An inference question about a study tests what a comparison lets you conclude about a proposed cause. Read what the researchers propose, then name each group and what it did. Ask how that cause could explain the difference between the groups. Limit your prediction by linking the proposed cause to the observed behavior, without treating a likely explanation as proven. Wrong choices often add claims that would need a separate study to support.
Hints
- Hint 1
Compare when the park squirrels begin foraging with when the forest squirrels emerge. Pair each starting time with the lighting in that place.
- Hint 2
Use the ecologists’ proposal to connect the two groups. Ask how the lighting difference could explain the time difference.
Step-by-step
Connect the lighting to the earlier start
Step 1Compare the groups
Park squirrels begin more than an hour before sunrise, while forest squirrels wait until after daylight. The blank asks what the park squirrels’ earlier foraging suggests, so let's compare the settings too. The park is brightly lit, while the forest is unlit, so the earlier start occurs where artificial light is available.
- Step 2
Predict what the light makes possible
What could artificial lighting change before sunrise? The ecologists propose that artificial lighting in the park influences the squirrels’ schedule. From that proposal, we can infer that light can help the squirrels see food while the unlit forest is still dark. An earlier start could let them use the light already available in the park.
- Step 3
Check the whole benefit
The choice about extra illumination completes that link: illumination means light, which the squirrels can use to find food. What about its reference to other animals? The forest squirrels don't emerge until after daylight, so the park squirrels have a head start over animals that wait for daylight. Choice D.