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- Posts: 8949
- Joined: Feb 02, 2011
- Sat Jan 21, 2012 12:00 am
#35292
Complete Question Explanation
Must Be True—Fill in the Blank. The correct answer choice is (B)
Fill in the blank questions have become increasingly common in recent years and are essentially a
modified form of Must Be True questions. Answer choices will occasionally differ only by a few
words and these minutes differences can distinguish the correct answer from the others. After you’ve
eliminated the Losers, re-read the stimulus with the Contenders inserted to see which one fits best.
This stimulus addresses the necessity of organs for meeting a need, such as seeing or moving. With
no method of meeting those needs and the fact that many animals share these needs, the author
argues that it is unsurprising to find eyes and wings developing at different times in unrelated
species. The answer which best completes this stimulus will be consistent with the remaining
argumentation.
Answer choice (A): Addressing common environments for different species is not the most logical
completion of an argument about similar organs and needs. In fact, this almost contradicts the rest of
the sentence, which argues that differences in heritage and habitat have no impact on the argument.
Answer choice (B): This is the correct answer choice. This is the best answer. The phrase “satisfy
these needs” ties this answer to the concluding sentence and the phrase “similar adaptations” ties it
to the rest of the stimulus. Finally, the qualifier “in many instances” is consistent with the scope of
the stimulus, beginning with “often”.
Answer choice (C): This is a strong contender and it is only by comparison with answer choice (B)
that the shortcomings here become apparent. Probably the main strike against (C) is that it doesn’t
address the issue of similar adaptations. Without that word, this answer could complete a discussion
about biological adaptation in general but is unconnected to a discussion about wings and eyes
“developing at different times in a number of completely unrelated species”.
Answer choice (D): This does not follow from the argument above. The stimulus argues that
different species have similar needs that will drive the development of similar organs. The answer
suggests that animals will resemble species with different needs, which altogether ignores the
author’s argument and is unsupported.
Answer choice (E): This answer is clearly too extreme. Remember that on the LSAT, it would be
possible to argue that all animals have eyes or wings as adaptations (contrary to your real-world
knowledge), but this argument does not lead to that claim. Eyes or wings are merely examples of the
types of adaptations which often arise in response to certain needs and the author clearly does not
intend these as universal examples.
Must Be True—Fill in the Blank. The correct answer choice is (B)
Fill in the blank questions have become increasingly common in recent years and are essentially a
modified form of Must Be True questions. Answer choices will occasionally differ only by a few
words and these minutes differences can distinguish the correct answer from the others. After you’ve
eliminated the Losers, re-read the stimulus with the Contenders inserted to see which one fits best.
This stimulus addresses the necessity of organs for meeting a need, such as seeing or moving. With
no method of meeting those needs and the fact that many animals share these needs, the author
argues that it is unsurprising to find eyes and wings developing at different times in unrelated
species. The answer which best completes this stimulus will be consistent with the remaining
argumentation.
Answer choice (A): Addressing common environments for different species is not the most logical
completion of an argument about similar organs and needs. In fact, this almost contradicts the rest of
the sentence, which argues that differences in heritage and habitat have no impact on the argument.
Answer choice (B): This is the correct answer choice. This is the best answer. The phrase “satisfy
these needs” ties this answer to the concluding sentence and the phrase “similar adaptations” ties it
to the rest of the stimulus. Finally, the qualifier “in many instances” is consistent with the scope of
the stimulus, beginning with “often”.
Answer choice (C): This is a strong contender and it is only by comparison with answer choice (B)
that the shortcomings here become apparent. Probably the main strike against (C) is that it doesn’t
address the issue of similar adaptations. Without that word, this answer could complete a discussion
about biological adaptation in general but is unconnected to a discussion about wings and eyes
“developing at different times in a number of completely unrelated species”.
Answer choice (D): This does not follow from the argument above. The stimulus argues that
different species have similar needs that will drive the development of similar organs. The answer
suggests that animals will resemble species with different needs, which altogether ignores the
author’s argument and is unsupported.
Answer choice (E): This answer is clearly too extreme. Remember that on the LSAT, it would be
possible to argue that all animals have eyes or wings as adaptations (contrary to your real-world
knowledge), but this argument does not lead to that claim. Eyes or wings are merely examples of the
types of adaptations which often arise in response to certain needs and the author clearly does not
intend these as universal examples.
.
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