Although Stillwater Pond has been

Answer choices

1. A

   Wrong Assumed Belief4% picked this

   takes for granted that the local fishing guide believes that Stillwater Pond has been polluted by

   The author is taking for granted that the local fishing guide believes that [the conclusion reached by recent studies, that the bullhead catfish is the most populous fish in the pond, is correct] The author is trying to use the fishing guide's rule of "most populous ? best adapted". In order to conclude that the guide believes BC is best adapted, the author only needs to assume that the guide believes BC is most populous.

   4%
2. B

   Not an Objection18% picked this

   fails to take into account the possibility that the catfish in Stillwater Pond had to adapt very little

   The argument doesn't care whether BC is best adapted because they started off well-suited to polluted water or because they rapidly mutated/evolved to be well-suited to polluted water. So there's no objection in saying, "Well they may be best adapted, but they barely had to adapt." Saying a species is best adapted just means they're best suited to the environment, not that they've had to make the most adaptations.

   18%
3. C

   Contradicted7% picked this

   fails to take into account the possibility that the recent studies on fish populations in

   By saying "if the recent studies are correct in suggesting most populous is BC", the author is taking into account possibility that the recent studies are inaccurate.

   7%
4. D

   Correct68% picked this

   fails to take into account the possibility that the local fishing guide mistakenly believes that some fish species other than the bullhead catfish is

   Why this is right

   Would it hurt the conclusion if the guide mistakenly believes some other species is most populous? Of course! It would contradict the conclusion, since by their rule, the guide would believe that this other fish is the one best adapted to living in polluted water. For example, if the argument had been, "Lois Lane knows she went skiing with Clark Kent. Clark Kent is Superman. So, Lois Lane knows she went skiing with Superman." This answer would be saying, "fails to consider that Lois Lane mistakenly believes that Clark Kent is Batman."

   Skill tested: Flaw · how this choice captures the argument's function is the move to repeat next time.

   68%
5. E

   Too Strong: only one3% picked this

   takes for granted that Stillwater Pond has only one species of catfish

   Did the author need to assume that the bullhead catfish is the only species of catfish in the Pond? Of course not. If there are other species of catfish, that won't affect the author's argument in any way.

   3%