LSAT 143 – Section 1 – Question 09

LSAT 143 - Section 1 - Question 09

June 2015

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Question
QuickView		 Type Tags Answer
Choices		 Curve Question
Difficulty		 Psg/Game/S
Difficulty		 Explanation
PT143 S1 Q09
+LR
Strengthen +Streng
Causal Reasoning +CausR
A
87%
164
B
1%
157
C
5%
160
D
1%
156
E
5%
159
126
139
152
 +Easier 148.401 +SubsectionMedium

Red admiral butterflies fly in a highly irregular fashion, constantly varying their speed, wing strokes, and flight path. While predators avoid poisonous butterfly species, nonpoisonous butterflies like the red admiral need to elude predators to survive. Scientists therefore hypothesize that the red admiral’s flight style, which is clearly not energy efficient, evolved as a means of avoiding predators.

Summarize Argument: Phenomenon-Hypothesis
The author hypothesizes that the irregular flight style of the red admiral evolved as a means of avoiding predators. This is based on the fact that nonpoisonous butterflies like the red admiral need to avoid predators to survive. In addition, the irregular flight style is not energy efficient (which eliminates one potential explanation for that flight style).

Notable Assumptions
The author assumes there’s no other explanation for the irregular flight style besides avoidance of predators. The author also assumes that poisonous butterflies do not have an irregular flight style.

A
No species of poisonous butterfly has an irregular flight style like that of the red admiral.
This affirms the assumption that poisonous butterflies don’t have the irregular flight style. If this were not true, then that would suggest the flight style might not have to do with avoiding predators, because poisonous butterflies wouldn’t need to avoid them.
B
Attacks from predators are not the most common cause of death for butterflies.
Whether predators are the most common cause of death doesn’t relate to the purpose of the irregular flight style. Butterflies could fly irregularly to avoid predators regardless of whether they are the most common or second most common cause of death.
C
Many other types of butterfly have flight styles similar to that of the red admiral.
But are those other types of butterfly nonpoisonous? And do they use the flight style to avoid predators? Without knowing the answer to these questions, (C) doesn’t help connect the red admiral’s flight style to avoiding predators.
D
It is much more energy efficient for butterflies to fly in an irregular fashion than it is for heavier varieties of insects.
We already know from the premises that the irregular flight style is not energy efficient. Whether it’s more efficient for red admirals than it would be for other insects has no impact. It’s not energy efficient for red admirals.
E
All of the predators that prey on the red admiral also prey on other species of nonpoisonous butterflies.
And do the other nonpoisonous butterflies try to fly irregularly? Without knowing the answer to this question, (E) doesn’t have a clear impact on the relationship between the red admiral’s flight pattern and whether its used to avoid predators.

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LSAT PrepTest 143 Explanations

Section 1 - Logical Reasoning

Section 2 - Reading Comprehension

Section 3 - Logical Reasoning

Section 4 - Logical Reasoning

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