PrepTest 152, Section 1, Question 1
Researcher: During the rainy season, bonobos (an ape(38 more words not shown)
Which one of the following,(7 more words not shown)
- ABonobos rarely swallow(11 more words not shown)
- BChimpanzees have also(11 more words not shown)
- COf the rough-leaved(12 more words not shown)
- DThe leaves of(12 more words not shown)
- EThe rainy season(14 more words not shown)
Reading the argument
The leaves help get rid of worms. Is that why the bonobos eat them?
Perhaps. A medicinal benefit is a plausible explanation, but it could also be a useful side effect. What if the bonobos eat the leaves for food, and the removal of worms happens along the way? The fact that an activity has a benefit doesn't automatically tell us why the animal does it.
What we’re looking for
For a strengthener, I'd look for something connecting the leaf eating to the need for that benefit. Maybe the leaves aren't useful as food. Or perhaps the bonobos eat them when they have worms and leave them alone when they don't. We don't have to show that medicine is the only possible purpose; we need more reason to think it helps explain the behavior.
Working the answers
- A
Being selective about which leaves to swallow doesn't identify the reason for that selection. These particular leaves might offer a medicinal benefit, nutritional value, or some other attraction. A tells us the bonobos treat them differently from other plants, but it doesn't connect that difference to gastrointestinal worms.
- B
A similar behavior in chimpanzees doesn't tell us why the bonobos do it. We aren't given the reason chimpanzees swallow those leaves either. Repeating the observation in a related species leaves the proposed medicinal explanation unconfirmed.
- C
Being common could make these shrubs easier to find. That might explain why bonobos eat this plant rather than another available plant, but it doesn't establish that they seek its medicinal effect. The availability fact is compatible with eating the leaves for food or another reason.
- D
Easier swallowing when wet might help explain why the bonobos swallow leaves during the rainy season. It doesn't connect the behavior to treating worms. Distinguish the circumstance that makes eating a leaf easier from the purpose the researcher attributes to eating it.
- ECorrect
The season when bonobos frequently swallow the leaves is also the season when they most need the leaves' worm-removal benefit. That is the kind of connection I was looking for: the behavior becomes common when the proposed medicinal use is especially relevant.
This doesn't prove that every bonobo eats the leaves only as medicine, or rule out a nutritional benefit. It makes the medicinal explanation more convincing by linking the timing of the behavior to the timing of the problem it could treat.
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