Tiger Beetles are such Fast Runners that they can Capture Virtually any Nonflying Insect GMAT Critical Reasoning

Question: Tiger beetles are such fast runners that they can capture virtually any nonflying insect. However, when running toward an insect, a tiger beetle will intermittently stop and then, a moment later, resume its attack. Perhaps the beetles cannot maintain their pace and must pause for a moment's rest; but an alternative hypothesis is that while running, tiger beetles are unable to adequately process the resulting rapidly changing visual information and so quickly go blind and stop.

Which of the following, if discovered in experiments using artificially moved prey insects, would support one of the two hypotheses and undermine the other?

(A) When a prey insect is moved directly toward a beetle that has been chasing it, the beetle immediately stops and runs away without its usual intermittent stopping.
(B) In pursuing a swerving insect, a beetle alters its course while running and its pauses become more frequent as the chase progresses.
(C) In pursuing a moving insect, a beetle usually responds immediately to changes in the insect's direction, and it pauses equally frequently whether the chase is up or down an incline.
(D) If, when a beetle pauses, it has not gained on the insect it is pursuing, the beetle generally ends its pursuit.
(E) The faster a beetle pursues an insect fleeing directly away from it, the more frequently the beetle stops.

“Tiger beetles are such fast runners that they can capture virtually any nonflying insect.” – is a GMAT critical reasoning topic. This GMAT Critical Reasoning topic has been taken from the book ‘GMAT Official Guide, 2016 Edition’.

In this particular topic, candidates are asked to select the option that makes the same error as the author. In this question, the candidates need to provide an option that supports the error provided in the passage. GMAT critical reasoning tests the logical and analytical skills of the candidates. Critical reasoning in GMAT requires candidates to find the argument's strengths and weaknesses or the logical flaw in the argument. The GMAT CR section contains 10 -13 GMAT critical reasoning questions out of 36 GMAT verbal questions.

Answer: B
Explanation:

Question Type: Strengthen the Argument GMAT critical reasoning question type.

We need to strengthen an argument by providing a piece of supportive evidence or statement. We can start by answering the GMAT critical reasoning questions by studying the argument in the passage. Then we need to look for the perfect piece of evidence to support it.

Hypotheses 1: The beetles cannot maintain their pace and must pause for a moment's rest

Hypotheses 2: While running, tiger beetles are unable to adequately process the resulting rapidly changing visual information and so quickly go blind and stop.

Option A: Incorrect.

In statement A, we see that the phrase "when running toward an insect… resume its attack" states about the direct prey of insects by the beetle. Option (A) only states that the prey insect is moved directly toward a beetle. Hence, this does not evaluate the hypothesis. Eliminate (A).

Option B: Correct.

Hypothesis 2 states that the beetle must intermittently pause in order to process visual data. So, in case the beetle is able to constantly alter its course while running after a swerving insect. This reflects that the beetle does not need to pause to process any visual data. Hence the first part of this statement justified hypothesis 2.

Hypothesis 1 states that the beetle needs to pause to rest. This is because it cannot sustain its pace. The second part of statement (B) is compatible with this hypothesis 1. So, the pauses become more regular as the chase progresses. This is evidence that it evolves more and more difficult for the beetle to maintain its pace without resting.

Thus, option (B) follows the second hypothesis and supports the first hypothesis. Hence option (B) is the correct answer.

Option C: Incorrect.

This statement C disables both hypotheses. It responds instantly to changes in direction, it is able to process varying visual data. So, if it takes similar pauses going up or down, it is not the effort of running. Hence option C is incorrect.

Option D: Incorrect.

This statement strengthens the argument. It states that the beetle is not able to respond to changing visual information. But since it decides whether it is giving up or not after pausing, it doesn't undermine that it pauses to rest. So, this statement alone is not enough to support the argument.

Option E: Incorrect.

Option E strengthens both the hypotheses. It states that the faster it runs, the more rest it would require. It further adds that the faster it runs, the more rapidly visual data would change. Hence it only strengthens but does not undermine.

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