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- Wed May 17, 2017 2:30 pm
#34970
Complete Question Explanation
(See the complete passage discussion here: lsat/viewtopic.php?t=14154)
The correct answer choice is (A)
To answer this Concept Reference question, passage organization is key. The author describes the
ways in which insects adapt when a plant develops defenses against them in the third paragraph,
which would serve as a relevant reference point.
Answer choice (A): This is the correct answer choice, as insects “must switch to other foods or
evolve ways to circumvent the plants’ defenses” (lines 44-45).
Answer choice (B): While insects may learn to avoid the effects of some secondary substances, there
is no evidence that they pay any attention to the leaf or flower structures of the plant. The secondary
substances give plants their distinctive tastes and smells, but play no role in their morphological
characteristics.
Answer choice (C): The author makes no mention of insects increasing their rate of reproduction as
an evolutionary adaptation.
Answer choice (D): Insects adapt by learning to eat, not pollinate, other species of plants (lines 44-
45).
Answer choice (E): This is an attractive, but incorrect, answer choice. The author outlines several
different ways in which insects can learn to circumvent the plants’ defenses (lines 42-48). None
of them, however, involve avoiding contact with the dangerous parts of the plant. The list is by no
means exhaustive: the author clearly suggests that some insects could learn to avoid the effects of
the harmful substance in “some other manner” (line 48). Nevertheless, no specifics are given as
to what that “other manner” might be, which is why answer choice (E) cannot be proven with the
information contained in the passage.
(See the complete passage discussion here: lsat/viewtopic.php?t=14154)
The correct answer choice is (A)
To answer this Concept Reference question, passage organization is key. The author describes the
ways in which insects adapt when a plant develops defenses against them in the third paragraph,
which would serve as a relevant reference point.
Answer choice (A): This is the correct answer choice, as insects “must switch to other foods or
evolve ways to circumvent the plants’ defenses” (lines 44-45).
Answer choice (B): While insects may learn to avoid the effects of some secondary substances, there
is no evidence that they pay any attention to the leaf or flower structures of the plant. The secondary
substances give plants their distinctive tastes and smells, but play no role in their morphological
characteristics.
Answer choice (C): The author makes no mention of insects increasing their rate of reproduction as
an evolutionary adaptation.
Answer choice (D): Insects adapt by learning to eat, not pollinate, other species of plants (lines 44-
45).
Answer choice (E): This is an attractive, but incorrect, answer choice. The author outlines several
different ways in which insects can learn to circumvent the plants’ defenses (lines 42-48). None
of them, however, involve avoiding contact with the dangerous parts of the plant. The list is by no
means exhaustive: the author clearly suggests that some insects could learn to avoid the effects of
the harmful substance in “some other manner” (line 48). Nevertheless, no specifics are given as
to what that “other manner” might be, which is why answer choice (E) cannot be proven with the
information contained in the passage.