Seemingly inconsequential changes in sea temperature due to global warming eventually result in declines in fish and ...

Fiallos.Luis11 January 22, 2020

Understanding C - Strong Language

I understand why C is the correct if we assume that "the rest of the food chain" (mentioned in the stimulus) means "larger sea animals" (mentioned in the answer choice). I initially did not choose C because of this difference in language. I could not find support for "larger sea animals". Is it okay to assume that when we encounter phrases like "the rest of the food chain" or "the rest of the habits" or "the rest of species" we can infer it could mean anything related to that specific category? For example, it could have been said that it affected "larger birds" and that's also correct because larger birds are also part of "the rest of the food chain". I hope this makes sense. It sounds like I am overthinking it a little bit too much.

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SamA January 22, 2020

Hello @Fiallos.Luis11,

Keep in mind that the conclusion is specifically talking about fish and seabird populations.

You would be correct to assume that fish and seabirds are part of the food chain. The phrase "rest of the food chain" tells us that zooplankton feed fish and seabirds.

Larger is a very relative term. It doesn't mean whales and walruses. In this case, it simply means larger than the plankton. We can safely assume that fish and birds are larger than the plankton. For these argument structure questions, make sure to stay focused on the conclusion in order to understand how the other pieces relate to it.

You have the right approach after getting this one wrong. You are getting used to the minor changes in word choice that they are going to throw at you. Don't let them distract you from what the argument is trying to say.

Giovanni October 22, 2020

I did the same thing as Luis. The term "larger birds" seemed to be broad. I feel that I don't know when to really look at the language or just accept it the way it is and not let it scare me away from selecting it:(