Question

Tiger beetles are such fast runners that they can capture virtually any nonflying insect. However, when running toward an insect, a tiger beetle will intermittently stop and then, a moment later, resume its attack. Perhaps the beetles cannot maintain their pace and must pause for a moment's rest; but an alternative hypothesis is that while running, tiger beetles are unable to adequately process the resulting rapidly changing visual information and so quickly go blind and stop.

Which of the following, if discovered in experiments using artificially moved prey insects, would support one of the two hypotheses and undermine the other?


(A) When a prey insect is moved directly toward a beetle that has been chasing it, the beetle immediately stops and runs away without its usual intermittent stopping.

(B) In pursuing a swerving insect, a beetle alters its course while running and its pauses become more frequent as the chase progresses.

(C) In pursuing a moving insect, a beetle usually responds immediately to changes in the insect's direction, and it pauses equally frequently whether the chase is up or down an incline.

(D) If, when a beetle pauses, it has not gained on the insect it is pursuing, the beetle generally ends its pursuit.

(E) The faster a beetle pursues an insect fleeing directly away from it, the more frequently the beetle stops.

Answer 1

The correct answer is option (B) "In pursuing a swerving insect, a beetle alters its course while running and its pauses become more frequent as the chase progresses".

Step-by-step explanation:

One hypothesis suggest that the tiger beetles stop for a moment when they attack because it can't keep its pace and they have to rest, while the other hypothesis suggest that the tiger beetles could not process the rapidly changing visual information when running. The experiments results would support only the second hypothesis if they show that in pursuing a swerving insect, a beetle alters its course while running and its pauses become more frequent as the chase progresses. If a beetle altering its course have to stop more often than a beetle running straight, it would make sense that it has to stop because is unable to process the changing visual information rapidly enough.