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Question

Difficulty: MediumComprehending Explicit Comparisons and Contrasts

Passage:
While both homing pigeons and desert ants possess remarkable navigational abilities, they rely on entirely different sensory mechanisms to find their way home. Homing pigeons primarily utilize magnetoreception—detecting the Earth’s magnetic field lines—alongside visual landmarks and olfactory cues to navigate across hundreds of miles. In contrast, the desert ant, navigating a featureless salt flat, relies on path integration. This system requires the ant to continuously compute its position relative to its nest by measuring its steps (odometry) and using the polarization pattern of sunlight as a compass. Thus, while the pigeon integrates global geological and atmospheric maps, the desert ant relies solely on a localized, self-referential system of movement tracking.

Based on the passage, which of the following statements best describes a contrast between the navigation system of the homing pigeon and that of the desert ant?

  1. A
    The pigeon relies on a self-referential system of tracking its steps, whereas the desert ant maps global geological features.
  2. The pigeon utilizes Earth's magnetic field and environmental cues, whereas the desert ant tracks its own movement and solar polarization patterns.Answer
  3. C
    The pigeon maps the Earth's core magnetic fluctuations, whereas the desert ant monitors the sun's movement across the sky to calculate travel time.
  4. D
    The pigeon navigates across featureless salt flats, whereas the desert ant travels hundreds of miles using global geological and atmospheric maps.

Answer

The navigation system of the homing pigeon utilizes Earth's magnetic field and environmental cues, whereas that of the desert ant tracks its own movement and solar polarization patterns.
The correct option accurately reflects the literal comparisons drawn in the passage. The text explicitly states that homing pigeons use magnetoreception (detecting the Earth's magnetic field lines) and environmental cues, while desert ants rely on path integration, which involves tracking their own movement by measuring steps and using solar polarization patterns.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Identify the navigation mechanism of the homing pigeon from the text.
The text states that homing pigeons utilize 'magnetoreception—detecting the Earth’s magnetic field lines—alongside visual landmarks and olfactory cues.'
This establishes the factual basis for the pigeon's navigation method as described in the passage.
2
Identify the navigation mechanism of the desert ant from the text.
The text states that the desert ant relies on 'path integration,' which involves 'measuring its steps (odometry) and using the polarization pattern of sunlight as a compass.'
This establishes the factual basis for the ant's navigation method as described in the passage.
3
Compare the two systems to identify the correct contrast among the choices.
The option stating that the pigeon uses the magnetic field and environmental cues while the ant tracks its movement and solar polarization accurately captures these explicit details without distortion or transposition.
Matching the explicit details from the previous steps guarantees finding the correct literal contrast.

Key Concept

Comprehending Explicit Comparisons and Contrasts
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Topics

Comprehending Explicit Comparisons and Contrasts

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