious to the diseases that commonly infect
plover or wild cats is irrelevant. Had the author described a different phenomenon, whereby plover
populations plummet but coyote populations do not, this answer choice would have been far more
helpful in explaining it.
Answer choice (D): The past fluctuations of the wild cat population has no bearing on the issue at
hand.
Answer choice (E): This is the correct answer choice. If coyotes preyed mainly on wild cats, then
removing the coyotes from the island will likely lead to an increase in the wild cat population. But
because wild cats prey on plover, the plover population is likely to plummet as a result.
Resolve the Paradox. The correct answer choice is (E)
The stimulus contains a fact set. Although the coyotes prey on wild cats and plover, the plover
population plummeted dramatically after the coyotes were removed from the island.
Note that the stimulus does not contain a true paradox, just an odd situation that is presented without
explanation. The correct answer must explain how the situation came into being while allowing both
sides of the situation to be factually correct. As in all Resolve questions, since you are not seeking
to disprove one side of the situation, look for an answer choice that contains a possible cause of the
situation.
Answer choice (A): This answer choice explains why plover birds are such easy prey for the coyotes,
but does not little to explain why the removal of coyotes from the island resulted in the birds’
extinction. This is a classic incorrect answer to a Resolve question, explaining only one side of the
situation.
Answer choice (B): The fact that wild cat and plover populations fluctuate together does not explain
why coyote and plover populations apparently do as well. Be careful to identify the facts precisely
before examining each answer choice.
Answer choice (C): The fact that coyotes are impervious to the diseases that commonly infect
plover or wild cats is irrelevant. Had the author described a different phenomenon, whereby plover
populations plummet but coyote populations do not, this answer choice would have been far more
helpful in explaining it.
Answer choice (D): The past fluctuations of the wild cat population has no bearing on the issue at
hand.
Answer choice (E): This is the correct answer choice. If coyotes preyed mainly on wild cats, then
removing the coyotes from the island will likely lead to an increase in the wild cat population. But
because wild cats prey on plover, the plover population is likely to plummet as a result.