Critics of a plan

Answer choices

1. A

   No Impact13% picked this

   the dolphins’ current habitat area is large enough to support a dolphin population several times the size

   We're not analyzing a claim about how many dolphins a certain habitat area can support. We're analyzing a claim about whether the square footage of this habitat area is being reduced. So learning that the habitat area could handle way more dolphins is really irrelevant. We're just judging whether this habitat goes from 1000 square meters to 800 square meters. We're not judging the relative density of dolphins that would live within that area.

   13%
2. B

   Correct68% picked this

   the dolphins do not inhabit water that is less than 10

   Why this is right

   This allows us to say, "since we're only grabbing underwater land that's in 5m deep water, we're not reducing the dolphins' habitat area at all". After all, if dolphins to not inhabit water less than 10m deep, then their habitable area is the underwater area that's between 10 - 30m deep. This new building site wouldn't be touching any of that land, so it wouldn't reduce the dolphins habitat area.

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

   68%
3. C

   No Impact5% picked this

   the most serious threat to the dolphin subpopulation is not habitat reduction but disease

   We don't care at all what's the #1, #2 , #3 most serious threat to dolphins. This author isn't claiming that habitat reduction is a dire issue, or the most dire issue. She is only claiming that this action would not reduce habitat. Our correct answer will only be about whether or not grabbing this parcel of land under 5m of water is taking some habitat away from this local dolphin population. It doesn't matter whether doing so would be terrible for them, mildly bad for them, neutral for them, etc.

   5%
4. D

   Too Weak10% picked this

   the average depth of water in the dolphins’ habitat area is

   This is somewhat suggestive that dolphins might be living closer to the -30m depth than to the -5m depth where we want to build. But it's too weak compared to the correct answer. If the -5m water is just a tiny part of their habitat area, then the average could still be -25m. For example, let's say this is their habitat area - five acres that are 29m deep one acre that is 5m deep This would produce an average depth of 25m. If the new building claims that one acre that is 5m deep, then we are still reducing the dolphins' habitat. In short, this answer provides us no guidance as to whether the -5m land we want to use for this building site is or isn't part of the dolphins' habitat.

   10%
5. E

   No Impact4% picked this

   a short distance from the dolphins’ habitat area, the ocean floor drops to a depth

   We don't care how deep it gets once it gets deeper than 30m. We already have a premise that locks in the idea that the dolphins aren't going beyond the -30m mark. So whether it dropped to -35m or -1000m wouldn't make any difference.

   4%