LSAT 155 – Section 1 – Question 05

LSAT 155 - Section 1 - Question 05

November 2019

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Question
QuickView		 Type Tags Answer
Choices		 Curve Question
Difficulty		 Psg/Game/S
Difficulty		 Explanation
PT155 S1 Q05
+LR
+Exp
Strengthen +Streng
Causal Reasoning +CausR
A
2%
149
B
2%
149
C
3%
152
D
91%
161
E
2%
152
123
134
145
 +Easiest 147.037 +SubsectionMedium

Of the dinosaurs of the birdlike group called ornithomimids, the later ones had toothless beaks and weak jaw muscles. A fossil of the later ornithomimid species Gallimimus bullatus was found to have remnants of a comblike plate inside the beak. Such plates are found in modern ducks and geese, animals that strain small bits of food from water and mud. Paleontologists therefore hypothesize that G. bullatus fed by filtering food from water and mud.

Summarize Argument: Phenomenon-Hypothesis

The paleontologists hypothesize that G. bullatus fed by filtering food from water and mud. They support this by noting that a fossil of G. bullatus had a comblike plate in its beak, similar to those found in ducks and geese today, which use them to strain food from water and mud.

Notable Assumptions

The paleontologists assume that G. bullatus could feed by filtering food from water and mud, and that factors like a very dry climate or a different diet didn't interfere with this. They also assume that the comblike plate had no other potential purpose that would better explain its presence, and that G. bullatus and modern ducks and geese are relevantly similar in enough ways to make the paleontologists’ hypothesis likely.

A
Some dinosaurs with toothless beaks and weak jaw muscles are believed to have pursued small prey and to have eaten eggs.

This fails to address the paleontologists’ key claim that G. bullatus’s comblike plate is evidence that it fed by filtering food from water and mud, nor does it help to make this hypothesis more likely.

B
Toothless beaks and weak jaw muscles were not common to any dinosaur group other than ornithomimids.

Like (A), this ignores the paleontologists’ primary argument, which is about the comblike plate, not the toothless beaks and weak jaw muscles. Also, we already know that G. bullatus was an ornithomimid with a toothless beak and weak jaw muscles, so (B) is irrelevant.

C
Except for the comblike plates in their beaks, G. bullatus shared few anatomical features with modern ducks and geese.

This weakens the paleontologists’ hypothesis by suggesting that G. bullatus and modern ducks and geese are not physically similar apart from their comblike plates.

D
Most G. bullatus fossils have been found in sediments deposited in lakes, rivers, and other wet environments.

This strengthens the argument by affirming one of the paleontologists’ key assumptions. If G. bullatus fed by filtering food from water and mud, they must have lived near water and mud, so their fossils would likely be found there too.

E
Paleontologists have not found evidence that any dinosaurs other than G. bullatus had comblike plates.

We already know that G. bullatus did have comblike plates, and the argument is concerned with whether they also fed by filtering food from water and mud. Whether any other dinosaurs had comblike plates is not relevant to the argument.

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LSAT PrepTest 155 Explanations

Section 1 - Logical Reasoning

Section 2 - Logical Reasoning

Section 3 - Reading Comprehension

Section 4 - Logical Reasoning

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