Question 25·Easy·Inferences
Conservation biologist Lena Ortiz uses GPS collars to track mountain lions living near a network of busy highways. Her team has found that the cats tend to avoid crossing roads during dusk, when traffic is heaviest. Ortiz plans to present these findings to regional transportation planners so that ______
Which choice most logically completes the text?
For SAT “logical completion” questions, first identify the main topic and who is involved (here, a conservation biologist and transportation planners). Then ask what the recipient of the information typically does in real life and what action or outcome would naturally follow from the information given. Quickly test each answer: eliminate any that (1) introduce new, unrelated topics, (2) are not something the named audience could realistically influence, or (3) ignore key details like highways or traffic. The remaining option should smoothly and logically extend the sentence.
Hints
Focus on who is receiving the information
Look at the end of the sentence: Ortiz will present her findings to regional transportation planners. Think about what kinds of decisions or changes those people are responsible for.
Connect the findings to a realistic action
Her findings are about when mountain lions avoid crossing busy highways. Ask yourself: what kind of action could follow from this information that involves highways and lies within transportation planners’ power?
Test each option for relevance and control
For each answer choice, ask: (1) Is this connected to highways or traffic? (2) Is this something transportation planners can actually affect based on Ortiz’s data?
Step-by-step Explanation
Understand the situation
First, restate the key details:
- Lena Ortiz tracks mountain lions near busy highways.
- Her team finds that cats avoid crossing roads at dusk, when traffic is heaviest.
- She will present these findings to regional transportation planners.
Ask: What is her research about? It is about how mountain lions behave around highways and heavy traffic.
Identify the planners’ role and likely goal
Transportation planners work with roads and highways: their design, traffic patterns, and safety. If a conservation biologist presents animal-crossing data to them, the logical goal is for the planners to change something about the highways or traffic to reduce danger to the animals and possibly to drivers.
Check each option against that purpose
Now test each answer against this purpose:
- Does it involve something transportation planners can realistically influence using this data?
- Is it connected to highways, traffic, and safety for mountain lions?
Eliminate any option that is about research convenience, hikers’ curiosity, or cat behavior that planners cannot directly act on.
Select the choice that matches planners’ actions
Only “highways can be modified to allow safer passage for mountain lions” directly connects Ortiz’s findings about crossing behavior near busy highways with something transportation planners can do: modify highways to improve safety. Therefore, that option is the most logical completion of the sentence.