Summary
Engineers are challenged with designing a self-driving robotic car that avoids common traffic problems like crashes and congestion. Similarly, these problems affect fish traveling together in schools. Methods fish use to navigate ensure these problems are less common compared with that among cars on the road.
Strongly Supported Conclusions
Hence, the methods fish use to navigate could help engineers design a self-driving robotic car that avoids common traffic problems.
A
constructing a self-driving robotic car requires expertise in fish biology
This answer is unsupported. The stimulus does not involve conditional reasoning. We don’t know if expertise in fish biology is a necessary condition for constructing self-driving robotic cars.
B
the best drivers use the same navigational principles that fish use in schools
This answer is unsupported. We don’t know from the stimulus what methods the best drivers use. The stimulus addresses common traffic problems generally.
C
it is always advisable for engineers facing design challenges to look to the natural world for guidance in addressing those challenges
This answer is unsupported. To say that this is always advisable is too strong. We know from the stimulus that this may be one instance, but we don’t know if there are other circumstances where the natural world would guide engineers addressing challenges.
D
studying the principles fish use to navigate in schools could help engineers to design a self-driving robotic car that avoids common traffic problems
This answer is strongly supported. The stimulus employs reasoning by analogy. If schools of fish avoid problems by navigating using certain methods, it is possible these methods could possibly be useful to engineers when designing self-driving robotic cars.
E
a self-driving robotic car using the navigational principles that fish use in schools would be better than a human-driven car at avoiding crashes and congestion
This answer is unsupported. We don’t know from the stimulus what frequency human-driven cars are involved in traffic problems compared with self-driving robotic cars.