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- Thu Jun 14, 2018 2:36 pm
#46594
Complete Question Explanation
(The complete setup for this game can be found here: lsat/viewtopic.php?t=6851)
The correct answer choice is (C)
If there are four female snakes, remaining are the three lizards, two of which must be male (the other of which must obviously be female). Because each of the three lizards has a habitat to itself, the distribution must be 2-2-1-1-1:
If each lizard is housed in its own habitat, then two of the habitats must house male lizards. Since all of the female snakes must be separated from the male lizards, the setup must push the male lizards to one side of the five habitats or the other—that is, they must be housed in either 1 and 2 respectively, or 4 and 5 respectively with the female lizard in 3 to act as a separator, and the snakes on the other side of the female lizard (any other setup would place female snakes next to male lizards, which is prohibited). Since there must be a female lizard in habitat 3, answer choice (C) is correct.
Note that in this question, if you were guessing, you still should choose answer choice (C). Why? Because the game itself and this question stem do not assign reptiles to any specific habitat, all of the cages are roughly “equal” in terms of their initial value. Answer choices (A) and (E) both refer to habitats at the ends of the line, making them roughly the same type of answer. According to the Uniqueness Theory of Answer choices, then, these two answers must be incorrect. The same analysis can be applied to answer choices (B) and (D), eliminating both of those answers. The one answer choice that has truly unique characteristics—habitat 3—is thus the correct answer.
(The complete setup for this game can be found here: lsat/viewtopic.php?t=6851)
The correct answer choice is (C)
If there are four female snakes, remaining are the three lizards, two of which must be male (the other of which must obviously be female). Because each of the three lizards has a habitat to itself, the distribution must be 2-2-1-1-1:
If each lizard is housed in its own habitat, then two of the habitats must house male lizards. Since all of the female snakes must be separated from the male lizards, the setup must push the male lizards to one side of the five habitats or the other—that is, they must be housed in either 1 and 2 respectively, or 4 and 5 respectively with the female lizard in 3 to act as a separator, and the snakes on the other side of the female lizard (any other setup would place female snakes next to male lizards, which is prohibited). Since there must be a female lizard in habitat 3, answer choice (C) is correct.
Note that in this question, if you were guessing, you still should choose answer choice (C). Why? Because the game itself and this question stem do not assign reptiles to any specific habitat, all of the cages are roughly “equal” in terms of their initial value. Answer choices (A) and (E) both refer to habitats at the ends of the line, making them roughly the same type of answer. According to the Uniqueness Theory of Answer choices, then, these two answers must be incorrect. The same analysis can be applied to answer choices (B) and (D), eliminating both of those answers. The one answer choice that has truly unique characteristics—habitat 3—is thus the correct answer.
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Dave Killoran
PowerScore Test Preparation
Follow me on X/Twitter at http://twitter.com/DaveKilloran
My LSAT Articles: http://blog.powerscore.com/lsat/author/dave-killoran
PowerScore Podcast: http://www.powerscore.com/lsat/podcast/
PowerScore Test Preparation
Follow me on X/Twitter at http://twitter.com/DaveKilloran
My LSAT Articles: http://blog.powerscore.com/lsat/author/dave-killoran
PowerScore Podcast: http://www.powerscore.com/lsat/podcast/
