ParadoxDiff: Easy
Logic Breakdown
Passage Summary: Baby dunnarts have skin so thin they can breathe through it, which is weird because warm-blooded animals usually need thick skin to stay warm and hydrated.
Reasoning: Newborn dunnarts breathe through their skin because they lack respiratory control, yet they are warm-blooded animals, which typically require thick skin to prevent heat and water loss.
Analysis: The paradox here is a biological trade-off: the dunnart needs thin skin to survive (breathing) but thin skin usually causes warm-blooded creatures to die (heat and water loss). To resolve this, we need a piece of information that explains how the dunnart avoids the negative consequences of thin skin. Since the stimulus mentions the dunnart matures inside its mother's pouch, an ideal answer might describe the pouch as a specialized environment that regulates temperature or moisture. Look for a fact that makes the 'thick skin' requirement unnecessary in this specific context.
Reasoning: Newborn dunnarts breathe through their skin because they lack respiratory control, yet they are warm-blooded animals, which typically require thick skin to prevent heat and water loss.
Analysis: The paradox here is a biological trade-off: the dunnart needs thin skin to survive (breathing) but thin skin usually causes warm-blooded creatures to die (heat and water loss). To resolve this, we need a piece of information that explains how the dunnart avoids the negative consequences of thin skin. Since the stimulus mentions the dunnart matures inside its mother's pouch, an ideal answer might describe the pouch as a specialized environment that regulates temperature or moisture. Look for a fact that makes the 'thick skin' requirement unnecessary in this specific context.
Passage Stimulus
Passage Redacted
Unlock Full Passage1.Which one of the following, if true, most helps explain how newborn dunnarts manage to survive despite their thin skins?
Correct Answer
D
D explains that the mother’s pouch keeps a newborn warm and reduces water loss, directly compensating for what thick skin usually does. That resolves the apparent conflict between the need for thin skin to breathe and the need to avoid heat and water loss.
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