Critical Reasoning

David@VeritasPrep wrote:A variety of different foods offered in multiple feeders will attract a high number of birds of many species. This is because different birds favor different foods, and multiple feeders allow more birds to feed at the same time. However, if too many feeders are placed in one area, the number of species attracted will decrease.

Which of the following best helps to explain the result of placing too many bird feeders in one area?

A) Predators, such as cats, tend to wait near bird feeders in order to ambush the birds that come to feed.
This uniformly affects both the scenarios - less feeders present and more feeders present

B) Some birds prefer to feed on different foods at different times of the year, so feeders must be adjusted seasonally.
which is fine but still does not explain why the number of species will decrease when multiple feeders are places vs. when a single feeder is placed

C) Regardless of the number of feeders in an area, squirrels are likely to be attracted to the food offered.
Irrelevant to the argument...

D) If only one type of seed is to be offered, black-oil sunflower seed is the most popular type of bird feed available.
doesnt explain why the number of species will decrease... Infact , if it is the most popular type of feed, it should attract most number of birds

E) The more feeders in an area, the more likely they are to be dominated by a flock of a single type of large bird.
If large birds of a species flock near the feeders, the smaller birds of other species might be afraid to approach the feeders

David@VeritasPrep wrote:A variety of different foods offered in multiple feeders will attract a high number of birds of many species. This is because different birds favor different foods, and multiple feeders allow more birds to feed at the same time. However, if too many feeders are placed in one area, the number of species attracted will decrease.

paradox: increase in number of feeders resulted in decrease in number of bird species
Which of the following best helps to explain the result of placing too many bird feeders in one area?

A) Predators, such as cats, tend to wait near bird feeders in order to ambush the birds that come to feed.
Predators will likely to decrease the number of birds, not the number of bird species

B) Some birds prefer to feed on different foods at different times of the year, so feeders must be adjusted seasonally.
Not sure about this one. If it refers to some birds of the same species,then it will not decrease the number of species. But if refers to some bird species, then it will decrease the bird species

C) Regardless of the number of feeders in an area, squirrels are likely to be attracted to the food offered.
I use similar reasoning as in A

D) If only one type of seed is to be offered, black-oil sunflower seed is the most popular type of bird feed available.
Popularity of sunflower seed hardly resolves the paradox

E) The more feeders in an area, the more likely they are to be dominated by a flock of a single type of large bird.
This seems like a plausible explanation. Possibly, some species are afraid of the large birds or maybe the preferred food is exhausted by the large birds

David@VeritasPrep wrote:OA is E.

I don't know how much my explanation can improve on what Deb said in the prior post!

For this question the correct answer will resolve the paradox of a variety of foods and multiple feeders leading to a high number of birds and different species until too many feeders are in place at which time the variety of species decreases.

Choice E resolves the paradox by explaining how too many feeders can result in a flock of a single type of large bird dominating the area and driving away other types of birds.

Choices A, B, C, and D all state facts that apply equally to a small number of feeders as well as a large number of feeders. These choices would not explain the difference when too many feeders are in place. One of my favorite ways to eliminate answer choices from all kinds of CR questions is that a "difference requires a distinction." In other words we need a reason why having too many feeders is different and this is what E does.

Check back tomorrow for another!

David@VeritasPrep wrote:A variety of different foods offered in multiple feeders will attract a high number of birds of many species. This is because different birds favor different foods, and multiple feeders allow more birds to feed at the same time. However, if too many feeders are placed in one area, the number of species attracted will decrease.

Which of the following best helps to explain the result of placing too many bird feeders in one area?

A) Predators, such as cats, tend to wait near bird feeders in order to ambush the birds that come to feed.

B) Some birds prefer to feed on different foods at different times of the year, so feeders must be adjusted seasonally.

C) Regardless of the number of feeders in an area, squirrels are likely to be attracted to the food offered.

D) If only one type of seed is to be offered, black-oil sunflower seed is the most popular type of bird feed available.

E) The more feeders in an area, the more likely they are to be dominated by a flock of a single type of large bird.