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

Suppose that numerous okapis Remaining source text redacted.
Why the credited answer is right

Credited answer: E

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

Question Type

Science

Strategy Overview

Review the main point and any relevant parts of the passage and notes, if necessary, to anticipate what might happen in the scenario described.

Answer Anticipation

For questions that ask us to infer, from a few details in the passage, what must be true in a novel situation, we can start by quickly finding and reviewing those details. Once we review that part of the passage, we can anticipate what might happen in the hypothetical situation described. We should consider how the hypothetical situation applies to what we reviewed and whether it might follow a similar or distinct pattern to that described in the passage.Here, the question gives us a hypothetical set of facts and asks what the zoologists whose views are scattered throughout the passage would conclude about the facts. The situation in the question stem posits that scientists discover a new colony of okapis in a forested area scientists hadn’t explored. Based on the views expressed in the passage, what would scientists conclude about the colony?Most of the information about okapis in the passage has to do with their behavior, geographical location, and eating habits. So it is likely that the right answer choice will touch one one or more of these subjects.

Answer choices

  1. A
    Okapis were pushed into Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice A is not credited

    (A) Is this answer choice in line with what the scientists discussed in the passage would think about a newly-discovered colony of okapis?

    No. The passage discusses the possibility that okapis spend most of their time in the interior of forests because large animals on the borderlands between forest and savanna outcompete them for food in those areas (P4 S3), but does not suggest that okapis have been pushed out of the interiors of forests into other forestlands by these animals. So there is no support for this answer choice in the passage.

  2. B
    Okapis in this forest Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice B is not credited

    (B) Is this answer choice in line with what the scientists discussed in the passage would think about a newly-discovered colony of okapis?

    No. The passage mentions that okapis do not forage in the borderlands between forest and savanna (P4 S2), and posits a couple of theories to explain this behavior, which is puzzling to scientists because many of their preferred food plants grow in the border region (P4 S2).

  3. C
    Okapis in this forest Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice C is not credited

    (C) Is this answer choice in line with what the scientists discussed in the passage would think about a newly-discovered colony of okapis?

    No. There is no support for this answer choice in the passage. Why would the okapis in question not be threatened by the usual predators? The passage doesn’t refer to the okapis’ response to predators except to posit the theory that they stay in the interiors of forests in order to avoid predation (P4 S3). The passage doesn’t suggest that okapis in certain regions of forestland are not subject to the same predation as okapis in other regions.

  4. D
    Okapis moved into this Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice D is not credited

    (D) Is this answer choice in line with what the scientists discussed in the passage would think about a newly-discovered colony of okapis?

    No. Similarly to (C), there is no support for this statement in the passage. The author does not discuss anywhere in the passage that okapis migrate from forestland to forestland based on where their preferred foliage is located. Indeed, the okapi feeds on over 100 different plants (P3 S3), and it is more than likely that any given forest region would have at least some of the plants the okapi feeds on, so they wouldn’t need to migrate just to find suitable food.

  5. E
    Okapis lived in this Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice E matches the stem

    (E) Is this answer choice in line with what the scientists discussed in the passage would think about a newly-discovered colony of okapis?

    Yes. This answer choice is in line with P4 S5, which states that zoologists have theorized that okapis respect historical borders around their territory from a time when forestland was much more scarce than it is now. This answer choice is very much supported by the passage, and is the right answer.

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