PrepTest 105, Section 3, Question 7
Until recently, many biologists believed that invertebrate "schools"(448 more words not shown)
Which one of the following,(20 more words not shown)
- AObservation reveals that(11 more words not shown)
- BBiologists find that(15 more words not shown)
- CResearch demonstrates that(16 more words not shown)
- DBiologists confirm that(17 more words not shown)
- EResearchers determine that(13 more words not shown)
Reading the passage
The researchers reason that schooling must bring important benefits because it's an active behavior. My first prediction would be a counterexample: an animal actively does something that doesn't benefit it.
What we’re looking for
That would challenge the reasoning, but it's only a prediction. We still need to see how the choices attack the assumption about schooling.
Working the answers
- A
Defensive maneuvers are only one potential benefit. A school could still help animals locate food or keep watch. Also, groups of invertebrates aren't necessarily schools, as the opening makes clear.
- B
Some predators seeing through the large-animal appearance doesn't eliminate the other benefits. It doesn't even establish that the appearance fails to discourage every predator.
- CCorrect
This wasn't the counterexample I predicted. Instead, it attacks schooling directly: associating less with others improves an animal's survival chances. Schooling involves that association, so better survival with less of it casts doubt on the supposed advantage. We needn't prove every possible benefit nonexistent to weaken the assumption.
- D
Greater visibility is a real concern, but the writer already acknowledges it: schooling may make animals easier for predators to notice and more appealing to attack (paragraph 3). Better surveillance, escape chances, and other benefits might still outweigh it. C goes further by addressing survival, rather than just whether predators notice the group.
- E
A smaller optimal school can still be beneficial. Changing the best group size doesn't show that schooling itself lacks benefits.
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