Q4 - Electric bug zappers

[christine.defenbaugh]

Question Type:
Explain Discrepancy

Stimulus Breakdown:
1) electric bug zappers (using light) are very effective at eliminating flying insects
2) experts advice AGAINST them, and recommend birds and insecticide instead

Answer Anticipation:
Huh. That's weird. You'd think the experts would be all over the method we know is effective! Now we need a reason why they recommend birds/insecticide instead of zappers, even thought the zappers are effective. We're going to need something that spells out the relationship between these - perhaps something the birds/insecticides do better than the zappers?

Correct Answer:
D

Answer Choice Analysis:
(A) This puts to rest a potential objection to the birds, by suggesting that it's not that hard to get the birds set up. But there's no reason WHY we want the birds in the first place.

(B) This tells us that zappers are more effective at killing one bad insect than they are at killing other bad insects - but are they better or worse than birds/insecticides? This doesn't tell me anything about *that* comparison!

(C) The primary problem here is that they never make any comparison to birds/insecticides. While it might be tempting to read this as suggesting that the lower light output makes zappers ineffective, remember that we were told in the stimulus that zappers were effective. But even if they weren't awesomely effective, we still just don't know how they stack up to birds/insecticides! We want something to touch on the bug-killing of each plan!

(D) gives us a rock-star comparison. Those zappers may be effective at removing flying insects, but when you zero in on the good-kills vs bad-kills, the birds and insecticides are clearly superior to the zappers!

(E) This kills a potential objection to the insecticides, but it still doesn't tell us why we ought to use it over zappers in the first place!

Takeaway/Pattern: Notice that two of the incorrect answers gave comparisons that weren't on target, while two of the incorrect answers refuted objections to the new plan without explaining why the new plan should be adopted!

#officialexplanation

[lindsey.ratcliff]

I eliminated A, C, and E; but can you explain why D is a better answer than B?

Thanks!

[timmydoeslsat]

B is only giving us a comparison within the bug zappers. So we know the bug zapper is less effective against mosquitoes than other harmful insects, but how does that compare with the birds or sprays being advocated? We are still left in the dark about it.

We need more support for why the recommendors are advocating for these remedies.

[peterjackson9091]

We need more support for why the recommendors are advocating for these remedies.

[browncoool]

nice posts........

[hyewonkim89]

Hi MLSAT,

I got this question right but wanted to make sure I could eliminate all the wrong answers.

I was able to eliminate A, B, and E quickly, but was having a hard time eliminating (C).

I thought maybe if bug zappers provide less light but use more electricity than most standard outdoor light sources, it wouldn't be so useful to kill bugs. Is (C) wrong because it doesn't explain why the experts recommend other remedies?

Thanks in advance!

[lee.li.cc]

C is mostly talking about the comparison between the light sources, it's nothing about how they kill bugs, it is not what this question is about.

[JagadeeshP188]

Fly Killer Devices are Easy to use and support free; Simply plug in the Electric bug zapper and watch the device take out every single irritating fly. Dead insects are trapped in a tray for easy disposal. For indoor use, or outside where the unit will remain dry. Insects are collected in a removable and washable tray. The defensive net is likewise Removable to make cleaning simple. The electric grid is self-cleaning.