The okapi, a forest mammal of central Africa, has presented zoologists with a number of difficult questions since they first learned of its existence in 1900. ███
Possible answer ·Live in area that used to be the only forest
Zoologists think Okapis respect the boundaries of what used to be the only forest, even after forest expanded.
Passage Style
Phenomenon-hypothesis (RC)
Single position
2.
The function of the third █████████ ██ ██
Question Type
Purpose of paragraph
Structure
In P2, we learn that okapis are not actually as rare as previously thought. Why do they appear so rarely, though? P3 presents reasons for their apparent scarcity.
a
pose a question █████ █████ ████████
P3 doesn’t present any questions about okapi behavior.
1%
b
rebut a theory █████ █████ ████████
P3 doesn’t counter any theories about okapi behavior. We don’t get any description of a competing explanation for their apparent scarcity.
0%
c
counter the assertion ████ ██████ ███ ████
P2 presents evidence that okapis aren’t as rare as they appear. P3 goes into why okapis appear to be rare.
1%
d
explain why okapis ████████ ██ ██ ████
This best captures the purpose of P3 as explained above.
97%
e
support the belief ████ ██████ ███ ████
P3 helps explain why okapis appear to be rare. But the author doesn’t try to show that okapis are in fact rare.
0%
Difficulty
97% of people who answer get this correct
This is a low-difficulty question.
It is somewhat easier than other questions in this passage.
CURVE
Score of students with a 50% chance of getting this right
25%124
133
75%142
Analysis
Purpose of paragraph
Purpose of paragraph
Stems that ask us to describe the purpose of a paragraph within the passage's broader structure, often in abstract language (e.g. "to offer evidence in support of the contention that...").
An umbrella tag marking questions that test our understanding of the passage's overall structure (e.g. Main point, Purpose of paragraph, Meaning in context, Describe organization).
Passages that focus on describing or evaluating potential explanations for a given phenomenon. Causal reasoning features prominently in these passages.
