#25 - Must Be True

[Administrator]

Complete Question Explanation
(See the complete passage discussion here: lsat/viewtopic.php?t=13789)

The correct answer choice is (A)

Use the Fact Test to prove the correct answer choice to this Concept Reference question. While arriving at a precise prephrase may be challenging, note that the question is not about what Temple believed to be true about the abrasion of Calvaria major pit walls, but about what the passage indicates to be true. Use the VIEWSTAMP method to distinguish between Temple’s perspective and that of the author: this question is about the latter, not the former. The distinction between fact and opinion is crucial on the LSAT, and key to answering this question correctly.

Answer choice (A): This is the correct answer choice. In the fourth paragraph, the author describes Strahm’s finding of multiple Calvaria major specimens, “many far younger than three centuries” (lines 50-51). From this discovery the author concludes that “seeds have in fact germinated […] since the dodo’s disappearance” (lines 51-53), suggesting that thinning through abrasion is not necessary for germination.

Answer choice (B): This answer choice is factually incorrect, because in Temple’s experiment with turkeys, only some of the pits emerged abraded but intact (lines 40-41).

Answer choice (C): The author does not question the dodo’s ability to thin the Calvaria major pit walls. The issue is whether the dodo was necessary to thin the walls and ensure germination, not whether it was sufficient for that process to occur. This answer choice is incorrect.

Answer choice (D): There is no evidence to support the observation that abrasion of Calvaria major pit walls was more common in the past than it is today. This might have been true if, as Temple claims, the dodo bird had played a role in the germination of Calvaria major seeds; however, the author finds this theory doubtful.

Answer choice (E): Temple overlooked other possible explanations for the population decline of Calvaria major. The passage says nothing about other forces that could have abraded the Calvaria major seeds. This answer choice is incorrect.

[christinecwt]

Hi Team, can anyone explain why Answer Choice B is wrong given that it is "not factually incorrect"? Many thanks!

[Luke Haqq]

Hi christinecwt!

Happy to address why answer choice (B) is incorrect. As a starting point, we're given a must be true question type.

You mention that this answer choice is "not factually incorrect." But as I'm looking at the explanation above, it's stating that answer choice (B) is factually incorrect. Namely, it's not the case that turkeys "always" released "seeds, undamaged, from their coverings" in Temple's experiment. Lines 40-41 state, "though many of the pits were destroyed, ten emerged, abraded yet intact. Three of these sprouted when planted." So in his experiments, some of the pits that contained seeds were destroyed altogether. Thus his experiment indicated that some seeds were destroyed, not that seeds were always released.

One might argue that destroying the pit is equivalent to "releasing" it inasmuch as digestion makes germination possible. However, even if this were the case, we're only told that "many of the pits were destroyed, ten emerged, abraded yet intact. Three of these sprouted when planted." If we assumed that even the "destroyed" pits referred to releasing seeds, this still wouldn't make the answer choice correct. At most we only know that three sprouted, emerging from their hard coverings. We don't know from the information in the passage what happened to all the pits or seeds, which is why a strong word like "always" in answer choice (B) makes it not correct for a must be true question.

Finally, more generally, answer choices that are "not factually incorrect" can be tempting wrong answers on must be true questions. An answer choice that could be true based on a passage, but is not required by it, might be not factually incorrect in light of the passage but still would be an incorrect answer choice on a must be true question. An answer choice presenting information that is not factually incorrect is something that becomes a contender if it is a could-be-true question stem.