#17 - Henry: Some scientists explain the dance of honeybees

[Administrator]

Complete Question Explanation

Method of Reasoning-AP. The correct answer choice is (B)

Henry argues that since honeybees do not really need such a complicated mechanism as a dance to communicate the location of food, because honeybees simply leave scent trails from the location of food sources, there must be a different explanation for the dance.

Winifred points out that many animals have multiple methods of accomplishing the same tasks, and that the use of scent is not the exclusive means honeybees have of communicating.

Winifred's argument is based on undermining Henry's intermediate conclusion that honeybees do not need dance to communicate the location of food, which in turn weakens Henry's conclusion that there is a different explanation for the dance.

Since you are asked to identify the role of Winifred's second sentence, you should focus on the idea that the second sentence provides an analogous situation to communication, in that bees have alternate methods of accomplishing both.

Answer choice (A) Any ambiguity in the concept of "communicate the location" is not a subject for criticism. Uncertainty to method is not equivalent to ambiguity in general meaning, and this choice is wrong. On the LSAT, ambiguity involves the willful and obvious use of two different senses of a word or phrase in order to create a warped argument, not the unavoidable fact that general words and phrases might be interpreted in more or less extreme or specific senses.

Answer choice (B): This is the correct answer choice. The illustration that bees can navigate in different ways supports, through analogy, the claim that bees can communicate in different ways.

Answer choice (C) Winifred gives information that may cause Henry's evidence to be seen in a new light, but does not contradict any of Henry's evidence. You should differentiate between contradicting evidence and contradicting a conclusion based on that evidence.

Answer choice (D) Winifred points out additional information, not an internal contradiction.

Answer choice (E) Actually, Henry is the one arguing for an alternative explanation, and even he does not offer that alternative.

[Toby]

Hello!

I have a question about the meanings of two terms that appeared in the answer choices for this question: evidence and explanation. What is the difference between these two terms in the LSAT world?

Thanks!
Toby

[Francis O'Rourke]

Hi Toby,

Explanation and evidence are not specialized terms; they will be used pretty similarly to how you or I would use them.

Evidence is any statement that the speaker believes is true and informative. An explanation is a statement that clarifies some facts. Evidence will be used in support of some conclusion or intermediate conclusion in stimuli that contain arguments. Explanations will often function as conclusions, but may also function as a premise, a counter premise, an intermediate conclusion, or just one item in a list of facts (if attributed to another person in the stimulus).

[mariahenain]

Hello,

I selected answer choice E for this question. I now understand that Henry is in fact the one providing an alternative explanation for how bees communicate. However, I'm not understanding the explanation of the structure of the argument described above. What is the general claim Winifred is referring to, and why is answer choice B correct?

[Francis O'Rourke]

Hi Maria,

Winifred's general claim is that most animals have several ways of accomplishing critical tasks. In this case, the critical task is communicating the location of food.

[elizabeth]

Dear Powerscore,

I am having trouble with the language of B, which states that it provides evidence in support of a general claim. How can "bees of some species navigate using either the position of the Sun or the memory of landmarks" count as support for a general claim that most animals have several ways of accomplishing critical tasks. How does that make it a "general claim" because I am not sure if Henry would agree with this. What makes a claim "general"?

[Jonathan Evans]

Hi, Elizabeth,

Good question!

A general claim is a broad statement, and it can operate as a conclusion, as it does here. Such statements may be very broad—like "everyone should try to be healthy"—or narrower—like "children under the age of five should get at least nine hours of sleep every night."

Winifred's claim that "most animals have several ways to accomplish critical tasks" is broader than the evidence she presents about "bees of some species." The scope of her claim makes it broad. The fact that she presents evidence to back it up makes it a conclusion.

You are correct that Henry may not agree with this claim. That is absolutely the structure of this argument. Winifred is disagreeing with Henry and providing evidence to back up her disagreement. The statement about "bees of some species" is an example Winifred uses to support her contention that "most animals several ways to accomplish critical tasks." Then, by analogy, she applies this broad claim to the honeybees.

Sequentially, the argument can be understood thus:

1. Bees of some species can accomplish a goal in multiple ways.
2. This is evidence for the contention that most animals have several ways of accomplishing critical tasks.
3. This backs up the main conclusion that honeybees' scent trails are an additional way to accomplish the critical task of finding food.

I hope this helps!

[simonsap]

It came down to B or D.

Henry: bees use scent trails for food so the dance must have another function. The function for food locating is already occupied by scent.

Winifred: not necessarily, multiple functions can be used to find food. Both could be used.
Winifred uses the example "bees can NAVIGATE (goal) using Sun (function1) or using landmarks (funciton2)

He provides two examples, ergo B - provides evidence in support of a general claim (multiple functions can be used to find food.

[smallsandwich]

Bit of an issue between answers I am having. I am using LSAC's official test prep library and although I chose answer B (there is more than one valid explanation for the dance of honeybees), the hub is telling me that answer C (honeybees communicate the location of food sources through their dance) is correct. I was also on a Manhattan prep board which explained why answer C would be correct.

Could someone explain to me which answer is correct and why there seems to be a discrepancy between correct answer choices?

[Bob O'Halloran]

Hi Smallsandwich,
Thank you for your question.
There are actually two questions associated with this stimulus. I belive you are looking at question 16 which is disccused here-viewtopic.php?f=651&t=13060
Let us know if you have other questions.
Bob