To reduce the mosquito population

Answer choices

1. A

   No Impact / Cheats Paradox6% picked this

   Most of the species of birds that were attracted by the trees that were planted

   At its best, this answer would explain why the mosquito population didn't decrease. But we need to explain why the mosquito population did increase. The fact that new birds aren't eating mosquitoes doesn't explain why there are more mosquitoes. That would just explain why there's the same number of mosquitoes as before. We also want to be careful about telling ourselves a causal story that would go against one of the background facts. If we read this and thought, "Oh, so the birds didn't do anything to limit mosquitoes!" we'd be cheating the stated fact that "as expected, the birds ate many mosquitoes". We need to be thinking, "Even though the birds did eat a bunch of mosquitoes, what is causing the mosquito population to enlarge so much that even with birds snacking on them there are still more mosquitoes than before?"

   6%
2. B

   No Impact11% picked this

   The species of birds that were attracted in the greatest number by the fruit of the trees that were

   This has the same effect and same problems as (A). 1. It doesn't change the fact that some of the birds are eating many mosquitoes 2. it doesn't explain why the mosquito population would go up. It would only explain why the new birds have failed to decrease the mosquito population.

   11%
3. C

   Correct79% picked this

   The birds attracted to the area by the trees ate many more insects that prey on mosquitoes

   Why this is right

   This does the 2nd of the three possible things we were looking for: - these trees do something that boosts the mosquito population - this influx of birds does something that boosts the mosquito population - something that boosts the mosquito population changed, around the same time as when the fruit trees were planted These birds eat the insects that prey on mosquitoes (way more than they eat mosquitoes). Throughout LSAT questions, if we're trying to explain why an animal population is increasing, we end up talking about one of these things: - fewer predators - less disease - more food - better habitat - easier to mate If the birds get rid of the mosquitoes' predators, then the mosquitoes will be able to grow in population (even if many of them get eaten by birds).

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

   79%
4. D

   Opposite2% picked this

   Since the trees were planted, the annual precipitation has been below average, and drier weather tends to

   This deepens the paradox. This is giving us the 3rd type of idea, but going the wrong way with it. - these trees do something that boosts the mosquito population - this influx of birds does something that boosts the mosquito population - something that boosts the mosquito population changed, around the same time as when the fruit trees were planted This answer is saying that around the same time as when the fruit trees were planted, something happened that lowers the mosquito population. The weather got drier and dry weather suppresses mosquito population. Had this answer said, "Since the trees were planted, the annual precipitation has been above average", it could have worked.

   2%
5. E

   Unclear Impact2% picked this

   Increases and decreases in mosquito populations tend to follow a

   It's possible that the increase in mosquitoes since the fruit trees were planted is unrelated to the fruit trees and is just the crest of a normal cyclical wave in mosquito population. But this answer isn't nudging us enough in that direction. For all we know, the increase in the mosquito population that's happened since these trees were planted occurred during the normal low point of the mosquito population cycle (which would be even more alarming). Since we don't know where we're at in the population cycle, we can't tell whether this answer is really giving us a way to explain the recent increase in mosquitoes.

   2%