Logical reasoning PrepTest 132 · Section 4 · Question 1

Question prompt

Marine biologist: Scientists have Remaining source text redacted.
Why the credited answer is right

Credited answer: C

The notes below walk through why it fits the stem and how to eliminate the rest.

Question Type

Main Point Questions

Answer choices

  1. A
    One hypothesis about why Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice A is not credited
    Incorrect. This answer reflects the hypothesis the author believes is mistaken, so it's not the main point.
  2. B
    The fact that many Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice B is not credited
    Incorrect. This answer is a premise supporting the hypothesis the author believes is mistaken.
  3. C
    The suggestion that the Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice C matches the stem
    Correct. Argument or Facts:
    Argument

    Valid or Flawed:
    Valid

    Question Type:
    Main Point

    Stimulus Summary:
    Question – Why are fish in coral reefs colorful?
    Hypothesis – Camouflage
    Rebuttal – Coral is dull brown and green
    Conclusion – The hypothesis is wrong.

    Answer Anticipation:
    This stimulus starts by posing a question and a potential answer. However, the argument pivots away from this ("However") to a statement expressing the author's opinion of that potential answer—it's wrong—before providing the reason she believes that.

    In general, the author's opinion of an opposing point or potential explanation will be the main point of the argument. Here, the statements after go on to explain why the author believes the explanation to be mistaken, backing that up as the conclusion.

    So the correct answer will either restate the pivot statement to say a point is mistaken, or it'll rephrase it to include the actual meaning of that statement (Camouflaging themselves doesn't explain why fish around reefs are colorful).

    Answer Explanation:
    This answer reflects the author's main point—that the camouflage theory is mistaken—so it's the correct answer.

    Key Takeaway:
    When the author states her opinion on an opposing point or potential explanation, it's generally the main point of the argument. These trends are surprisingly common on the LSAT, especially in earlier questions.
  4. D
    A reef stripped of Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice D is not credited
    Incorrect. This statement was a premise supporting the argument against the camouflage theory.
  5. E
    It turns out that Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice E is not credited
    Incorrect. This statement was a premise backing up the conclusion that the camouflage theory is probably wrong.

What this tests

Question analytics

Based on historical answer selection rates for this question.

Answer choice distribution

  1. A 2%
  2. B 1%
  3. C Credited 92%
  4. D 3%
  5. E 2%

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