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Information and Ideas practice question

For eight weeks, ecologists placed motion-triggered cameras along trails in a mixed hardwood forest. Each photograph was time-stamped, allowing the team to sort detections into daylight and nighttime hours. Species / Daylight detections / Nighttime detections Eastern chipmunk / 174 / 3 White-tailed deer / 208 / 96 Bobcat / 31 / 89 Gray fox / 14 / 126 In their report, the ecologists noted that some species were photographed almost exclusively during daylight hours; for instance,

Which choice most effectively uses data from the table to complete the ecologists' statement?

  1. A. the eastern chipmunk was photographed 174 times during daylight hours but only 3 times at night.Correct
  2. B. the gray fox was photographed 126 times at night but only 14 times during daylight hours.
  3. C. the white-tailed deer was photographed 208 times during daylight hours and 96 times at night.
  4. D. the bobcat was photographed 89 times at night and 31 times during daylight hours.

Answer: A. the eastern chipmunk was photographed 174 times during daylight hours but only 3 times at night.

The statement calls for a species detected almost only in daylight; the chipmunk's 174 daylight detections versus 3 nighttime detections fit exactly (choice A). Choice B describes an almost exclusively nighttime pattern, ignoring the word "daylight" in the statement. Choice C is accurate but fails the "almost exclusively" standard, since nearly a third of deer detections occurred at night. Choice D both reverses the direction of the pattern and describes a species detected in substantial numbers at both times.

Why the other answers are wrong

B. the gray fox was photographed 126 times at night but only 14 times during daylight hours.
These numbers are accurate, but they describe an almost exclusively *nighttime* pattern — the sentence you're completing says "almost exclusively during daylight hours."
C. the white-tailed deer was photographed 208 times during daylight hours and 96 times at night.
The deer numbers are read correctly, but 96 of 304 detections at night is nearly a third — that's not "almost exclusively" daylight.
D. the bobcat was photographed 89 times at night and 31 times during daylight hours.
This reverses the direction the sentence needs (more night than day), and 31 daylight detections alongside 89 nighttime ones shows substantial activity at both times.

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