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Information and IdeasHardFinding supporting a claim about a cause

Information and Ideas practice question

An ornithologist claims that the swallows have abandoned the old barn because the new barn conversion next door has removed the insects they fed on, not because the swallows themselves have declined.

Which finding, if true, would most directly support the ornithologist's claim?

  1. A. The swallows now nest at a farm two miles away, in the same numbers as before, and insect counts around the old barn have fallen by four fifths since the conversion.Correct
  2. B. Swallows eat insects.
  3. C. The barn next door was converted.
  4. D. Swallow numbers have fallen across the country.

Answer: A. The swallows now nest at a farm two miles away, in the same numbers as before, and insect counts around the old barn have fallen by four fifths since the conversion.

Same birds elsewhere; insects gone here.

Why the other answers are wrong

B. Swallows eat insects.
A general fact.
C. The barn next door was converted.
The premise.
D. Swallow numbers have fallen across the country.
Supports the rival explanation.

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