LSAT 148 – Section 1 – Question 12

LSAT 148 - Section 1 - Question 12

December 2016

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Question
QuickView		 Type Tags Answer
Choices		 Curve Question
Difficulty		 Psg/Game/S
Difficulty		 Explanation
PT148 S1 Q12
+LR
Resolve reconcile or explain +RRE
Causal Reasoning +CausR
Net Effect +NetEff
A
20%
160
B
4%
154
C
73%
164
D
0%
150
E
3%
155
137
150
163
 +Medium 142.771 +SubsectionEasier

In a national park located on an island, a herd of moose was increasing in number and threatening to destroy species of native plants. Wolves were introduced to the island to reduce the herd and thereby prevent destruction of the vegetation. Although the wolves prospered, the moose herd continued to grow.

"Surprising" Phenomenon
Why did the moose herd continue to grow while the wolves that were supposed to prey on them prospered?

Objective
The right answer will describe some aspect of the environment, the wolves’ behavior, or the moose’s behavior that caused the wolves’ introduction to have little or no negative impact on the moose population’s growth.

A
The presence of wolves in an area tends to discourage other predators from moving into the area.
This doesn’t help. Even if other predators did not move into the area after the wolves were introduced, the wolves themselves are predators, and we would expect the moose herd’s growth to have been impacted by their presence.
B
Attempts to control moose populations in other national parks by introducing predators have also been unsuccessful.
This doesn’t help. We’re looking for the reason why this particular attempt to control the moose population did not work, not other examples of failed attempts.
C
Wolves often kill moose weakened by diseases that probably would have spread to other moose.
This is what we need. If wolves often kill sick moose, they’re protecting the healthy moose from contracting illnesses which might have otherwise killed off more moose and slowed the population’s growth. Also, the diseased moose the wolves kill presumably would have died anyway.
D
Healthy moose generally consume more vegetation than do those that are diseased or injured.
This is irrelevant. We’re not looking for information about how much vegetation healthy vs. diseased or injured moose eat, and this answer choice tells us nothing about what happened when the wolves were introduced.
E
Moose that are too old to breed are just as likely to die of natural causes as of attack by wolves.
We’re not interested in moose that are too old to breed, because the factor we’re examining is population growth. Furthermore, even if older moose are just as likely to die of natural causes, wolf attacks would still presumably kill additional moose, both older and younger.

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LSAT PrepTest 148 Explanations

Section 1 - Logical Reasoning

Section 2 - Reading Comprehension

Section 3 - Logical Reasoning

Section 4 - Logical Reasoning

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