#15 - Main Point

[Administrator]

Complete Question Explanation
(See the complete passage discussion here: lsat/viewtopic.php?t=7945)

The correct answer choice is (A)

The first question is a Passage Commonality question, forcing you to evaluate the primary purpose
that is common to both passages. To successfully solve this question, use the Fact Test—the correct
answer must be proven by referring to the facts stated in both passages. Quickly examine the five
answer choices and eliminate those that cannot be proven by referring to both passages.

Answer choice (A): This is the correct answer choice. The primary purpose of both passages it to
examine the topic of prehistoric human teeth, and the extent to which they provide archaeological
evidence of agricultural intensification (lines 4-5 and 39-41). Although this answer choice is
relatively vague, remember that the correct answer to a Purpose/Function question is often an
abstract version of the main point.

Answer choice (B): This answer choice is incorrect for two reasons. First, Passage A never mentions
the topic of overall human health (only Passage B does, in line 40). Second, each passage is concerned with examining the impact of agriculture on dental health, not overall health.

Answer choice (C): While both passages examine the effects of carbohydrate-rich foods on caries
formation, the scope of each passage extends beyond strictly agricultural societies. Recall that the
last paragraph of Passage A discusses caries rates in nonagricultural populations, while the Ban
Chiang populations are described as having a hunter-gatherer-cultivator economy before becoming
dependent on agriculture (lines 35-38).

Answer choice (D): This is a classic Shell Game answer. Although each passage is concerned with
the extent to which human teeth provide archaeological evidence of agricultural development, there
is no reason to believe that the populations described were the first agricultural societies to emerge.

Answer choice (E): Hopefully you were able to eliminate this answer choice relatively quickly, since
the extent to which pre-agricultural populations were able to obtain carbohydrate-rich foods is not
discussed in either passage.

[alee]

Hi guys,

This question refers to the comparative reading passage, (Preptest 62, Section 1, Passage 3). Re. Q 15, I had difficulty choosing between the incorrect option B:

(B) The impact of agriculture on the overall health of the human population

and the correct option (A):

(A) evidence of the development of agriculture in the archaeological record.

1. Is the reason why (B) is incorrect that A is not concerned with OVERALL health, but limits discussion to caries formation (dental health)?

2. Is the reason why A is correct because in lines 3-5, Passage A, a link is made between examination of caries formation & development of agriculture, and at lines 36-8 Passage B, a link is made between subsequent evidence (declining health) used to support an inference of an increasing dependence on agriculture over time?

Many thanks!

[Adam Tyson]

Again, right on the money alee. Your analysis is exactly right - passage A is not about overall health but only about dental health, and both passages do deal with the archeological record as a resource to determine when and where agriculture arose.

As is often the case, a wrong answer on a passage agreement question like this one will bring up something that was included in only one of the two passages - in this case, only passage B mentions health in general, non-dental terms - and the authors are counting on you latching onto it because you had seen it somewhere. Don't fall for it - go back and check. It's a form of Must Be True question, so apply the Fact Test and reject answers that include information that you can't find in BOTH passages.

Good job!

Adam M. Tyson
PowerScore LSAT Instructor

[emilysnoddon]

Is answer choice C incorrect because it refers to "strictly agricultural societies" whereas in both passages they mention societies which are not strictly agricultural? I chose C over answer choice A because I felt A was too broad. Any insight into this question would be appreciated.

Thank you!

Emily

[Nikki Siclunov]

Hi Emily,

The primary purpose of both passages it to examine the topic of prehistoric human teeth, and the extent to which they provide archaeological evidence of agricultural intensification (lines 4—5 and 39—41). This agrees with answer choice (A). Although this answer choice is relatively vague, remember that the correct answer to a Purpose/Function question is often an abstract version of the main point.

By contrast, answer choice (C) misses the point. While both passages examine the effects of carbohydrate-rich foods on caries formation, the scope of each passage extends beyond strictly agricultural societies. Recall that the last paragraph of passage A discusses caries rates in nonagricultural populations, while the Ban Chiang populations are described as having a hunter-gatherer-cultivator economy before becoming dependent on agriculture (lines 35—38).

Hope this helps!

Thanks,

[snowy]

Hi there! I’m having trouble understanding how A is the correct answer. I chose C - even though I did recognize that the passages mentioned societies beyond strictly agricultural ones, I thought that was okay enough because they mainly talked about strictly agricultural ones, and more so used the non-agricultural societies to supplement the discussion. More importantly, C was the only one that even remotely seemed to fit as the right answer.

I’m having trouble understanding how A is correct when it is so broad - which I know is said above to not necessarily be a problem in function questions, but the fact that A didn’t mention teeth or caries at all despite being almost the entirety of both passages seemed weird to me. Also, while lines 3-5 in passage A do support answer A, there’s nothing in passage B that ties teeth to being used as evidence in archaeological records to determine the development of agriculture. 39-41 mentions the relationship between agriculture and dental health, but doesn’t establish agricultural development in archaeological records as a primary concern. Where am I going wrong? Thank you!

[Brook Miscoski]

Snowy,

Each passage is discussing ways of identifying agricultural societies, which is consistent with (A). Each passage does discuss dental carries, but only to evaluate how good that indicator is at identifying an agricultural society. Both passages discuss times when carries do not reflect an increase in agriculture or an agricultural society, which is inconsistent with answer choice (C). If (C) were the credited response, neither passage would discuss carries as an indicator of whether a society is agricultural; instead, that would be the starting premise and each passage would simply talk about effects.