Logical Reasoning

PT128 · S2 · Q1 Mysterious ancient tracks cut into limestone

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Mysterious ancient tracks cut into limestone have recently been found on the island of Malta.

Hypothesis

The mysterious Maltese limestone tracks were made by animal-drawn carts around 1000 B.C.

Evidence

They wander around, sometimes disappearing under modern structures.

It's thought that they may have connected settlements or water sources.

Evaluate

It's the #1 pattern on Strengthen / Weaken: explain curious fact.

CURIOUS FACT: What are these ancient tracks all about?

AUTHOR'S HYPOTHESIS: They were made around 1000 B.C. by animal-drawn carts.

We can strengthen by Ruling Out an Alternate Hypothesis or by making the Author's Hypothesis More Plausible. Strengthen questions more often do the latter.

Goal

Find an answer that makes it more plausible that these tracks came from animal-drawn carts around the year 1000 B.C. (or one that rules out an alternate explanation for the tracks).

Which one of the following, if true, most helps to support the archaeologist's hypothesis mentioned above?

Correct
Areas near the tracks have
Why this is right
This makes the author's hypothesis more plausible. The fact that there's lots of animal poop on the side of the path from around 1000 B.C. makes it sound like animals were walking along these paths around 1000 B.C. That makes the hypothesis that these paths were caused by animals pulling carts around 1000 B.C. more plausible.
Skill tested: Strengthen · how this choice captures the argument's function is the move to repeat next time.
92% picked this
Some of the tracks connect
No Impact
The stimulus already says the tracks could have connected water sources. Knowing about how the paths are used in MODERN times doesn't tell us anything about whether the path were created by animal drawn carts 3000 years ago.
7% picked this
Some terrain on the island
No Impact
This is an extremely weak claim that is embedded in common sense. No path of terrain is 100% uniform, so there will always be variation in how traversable it is by foot. It'll always be the case that some terrain is easier than other terrain. This doesn't have any connection to whether the paths were created by animal drawn carts in 1000 B.C.
0% picked this
Historically, inhabitants of the island
No Impact
If anything, this could weaken hurting the plausibility that the paths were created by animal drawn carts. That's a form of transportation technology, and this answer is saying that they are often reluctant to adopt new transportation technology.
0% picked this
Around 1000 B.C., some settlements
No Impact
This another very weak claim. The fact that there was at least one abandoned settlement around 1000 B.C. tells us nothing about whether or not these paths were made by animal-drawn carts.
1% picked this

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