#7 - All zebras have stripes, and the most widespread

[ob00x7]

Any help with this one . Thanks in advance
Here I go question (7) I answered this correctly I just don't know if my reasoning was correct. Con; striped must serve some sort of signal for other zebras because prem; they do not function as camouflage. Since it serves as a sign to to other zebras i was able to eliminate all but D. The problem I am having is how D supports the conclusion. The answers states Zebras react faster to moving shapes than they to do ones who lack stripes. IS the reaction the zebra experiences enough to justify that a signal occurred and that is what they are reacting to?

[Jason Schultz]

Hi ob00x7 (that's a tongue twister!)

The key to a strengthen question, and the crucial thing which separates them from justify the conclusion questions, is that you only need to make the conclusion more likely than it was before you added that information.

In this case, you correctly eliminated all but D. D makes it clear that the stripes cause a reaction in the zebras, and that's all you need to strengthen the conclusion enough to make the answer correct. The others all weaken the conclusion (like B) or deal with non-visual stimuli and are thus irrelevant (like E).

Hope that helps!

[Johnclem]

Hi,
Could someone please help me identify the main conclusion for this one ? I strongly believe it's the second sentence, but the question stem made me turn around .
This is how I generally approach my hunt for the main conclusion:


1) Because the stripes are important --> therefore they must serve as some sort of signal for other zebras.

2) Because they serve as some sort of signal for other zebras --> therefore the stripes are important


Thanks
John

[David Boyle]

Hi,
Could someone please help me identify the main conclusion for this one ? I strongly believe it's the second sentence, but the question stem made me turn around .
This is how I generally approach my hunt for the main conclusion:


1) Because the stripes are important --> therefore they must serve as some sort of signal for other zebras.

2) Because they serve as some sort of signal for other zebras --> therefore the stripes are important


Thanks
John

Hello Johnclem,

That's one way to look at it, though another way might be, "Because stripes are important, we'll now look for ways they're important. The way of camouflage doesn't work, so there must be another way, signaling." Your diagrams above look like circular reasoning, "important stripes therefore signal", then "signal therefore important stripes." But the stimulus doesn't seems to have circular reasoning; rather, it seems to build up to the conclusion about signaling.

Hope this helps,
David

[coolbeans747]

I don’t understand why the zebras reacting faster to moving shapes that have stripes is supported by the conclusion? I can see why that makes sense, but is the fact that the zebras reacting to each other of importance at all?

[James Finch]

Hi coolbeans,

This is a Strengthen question, so we're looking for the answer choice that most supports the conclusion, not the other way around. The conclusion is that zebras' stripes function as a signal to other zebras, and our answer choice should make that more likely to be true. Answer choice (D) makes it more likely that zebras are signaled by other zebras' stripes, because it gives us additional evidence that zebras react differently (in this case faster) to moving objects with stripes than they do to moving objects that aren't striped.

Hope this clears things up!

[LSAT2018]

Would the first part of the stimulus be a correlation and the final sentence be a causation?
And the correct answer strengthens the causal relationship here?

[S2KMo]

Why is A incorrect? I understand that D is the answer, but to me, A seemed like a decent answer choice too. My logic was: it made the fact that the stripes aren't used as camouflage more likely by saying that the zebras are also large, so they definitely can't function as camouflage. Also, if they're bigger, then they must serve as a signal to the other zebras

[Adam Tyson]

LSAT2018 - correct, good work! We start with some correlation info, but the author makes a causal conclusion (the stripes must be sending signals in some way - that's the sort of active language typical of causal arguments). Since the conclusion is causal, we want to strengthen that in the usual ways, like eliminating alternate causes, etc.

S2KMo, the problem with answer A is that it lends no support to the signaling claim. Assuming that large, vigorous zebras don't need or use camouflage requires outside info not provided by the stimulus, and so your analysis means you are helping the answer too much. Maybe larger zebras need camouflage even more than smaller ones, because they don't have the luxury of hiding behind small rocks and trees, hunkering down in the grass, or climbing into tiny holes to hide from predators? I just don't know what that relationship is, and it's bad strategy to make unwarranted assumptions about it. Instead, ask yourself whether this answer lends support to the "signaling" aspect of the stripes. Does it tell us that they are sending or receiving signals with their stripes? Not that I can see.

Answer D adds support to the signaling aspect of the stripes. When a striped zebra moves, another zebra is more likely to notice it. The stripes act like someone waving their arms over their head to say "hey, look over here!" Not camouflage, because they are easier to see, but signals, because they catch the eye. Boom, conclusion strengthened!

[gen2871]

Hi Dear LSAT Geniuses,

I am truly grateful for your dedication and contribution. All of you are heroes to me! I wish I will be half as good as you guys someday.

In an earlier post, LSAT 2018 posted:
Would the first part of the stimulus be a correlation and the final sentence be a causation?
And the correct answer strengthens the causal relationship here?

and MR. Adam's response was:
LSAT2018 - correct, good work! We start with some correlation info, but the author makes a causal conclusion (the stripes must be sending signals in some way - that's the sort of active language typical of causal arguments). Since the conclusion is causal, we want to strengthen that in the usual ways, like eliminating alternate causes, etc.

I simply dont see the causation. The way how i saw was that Strips fail to camouflage it serve as some sort of signal for other zebras.

What I dont see is the passage didn't provide any undertone for visual signal. 2. both C and D are regarding visual. why C is not right?

Please clarify for me. Thank you!