In Mountain Village, the frequency of bears entering residential neigh

This is a strengthen q. Residents spot bears and call on the number. This will help Village officials track the bears. If we pre-think, some assumptions:

1. They will use the no. and call
2. Residents will call the no. immediately and not hours later
3. Misuse of no. won't happen (calling even if there is no bear)

(E) Bears generally enter residential neighborhoods during the daytime hours when many residents are outside.
If residents are OUTSIDE then how can they probably know that the bear has entered. The bear might very well come and go!

So how E?? This weakens.
Why not B or D?

I can't understand how to approach this question? Expert, please do give an explanation.

Thanks in advance!

Hello, havehope. In an effort to help you and the larger community, I will offer a full analysis of the question (despite the fact that Bunuel has posted the OE—sometimes people may benefit from seeing matters explained slightly differently). You are correct that this is a strengthen question. It has to be one of the stranger plans I have seen, though. More on that point below.

Just what is the intended effect of the plan? We need to know if we are going to answer a question about it. Believe it or not, we find what we need in between in order to and the comma a few words later in sentence two: track the locations that the bears visit. Sentence one describes the problem: bears are venturing into residential areas with increasing frequency; the latter portion of sentence two describes the plan itself. Note that the plan is not to actually get rid of the bears, at least not yet. For now, Mountain Village seems interested only in where the bears show up, so that is what we have to stick to in our answer choice. (Maybe Mountain Village consists of biologists who specialize in bears.) That is, what would strengthen the notion that a plan in which residents call a "bear hotline" to report a sighting would help Mountain Village to track the bears' locations?

Again, there is nothing in the plan outlined in the passage to indicate that the goal is to decrease bear entries. Sure, in real life, we have to think that safety concerns would be the primary purpose of the "bear hotline," but in this question, we are not allowed to furnish a reason behind what the passage actually tells us. The plan is to track bears, more or less, not to get rid of them.

For residents to report a bear sighting, it would presumably help to know the number to call. If that number is little known or publicized, then precious bear-movement data could get lost in the mix, and the plan would be less likely to succeed.

Bear behavior is beside the point. The plan ignores everything about bear behavior except where these animals may roam.

What does this education have to do with the plan? Scaring bears away and reporting bear sightings on the phone are two completely different activities. The plan is not interested in the former action. As long as residents report where they see these bears, the plan may be considered a success.

This one is the only answer choice even remotely related to the plan. The thinking goes that if more people are around to see the bears, then, at least in theory, Mountain Village stands to get more accurate information on the locations that the bears visit. If the people are indoors, they are much less likely to see what is going on outside. Yes, even if they are outside, they will still need to know the number to call the "bear hotline" to make a report, but the sightings need to occur for the plan to be successful, plain and simple.

I say this a lot in my CR posts, but you want to aim to follow a linear logic in these CR questions, not a logic based on associations, and you should proceed with a laser focus on exactly what the question is asking and exactly what the claim, argument, or conclusion says to avoid getting sidetracked.

Perhaps the question and answer choices make more sense now. Good luck with your studies.

- Andrew

Thank you so much, Andrew! This explanation really helps. Yes, will try to be laser focused on what the question asks.

Cheers!