PrepTest 144, Section 3, Question 12
In a study of tropical forests it was(49 more words not shown)
Which one of the following,(23 more words not shown)
- AThe species of(19 more words not shown)
- BOlder trees tend(4 more words not shown)
- CThe study tracked(14 more words not shown)
- DThe survival of(16 more words not shown)
- EThe trees of(19 more words not shown)
Reading the argument
Why do the rare trees live longer, even when the species change?
The most common species reproducing the most makes sense as a pattern: producing lots of new trees could help make a species common. The puzzling part is longevity. Whichever species is rarest in a forest tends to survive longer.
What we’re looking for
Maybe the rarer trees are somehow sturdier. That's only a guess, and we'd still need to explain why the pattern follows rarity across different species. The question specifically asks why the rare trees survive longer. Keep that outcome in view: we need a reason those trees last longer.
Working the answers
- A
Being well suited to the climate could help explain why the common species thrives there. It doesn't explain the rarer species' longer survival. We need an advantage that helps account for that longevity comparison, not another reason the common species is common.
- B
Older trees reproducing less might connect old age with fewer offspring. But it doesn't explain why trees of rarer species reach those older ages in the first place. A fact about what happens once trees are old leaves the survival question unanswered.
- C
This tells us something about the study's procedure: it observed existing species rather than adding new ones. It supplies no reason rare trees would live longer than common trees. The fact that the researchers didn't introduce species doesn't explain the pattern they found.
- D
This describes a benefit of the rare trees surviving: their presence helps the forest recover from damage. We need to explain their survival, not what their survival accomplishes. Being useful to the forest doesn't by itself tell us how those trees manage to live longer.
- ECorrect
This gives the rare trees an advantage we hadn't yet identified: less competition for the resources they need. If common trees face more competition for those resources, they may have more difficulty surviving, while rare trees can get what they need for longer. That can explain the longevity difference without requiring one particular species to be naturally longer-lived everywhere.
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