It is posited by some scientists that the near extinction of the

Question

It is posited by some scientists that the near extinction of the sap-eating gray bat of northwestern America was caused by government-sponsored logging operations in the early 1920s that greatly reduced the species’ habitat.

Which of the following, if true, most strongly weakens the scientists’ claims?

Which of the following, if true, most strongly weakens the scientists’ claims?

(A) Logging operations in the 1920s are widely held responsible for the near extinction of other species that lived in the same area.

(B) A boom in new home construction in the early 1920s led congress to open federal lands to logging operations.

(C) A 5-year drought in the early 1920s severely reduced the output of sap in trees in northwestern America.

(D) Numbers of sightings of sap-eating gray bats fell to their lowest numbers in 1926.

(E) Sightings of sap-eating gray bats in Europe stayed roughly the same during the same period.

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findingmyself · Answer

It is posited by some scientists that the near extinction of the sap-eating gray bat of northwestern America was caused by government-sponsored logging operations in the early 1920s that greatly reduced the species’ habitat.

Which of the following, if true, most strongly weakens the scientists’ claims?

Which of the following, if true, most strongly weakens the scientists’ claims?

(A) Logging operations in the 1920s are widely held responsible for the near extinction of other species that lived in the same area. 
   Irrelevant: Out of scope: other species is not going to weaken or strengthen the assumption

(B) A boom in new home construction in the early 1920s led congress to open federal lands to logging operations. 
   Incorrect: Gives reasoning for what lead to Govt sponsored logging operation

(C) A 5-year drought in the early 1920s severely reduced the output of sap in trees in northwestern America. 
   Correct: This gives us an alternate cause. It casts doubt on authors' assumption that government-sponsored logging operations were responsible for habitat destruction and thus extinction. Infact here we saw that the Sap dried up and hence bats could have died out of hun  ger.!!
 
 (D) Numbers of sightings of sap-eating gray bats fell to their lowest numbers in 1926. 
   Irrelevant: Our conclusion was not that bats extinction happened in 1926

(E) Sightings of sap-eating gray bats in Europe stayed roughly the same during the same period. 
   Irrelevant: Europe and america are not interconnected  .

Souradeep17 · Answer

I believe it has to be C as in C only they option that presents a different view about that the extinction of species. 
Hence it should be C

Bunuel · Answer

OFFICIAL EXPLANATION

It is posited by some scientists that the near extinction of the sap-eating gray bat of northwestern America was caused by government-sponsored logging operations in the early 1920s that greatly reduced the species’ habitat.

Which of the following, if true, most strongly weakens the scientists’ claims?

Which of the following, if true, most strongly weakens the scientists’ claims?

(A) Logging operations in the 1920s are widely held responsible for the near extinction of other species that lived in the same area.

(B) A boom in new home construction in the early 1920s led congress to open federal lands to logging operations.

(C) A 5-year drought in the early 1920s severely reduced the output of sap in trees in northwestern America.

(D) Numbers of sightings of sap-eating gray bats fell to their lowest numbers in 1926.

(E) Sightings of sap-eating gray bats in Europe stayed roughly the same during the same period.

C

This is a causal argument. The scientists claim that the bat’s near extinction was caused by logging. How do we weaken this argument? By presenting an alternate cause—another reason why the bat almost became extinct. Choices A and B actually strengthen the argument. Choice A says that other species were also threatened with extinction by logging, and choice B gives us a reason the government might have been tempted to agree to logging on federal lands. Choice D is outside the scope of the argument since “sightings” are irrelevant. Choice E also goes outside the scope of the argument by telling us about the bat population on another continent. But choice C gives us an alternate cause for the near extinction of these bats: the sap they depended on for nourishment was severely reduced at the time in question by a five-year drought.

It is posited by some scientists that the near extinction of the

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It is posited by some scientists that the near extinction of the

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