Researchers designed an experiment to test whether colonies of ants could choose a high-quality nest site from many options more...

Phase 1: Owning the Dataset

First, Create an Argument Analysis Table

Second, Identify Key Patterns

Established Facts:

• Individual ants performed worse with 8 choices than with 2 choices
• Colonies performed equally well with 8 choices as with 2 choices
• "Worse decisions" means choosing unsuitable sites instead of high-quality sites
• The difference only affected individuals, not colonies

Key Relationship: When choices increased from 2 to 8, individual ants (but not colonies) became more likely to select unsuitable nest sites.

Phase 2: Question Analysis & Prethinking

First, Understand What Each Part Asks

The question asks us to complete: "When the researchers increased the number of site choices, X were more likely to choose Y than when the researchers presented fewer site choices."

• Part 1 (X): Who/what was affected by the increase in choices?
• Part 2 (Y): What were they more likely to choose?
• Relationship: X must be something that performed differently with more choices, and Y must be what they chose more often

Second, Generate Valid Inferences (Prethinking)

For Part 1 (X):

• Must be individual ants (they performed worse with more choices)
• Cannot be colonies (they performed equally well)
• Should specify "individual ants, but not colonies" to be precise

For Part 2 (Y):

• Must be "unsuitable nest site" (this is what "worse decisions" means)
• Cannot be "high-quality nest site" (they chose these less often, not more)

Phase 3: Answer Choice Evaluation

Evaluating Options for X:

1. "several nest sites" - Not an entity that makes choices
2. "an unsuitable nest site" - This is what was chosen, not who chose
3. "a high-quality nest site" - This is what was chosen, not who chose
4. "individual ants, but not colonies of ants" - ✓ Matches our inference perfectly
5. "colonies of ants, but not individual ants" - Backwards; colonies weren't affected
6. "both individual ants and colonies of ants" - False; only individuals were affected

Evaluating Options for Y:

1. "several nest sites" - They chose one site, not several
2. "an unsuitable nest site" - ✓ This is what individuals chose more often with 8 options
3. "a high-quality nest site" - They chose these less often, not more
4. "individual ants, but not colonies of ants" - This describes who, not what was chosen
5. "colonies of ants, but not individual ants" - This describes who, not what was chosen
6. "both individual ants and colonies of ants" - This describes who, not what was chosen

Answer Selection Process

Part 1 Selection (X): "individual ants, but not colonies of ants" - This precisely captures who was affected by the increase in choices.

Part 2 Selection (Y): "an unsuitable nest site" - This is what individual ants were more likely to choose when faced with more options.

Verification: The complete sentence reads: "When the researchers increased the number of site choices, individual ants, but not colonies of ants were more likely to choose an unsuitable nest site than when the researchers presented fewer site choices."

This perfectly matches the passage's findings that individual ants made "much worse decisions" (chose unsuitable sites more often) with 8 options, while colonies "chose equally well" with either number of options.