LSAT 158 – Section 2 – Question 05

LSAT 158 - Section 2 - Question 05

May 2020

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Question
QuickView		 Type Tags Answer
Choices		 Curve Question
Difficulty		 Psg/Game/S
Difficulty		 Explanation
PT158 S2 Q05
+LR
Resolve reconcile or explain +RRE
Causal Reasoning +CausR
A
1%
143
B
3%
152
C
1%
142
D
0%
148
E
95%
161
126
134
141
 +Easiest 146.031 +SubsectionMedium

On the plains where it lives, an individual zebra stands out because of its black-and-white stripes, which contrast with the green or brown of the surrounding vegetation. Yet zebras are a prey species, and the lions that hunt them can see stripes clearly. It seems surprising that zebras would survive with such vivid markings.

"Surprising" Phenomenon
Why do zebras survive, even though one of their predators (lions) can see stripes clearly, and zebras have black-and-white stripes that contrast with the green/brown of surrounding vegetation?

Objective
The correct answer should suggest something about either zebras, lions, or the environment that could increase zebras’ survivability against lions.

A
Because the vegetation on the open plains changes from green to brown as the season changes from wet to dry, true camouflage coloring for a prey species would have to change according to the seasons.
This suggests zebras don’t have true camouflage. This doesn’t help explain why zebras can survive against lions. We still know zebras’ stripes stand out against the background.
B
Zebras are able to judge from the demeanor of lions they see in the vicinity whether or not those lions are preparing to hunt, and the zebras ignore the lions that are not.
This suggests zebras can identify which lions are preparing to hunt. But it doesn’t suggest zebras can escape from those lions or can somehow hide from those lions. We still know zebras’ stripes stand out against the background. How can they survive being preyed on by lions?
C
Lions that hunt zebras are themselves colored in a way that blends in with the brown color of dry vegetation, so that in the dry season, when prey is scarce, the lions can creep up on their prey to within a distance from which the lions have a favorable chance of succeeding in the hunt.
This tells us a feature of lions that makes them better at hunting. But if we’re trying to explain how zebras survive, we want an answer that makes lions worse at hunting zebras.
D
When lions hunt, the whole pride shares in the food obtained when a prey animal is successfully brought down by one of the hunting lions.
This tells us what lions do with food after killing prey. But we want to know why zebras don’t become dead prey in the first place.
E
When zebras run in a group, as they generally do in response to danger, the stripe markings make it difficult for a predator pursuing a single individual to discern its outline.
This tells us something about zebras’ stripes that can help them avoid being killed by predators. If the stripes can make it harder for a predator to see the outline of an individual zebra, that predator might have a more difficult time killing that zebra.

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LSAT PrepTest 158 Explanations

Section 1 - Reading Comprehension

Section 2 - Logical Reasoning

Section 3 - Logical Reasoning

Section 4 - Logical Reasoning

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