PrepTest 133, Section 3, Question 12
When adults toss balls to very young children(41 more words not shown)
Which one of the following,(23 more words not shown)
- ABalls thrown at(23 more words not shown)
- BBalls that are(28 more words not shown)
- CAdults generally find(18 more words not shown)
- DChildren are able(23 more words not shown)
- EThere is a(23 more words not shown)
Reading the argument
I'd expect a gentle toss to be easier for a small child to catch. It gives the child more time to react, which sounds useful when their coordination is still developing.
What we’re looking for
But the studies tell us the opposite: the children catch faster throws more easily. Accept that result and ask why it might happen. Does the faster movement trigger an instinctive response? Is it easier for the child to track in some way? We need a benefit of the greater speed that could outweigh the apparent advantage of extra time. That's what this explanation question asks for. We need to understand the children's advantage with the faster incoming ball, even though their coordination is still developing.
Working the answers
- ACorrect
Faster balls activate a tracking response used for self-defense, while slower balls don't. That gives the faster throw a benefit we weren't initially considering: it engages a part of the brain that helps follow the moving object. The child can have developing coordination and still benefit from that response. A directly explains why the slower, gentler toss might actually be harder to catch.
- B
If the slower ball is less likely to be hidden by the adult's body, the child should have a clearer view of it. That sounds like an advantage for the slow ball. We need to explain an advantage for the fast ball, so this points in the wrong direction.
- C
This tells us how adults perform. Perhaps their developed coordination lets them take advantage of the extra time a slow throw provides. Either way, their experience doesn't explain the different result for very young children. The relevant group is part of the puzzle.
- D
Throwing accurately and catching are different tasks. A child might throw a fast ball back accurately and still have difficulty catching one. We need a reason the incoming fast ball is easier to catch, not a fact about how the child sends a ball in the other direction.
- E
An upper limit is compatible with faster throws helping within a certain range. Imagine a child finding a moderately faster toss easier than a gentle lob, yet having no chance of catching a 100-mile-per-hour pitch. The extreme doesn't explain the improvement within the lower range. A tells us why some increase in speed helps; E only says that increasing it without limit eventually stops helping.
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