#18 - Must Be True

[Administrator]

Complete Question Explanation
(See the complete passage discussion here: lsat/viewtopic.php?t=11555)

The correct answer choice is (C)

Since this passage references the last paragraph, we should consider what information was provided there: There are other examples that appear evidentiary of relict behavior, and there is one example when relict behavior has apparently ended.

Answer choice (A): There is no reference to any detriment associated with the absence of predators, so this answer choice can be safely eliminated.

Answer choice (B): The word that makes this answer choice a definite loser is “most”—the author would not claim that most animals display relict behavior.

Answer choice (C): This is the correct answer choice, as it refers to the end of the paragraph, and the example of the squirrel whose relict behavior apparently no longer exists.

Answer choice (D): There is no such claim in the passage, so this answer choice is incorrect.

Answer choice (E): The author of this passage never makes any such comparison, so this answer choice is incorrect.

[LSATQueen2024]

Can someone explain why C is a better answer than D for this question?

[Chandler H]

Can someone explain why C is a better answer than D for this question?

Hi LSATQueen,

Sure. The question is asking which answer choice is most strongly supported by the last paragraph. In the last paragraph, we learn that relict behaviors are found in stickleback fish and ground squirrels, but not Arctic ground squirrels. We also learn that that may be because Arctic ground squirrels have been free from snakes for about 3 million years, which is presumably enough time for a relict behavior to disappear.

(D) is incorrect because it claims that behaviors will "persist interminably" if "periodically reinforced." However, we don't get any information about this in the last paragraph, right? We get information about how relict behaviors will not persist interminably if NOT periodically reinforced, but nothing going the other way. The simple answer is that we have no way of knowing, so it is not strongly supported.

(C), on the other hand, clearly states that behaviors stimulated by environmental conditions (e.g., presence of snakes) can eventually disappear in the absence of those conditions. This is backed up by the fact about the Arctic ground squirrels.

Does that make sense?