Logical Reasoning

PT152 · S4 · Q19 European wood ants incorporate large quantities

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European wood ants incorporate large quantities of solidified conifer resin into their nests.

Conclusion

The wood ants' use of resin probably came about as a disease prevention measure.

Evidence

The resin has been shown to kill strains of bacteria that can cause disease in wood ants.

Evaluate

This has the feel of a Curious Fact / Explanation problem.

Curious Fact: Why do these ants put this resin in their nests? Author's Explanation: They use it as a disease prevention measure, since it kills off bacteria harmful to them.

We always ask: 1. is there some ALTERNATE EXPLANATION for the curious fact? 2. how plausible is the AUTHOR'S EXPLANATION?

Could there be some other reason for the resin? Maybe it smells nice? Maybe it traps other bugs for food? Maybe it's the glue that holds together the nest?

How plausible is it that the ants use the resin to prevent disease? In places that don't have this bacteria, do they not use the resin? In places with lots of the bacteria, do they use more of it?

Goal

Evaluate answer choices are questions or whether or not toss-ups. We want to find an answer where if we answered it in a certain way, it could be a good Objection to the argument.

So primarily I would be looking for an answer that hints at an Alternate Explanation for why they're putting resin into their nests.

19.

Which one of the following would be most useful to know in order to evaluate the strength of the argument?

whether conifer resin retains its
Too Strong: very long
There's no way to answer this and get a big Objection. We could say, "I doubt they're using it as a disease-protection measure. After all ... resin doesn't retain its disinfectant properties for very long periods of time." The author would be like, "cool, but it retains its properties for a long time, and that's long enough. Also, they might continually replenish the supply of resin".
8% picked this
whether the nests of European
Unclear Impact
This fact could be useful if it were associated to the rise and fall of the strains of bacteria, but on its own it does nothing. A better version of this answer would sound like, "whether the nests generally contain more resin at times of the year when the bacteria is most prevalent".
3% picked this
whether any ant species other
No Impact
Even if other ant species do also use resin in their nests, that would tell us nothing about whether or not they use it for disease-protection purposes, and that's what we're here to assess.
8% picked this
Correct
whether the use of conifer
Why this is right
This presents an Alternate Explanation. We can object to the argument by saying, "The ants aren't using it as a disease-prevention measure. They're just using it because it's sticky and helps their nests to be more structurally stable". The most common way to weaken any Curious Fact / Explanation argument is with an Alternate Explanation.
Skill tested: Evaluate · how this choice captures the argument's function is the move to repeat next time.
72% picked this
whether the disinfectant properties of
No Impact
If this were true, then it adds a little plausibility to the idea that resin has a disease-protection function for at least some species. But if resin didn't evolve as disease-protection for trees, it wouldn't in any way weaken the plausibility that ants are using the resin for that purpose.
9% picked this

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