16Hit1600
Expression of IdeasVery hardSynthesis: a decline that may be an artefact

Expression of Ideas practice question

While researching a topic, a student has taken the following notes: - The 2010 count found 500 breeding pairs. - The 2020 count found 250 breeding pairs. - In 2015 the counting method changed from ground surveys to aerial surveys. - Aerial surveys detect about half of the nests that ground surveys find.

The student wants to caution against reading the figures as a real decline. Which choice most effectively uses relevant information from the notes to accomplish this goal?

  1. A. The apparent halving from 500 pairs to 250 may be an artefact: in 2015 the survey switched to an aerial method that detects only about half the nests that ground counts find.Correct
  2. B. The number of breeding pairs halved between 2010 and 2020.
  3. C. The counting method changed in 2015.
  4. D. Aerial surveys are cheaper than ground surveys.

Answer: A. The apparent halving from 500 pairs to 250 may be an artefact: in 2015 the survey switched to an aerial method that detects only about half the nests that ground counts find.

The method changed, and by the right amount.

Why the other answers are wrong

B. The number of breeding pairs halved between 2010 and 2020.
Reads the figures as real.
C. The counting method changed in 2015.
The change without its effect.
D. Aerial surveys are cheaper than ground surveys.
Not in the notes.

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