Capuchin monkeys often rub their bodies with a certain type of millipe

Boils down to C and D.. will go with C

when mosquito populations are at their peak---> monkeys rub their bodies with the millipedes because doing so helps protect them from mosquitoes ,else they don't.

Question -

How would one negate D as an answer

Although the capuchins eat several species of insects, they do not eat the type of millipede they use to rub their bodies.

Is it ok to assume that the monkeys do not eat it due to other reasons ?

D seems to be ambiguous to an extent while C is clear.

Monkeys might not eat lots of other species that doesnt mean they rub all of them for protection right? So it can be for any other reason.

C. The capuchins rarely rub their bodies with the millipedes except during the rainy season, when mosquito populations are at their peak.

C makes the connection of mosquito and millipedes, supports that millipedes are used to repel mosquitos

The conclusion is, Monkeys rub their bodies with millipedes to protect themselves from mosquitoes. This is strengthened by the option C, which says that monkeys rub their bodies with millipedes mostly in rainy season.

Forall those who agree C as the answer...i l say that the hypothesis of scientist is only supported for rainy season...wt abt other seasons..??its a bit confusing...
also for D i l say that monkeys do not eat mosquitoes becoz they know tht it will protect them...so IMO D...
any comments ..OA pls

The argument tell us that the Capuchin monkeys rub their bodies with a certain type of millipede and that laboratory tests show that the secretions of these millipedes contain some chemicals that act like mosquito repellent. Based on this evidence, scientists believe that Capuchin monkeys rub these millipedes on their bodies in order to protect themselves from mosquitoes.
We are supposed to find a statement that supports this argument.

A. A single millipede often gets passed around among several capuchins, all of whom rub their bodies with it.
If a single millipede gets passed around several capuchins, the amount of secretions might reduce over time. So, monkeys could be rubbing these millipedes on their bodies due to some other reason. Also, this argument is quite irrelevant to the argument. WRONG

B. The two chemicals that repel mosquitoes also repel several other varieties of insects.
This statement tells us that these chemicals repel many other varieties of insects. However, this is irrelevant to the argument as it provides us no evidence that could support or refute the argument that Capuchin monkeys rub the millipedes on their bodies for their mosquito repellent properties.WRONG

C. The capuchins rarely rub their bodies with the millipedes except during the rainy season, when mosquito populations are at their peak.
This statement supports the argument. The fact that the Capuchin monkeys rub their bodies with these millipedes only during the rainy season, when mosquitoes are abundant, suggests that the monkeys could be doing so to protect themselves from the mosquitoes. Otherwise, they might have continued this behavior during the other seasons also. RIGHT

D. Although the capuchins eat several species of insects, they do not eat the type of millipede they use to rub on their bodies
The fact that the Capuchin monkeys do not eat the specific type of millipede provides no support to the argument. There could be multiple reasons for this behavior.
1. This could be a behavioral aspect
2. The millipedes do not taste good
3. The millipedes do not have as much nutrition as some other insects that are abundant in the area.
Hence, this statement is not the answer. WRONG

E. The two insect-repelling chemicals in the secretions of the millipedes are carcinogenic for humans but do not appear to be carcinogenic for capuchins.
The monkeys would not rub the insects on themselves just because they are non-carcinogenic. Some benefit would have to be reaped out of this rubbing. Hence, this statement gives us no evidence to support the argument and is WRONG.

Hope this helps! Let me know if I could clarify something for you.

I would go for C again since it supports the scientists hypotheses where he says that capuchin monkeys will rub themselves only to shoo off the mosquitoes.
OA Pls.

Premises-
Capuchin monkeys often rub their bodies with a certain type of millipede.
2) secretions from the bodies of these millipedes are rich in two chemicals that are potent mosquito repellents, and mosquitoes carry parasites that debilitate capuchins.

Hypothesis-
monkeys rub their bodies with the millipedes because doing so helps protect them from mosquitoes.

We need to find an option that strengthens the scientists’ hypothesis that monkeys rub their bodies with the millipedes because doing so helps protect them from mosquitoes.

Option A- A single millipede often gets passed around among several capuchins, all of whom rub their bodies with it.

This has no relevance to the scientists’ hypothesis - Eliminate A

Option B- The two chemicals that repel mosquitoes also repel several other varieties of insects.

So? It doesn’t matter if the two chemicals also repel several other varieties of insects or not; the conclusion talks only about mosquitoes - Eliminate B

Option C- The capuchins rarely rub their bodies with the millipedes except during the rainy season, when mosquito populations are at their peak.

It is during the rainy season, when mosquito populations are at the peak, that monkeys rub their bodies with the millipedes. This strengthens the scientists’ hypothesis that monkeys rub their bodies with the millipedes to protect them from mosquitoes. This is the correct answer.

Option D- Although the capuchins eat several species of insects, they do not eat the type of millipede they use to rub their bodies.

This has no relevance to the scientists’ hypothesis - Eliminate D

Option E- The two insect-repelling chemicals in the secretions of the millipedes are carcinogenic for humans but do not appear to be carcinogenic for capuchins.

Again, this information is irrelevant to the scientists’ hypothesis- Eliminate E

Vishnupriya
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