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This page shows a recording of a live class. We're working hard to create our standard, concise explanation videos for the questions in this PrepTest. Thank you for your patience!
This page shows a recording of a live class. We're working hard to create our standard, concise explanation videos for the questions in this PrepTest. Thank you for your patience!
Summary
Ants will vigorously attack invading insects that threaten a colony’s territory or food sources. These defensive tactics can successfully deter even flying insects, like wasps. However, ants do not attack all insects within their territory. For example, riodinid caterpillars commonly live among South American ants. These caterpillars are a favorite pray of wasps, but they also produce secretions the ants feed on.
Strongly Supported Conclusions
Riodinid caterpillars do not threaten South American ant’s territory or food sources.
Riodinid caterpillars are less likely to be preyed on by wasps when the caterpillars live among ants compared to those caterpillars that don’t live among ants.
Riodinid caterpillars are less likely to be preyed on by wasps when the caterpillars live among ants compared to those caterpillars that don’t live among ants.
A
The secretions produced by riodinid caterpillars are chemically identical to substances secreted by plants on which South American ants also feed.
We don’t know anything about the chemical makeup of the caterpillar’s secretions. We only know that the ants consume the secretions as food.
B
South American ants are more likely to be successful in defending their food sources and territory against intruders than are ants that live elsewhere.
We don’t know anything about ants that live elsewhere other than South America. The South American ants are only used as one example.
C
With the sole exception of riodinid caterpillars, South American ants will vigorously attack any organism that enters an area they inhabit.
We don’t know whether the riodinid caterpillar is the only exception. There could be other kinds of inspects the ants do not attack.
D
Among insect species that inhabit South America, wasps are the only kinds of organism other than ants that use riodinid caterpillars as a source of food.
We don’t know if wasps and South American ants are the only insects that use riodinid caterpillars as a food source.
E
Riodinid caterpillars in South America that live among ants are less likely to be attacked successfully by wasps than those that do not live among ants.
Since the ants’ attacks can effectively deter wasps, riodinid caterpillars living among ant colonies are probably less likely to be successfully preyed upon by wasps.
Summary
After Isaac Newton announced his theories of light, his colleague Robert Hooke claimed most of those theories were based on Hooke’s work. Newton famously commented “if I have seen further it is by standing on the shoulder of giants.” A modern reader may interpret this quote as acknowledging Newton’s indebtedness to Hooke and other scientists for some of Newton’s theories. However, these gestures were uncharacteristic of Newton, and in Newton’s day “giants” usually referred to the ancient Greeks.
Strongly Supported Conclusions
Newton probably did not intend his famous quote to give credit to Hooke and other scientists for his theories.
A
Newton did not intend the quoted comment to be an acknowledgment that his theories of light were largely derived from Hooke’s.
This answer is strongly supported. If Newton’s reference to “giants” typically referred to the ancient greeks, then it is highly unlikely Newton’s famous quote was intended to give credit to Hooke for Newton’s theories of light.
B
Newton did not take credit for any advances that Hooke made in the theory of light.
This answer is unsupported. We don’t know for a fact if Newton did not take credit for any part of Hooke’s work. We only know from the stimulus that Hooke claims that most of Newton’s theories were based on Hooke’s work.
C
Newton did not believe that any of Hooke’s theories of light were based on those of the ancient Greeks.
This answer is unsupported. We don’t know from the stimulus what Newton believed about Hooke’s work. We only know that Hooke claimed that most of Newton’s theories were based on Hooke’s work.
D
Newton intended to credit some contemporary scientists other than Hooke for some of the advances that Newton made in the theory of light.
This answer is unsupported. We don’t know for a fact what Newton’s intentions were.
E
Newton was not familiar with Hooke’s work on the theory of light.
This answer is unsupported. We don’t know from the stimulus what Newton knew about any of Hooke’s work. We only know that Hooke claimed that most of Newton’s theories were based on Hooke’s work.
Summary
The ideal scientific laws are precise and general. The laws of physics have these qualities. Social science laws tend to be imprecise because the subject matter may be less clearly defined. Social science laws are also more specific because they can only apply to certain social systems.
Strongly Supported Conclusions
Social science laws deviate more from the ideal of scientific laws than physics laws.
It is not always possible for social science laws to be precise and general.
It is not always possible for social science laws to be precise and general.
A
All else being equal, a precise, general scientific law is to be preferred over one that is not general.
Strongly supported. This restates the rule in the first sentence. Ideally, scientific laws should be precise and general.
B
The social sciences would benefit if they redirected their focus to the subject matter of the physical sciences.
Unsupported. The author discusses how it is harder for social science laws to match the ideal, but does not claim that the social sciences should change for that reason.
C
Terms such as “class” should be more precisely formulated by social scientists.
Unsupported. The author makes no claims as to what social scientists “should” do. In fact, the author implies that the imprecision of certain terms is inherent: “laws of social science have to use terms that are imprecise”.
D
Social scientists should make an effort to construct more laws that apply to all societies.
Unsupported. The author makes no claims as to what social scientists “should” do. In fact, the author implies that the specificity of the rules is all that is possible in the social sciences.
E
The laws of social science are invariably not truly scientific.
Unsupported. The author does not claim that laws that deviate from the ideal are unscientific. The author only distinguishes how the fields vary.