Information and IdeasEasyIdentifying a finding that weakens a hypothesis
Information and Ideas practice question
Marine biologist Teodora Vasile surveys the staghorn coral of Bellamy Bay every summer. Between 2016 and 2022, the bay's staghorn coral cover fell by nearly half. During those same years, a large construction project operated on the river that empties into the bay, and Vasile hypothesized that sediment washing downstream from the project was smothering the coral and causing the decline. To evaluate this hypothesis, she compared her survey data with data from reefs elsewhere along the coast.
Which finding, if true, would most directly weaken Vasile's hypothesis?
- A. Reefs far from any construction, where sediment levels did not increase, lost staghorn coral at nearly the same rate as Bellamy Bay.Correct
- B. Sediment concentrations measured in Bellamy Bay rose sharply while the construction project was operating.
- C. Staghorn coral grows more quickly than the brain coral found in the same bay.
- D. The construction project on the river began two years before Vasile's first survey of the bay.
Answer: A. Reefs far from any construction, where sediment levels did not increase, lost staghorn coral at nearly the same rate as Bellamy Bay.
If reefs with no sediment increase declined just as much, sediment from the project cannot be what explains Bellamy Bay's decline, so A undercuts the hypothesis. B supports rather than weakens it by confirming the proposed cause was present. C compares growth rates of two coral types, which is irrelevant to the cause of the decline. D adds timeline detail that is consistent with the hypothesis rather than damaging to it.
Why the other answers are wrong
- B. Sediment concentrations measured in Bellamy Bay rose sharply while the construction project was operating.
- Rising sediment during construction confirms the proposed cause was present, so it strengthens Vasile's hypothesis — the question asks for a finding that weakens it.
- C. Staghorn coral grows more quickly than the brain coral found in the same bay.
- Comparing how fast staghorn grows against brain coral says nothing about what caused the staghorn decline, so it neither supports nor undercuts the sediment explanation.
- D. The construction project on the river began two years before Vasile's first survey of the bay.
- An earlier start date just fills in the timeline and is perfectly compatible with sediment causing the decline; weakening the hypothesis requires evidence that something other than sediment explains the loss.
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