PrepTest 110

[lcid:3539] Prep Test 110 LSAT — Reading Comp — S4 Reading comp

Passage

Questions 1-6  .        The okapi, a forest mammal of central Africa, has  . presented zoologists with a number of Remaining source text redacted.
Passage walkthrough
Passage Summary

Topic: Science


Paragraph 1

  • Paragraph note
    • The okapi, a forest mammal of central Africa, was difficult for scientists to classify when it was discovered in 1900.
  • Views, minor Meta-Structures, and the author's attitude
    • In 1900, scientists first learned of the existence of the okapi (first sentence)
    • Question 1: how should the okapi be classified? (second sentence):
      • It was first classified as part of horse family b/c of physical similarities to horses and zebras (third sentence)
    • Answer: Now been classified as part giraffe family b/c of skin-covered horns in males, two-lobed canine teeth, and long prehensile tongue (fourth-fifth sentences)
    • Author’s attitude: “difficult problems” (first sentence); “first classified it” (third sentence); “rightful place” (fifth sentence)

Paragraph 2

  • Paragraph note
    • Okapis are not as rare as scientists thought at first, but they are very concentrated in a specific area.
  • Views, minor Meta-Structures, and the author's attitude
    • Question 2: how rare are okapis? (first sentence)
      • At first, okapis appeared rare because they were infrequently captured (second sentence)
    • Answer: In 1985, scientists began fixing radio transmitters to captured specimens, and learned okapis were not as rare as had been thought, but are very concentrated in forestland in northeastern central Africa (third-fourth sentences)
    • Author’s attitude: “others theorized” (second sentence); “reliable information” (third sentence); “extremely limited chain” (fourth sentence)

Paragraph 3

  • Paragraph note
    • Okapis seem rare because of their behavior: coloration allows for camouflage, they don’t travel in groups, and they graze individually deep in the interior of the forest.
  • Views, minor Meta-Structures, and the author's attitude
    • Coloration of okapis mean they camouflage themselves well, even at close range (first sentence)
    • Okapis don’t travel in groups or with other large mammals (second sentence)
    • Okapis don’t graze at border of forest or in clearings (second sentence)
      • Live on leaves only, of over 100 species, and eat only a bit of each plant before moving on to the next plant (third-fourth sentences)
      • Forage individually (fifth sentence)
    • Author’s attitude: “seeming scarcity” (first sentence); “unlike any other animal” (third sentence); “subsist entirely on leaves” (third sentence); “individual rather than congregated” (fifth sentence)

Paragraph 4

  • Paragraph note
    • Other questions about the okapi’s preference for the interior of forests and preference for certain forestlands over others remain unanswered.
  • Views, minor Meta-Structures, and the author's attitude
    • Unanswered question 1: why do okapis remain in interior of forests even when preferred plants are found in the borderland between forest and savanna? (second sentence)
      • Theory 1: defense against predators (third sentence)
      • Theory 2: competition with other large animals who graze borderlands of forest/savanna more efficiently (third sentence)
    • Unanswered question 2: why are okapis absent from nearby forest regions that would seem to be ideal? (fourth sentence)
      • Theory 1: okapis respect borders from a time when forestland was scarce (fifth sentence)
    • Author’s attitude: “prefer to remain” (second sentence); “pushed into the forest” (third sentence); “more efficiently” (third sentence); “would seem hospitable” (fourth sentence); “theorize” (fifth sentence); “relicts of an era” (fifth sentence)

Main Point: Through research into its habits and behavior, scientists have answered some questions about the elusive okapi’s taxonomic classification and population size, but other questions about its behavior and preferred habitat remain unanswered.

Key Lines?

Paragraph 1, Sentence 1 (P1 S1): Many questions have been raised about the okapi since its discovery in 1900.

P1 S4: Answer to first question (classification)

P2 S4: Answer to second question (size and concentration of population)

P3 S1-2: Reasons for seeming scarcity

P4 S3: Theories 1 and 2 about third question (remain in interior of forests)

P4 S5: Theory 1 about fourth question (why remain in certain forest areas and not others)

Meta-Structure?

Question/Answer: This passage uses a Question/Answer Meta-Structure. Four questions about the okapi are posed by the author, and two are answered during the course of the passage. The remaining two questions are stated and theories that have been formulated to answer them are presented. The author appears to tacitly endorse the answers that they present in the passage. The overall tone is that of an informational update rather than an argument, and the author doesn’t seem to choose between the theories that they present at the end of the passage regarding the questions that haven’t been answered. The main point is simply a summary of the answers to the four questions that the author presents.

Last Thoughts?

Like many explanatory science passages, this is a passage without a strong argument, written to convey information on an interesting but not-fully-studied subject. The presentation is organized and straightforward, and there are no tricky questions about tone or perspective to be answered, simply questions whose answers are well-supported by the passage.

Question prompt

Which one of the 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

Science

Strategy Overview

Reiterate the main point as we summarized it after reading through the passage, then find the answer that best matches it.

Answer Anticipation

As discussed in the Meta-Structure section above, this passage utilizes a Question/Answer Meta-Structure. In such a Meta-Structure, the main point is generally the author’s answers to the questions.In this passage, the author poses four questions about the okapi, including how it should be classified, how rare it is, why it keeps to the in interiors of forestland instead of grazing in the borderland between forest and savanna, and why does it inhabit only certain forestlands when there are others that would seem to suit it just as well? The author then presents answers to the first two questions based on research that has been done by scientists: the okapi is in the giraffe family, and it is not as rare as it first appeared, but its range is extremely limited to a very small tract of forestland in central Africa. The author presents hypotheses that scientists have come up with regarding the last two questions: the okapi keeps to the interior of forestland to avoid predation or because it has been outcompeted by other animals who graze in the borderlands; and the okapi keeps only to certain forestlands because it is respecting boundaries that used to apply to its habitat when forestland was much less common than it is now. We summarized the main point as: “Through research into its habits and behavior, scientists have answered some questions about the elusive okapi’s taxonomic classification and population size, but other questions about its behavior and preferred habitat remain unanswered.”Let’s look for this information in the answer choices.

Answer choices

  1. A
    Information gathered by means Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice A is not credited

    (A) Does this answer choice match our anticipation of the main point (“Through research into its habits and behavior, scientists have answered some questions about the elusive okapi’s taxonomic classification and population size, but other questions about its behavior and preferred habitat remain unanswered”)?

    No. The evidence gathered from radio-tracking collars helped to provide an answer to one of the questions raised about okapis since they were discovered (P2 S3), but it did not provide answers to all the questions about okapis, which is what the answer choice implies. This answer choice is inaccurate.

  2. B
    Because of their physical Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice B is not credited

    (B) Does this answer choice match our anticipation of the main point (“Through research into its habits and behavior, scientists have answered some questions about the elusive okapi’s taxonomic classification and population size, but other questions about its behavior and preferred habitat remain unanswered”)?

    .

    No. This answer choice is a paraphrase of the first sentence of the passage, but it does not express the main point. The main point is about the answers to the questions that have been posed, not about the fact that questions about okapis arose at the start of the twentieth century.

  3. C
    Research concerning okapis has Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice C matches the stem

    (C) Does this answer choice match our anticipation of the main point (“Through research into its habits and behavior, scientists have answered some questions about the elusive okapi’s taxonomic classification and population size, but other questions about its behavior and preferred habitat remain unanswered”)?

    Yes. This answer choice matches our anticipation by pointing out that some questions about the okapi have been answered, but others have not. It differs from our anticipation in that it does not recount the topics of the questions that have been answered, but this is not necessary in order for it to be accurate and to capture the main point.

  4. D
    A new way of Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice D is not credited

    (D) Does this answer choice match our anticipation of the main point (“Through research into its habits and behavior, scientists have answered some questions about the elusive okapi’s taxonomic classification and population size, but other questions about its behavior and preferred habitat remain unanswered”)?

    No. This answer choice is both inaccurate and too narrow. First, radio-tracking did not provide scientists with information about the okapi’s coloration; it was presumably observation of the animals that did that. Second, while radio-tracking collars did provide useful information to scientists that helped answer some of the questions that have been posed about the okapi since its discovery (P2 S3), this information is not the main point of the passage. The main point includes the answers to other questions that have been posed that radio-tracking collars did not help to answer, and includes the fact that some questions remain unanswered.

  5. E
    Despite new research involving Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice E is not credited

    (E) Does this answer choice match our anticipation of the main point (“Through research into its habits and behavior, scientists have answered some questions about the elusive okapi’s taxonomic classification and population size, but other questions about its behavior and preferred habitat remain unanswered”)?

    No. It’s not clear, based on the passage, whether this answer choice is accurate or not. The passage has presented four questions and answered two of them using actual research. Thus, it appears that half of the questions about the okapi have been answered. This answer choice says most have not been answered.

    Presumably, more questions have been raised about the okapi than are recounted in this passage, so it’s impossible to say, on the basis of this passage, whether most of the questions have been answered or not.

    For this reason, this answer choice is not the right one.

What this tests

Discussion

  • C vs E 1 reply

    Started by Abigail-Okereke

  • Answer Choice C 1 reply

    Started by Sallyanne-Tejan

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