LSAT 142 – Section 1 – Question 04

LSAT 142 - Section 1 - Question 04

December 2014

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Question
QuickView		 Type Tags Answer
Choices		 Curve Question
Difficulty		 Psg/Game/S
Difficulty		 Explanation
PT142 S1 Q04
+LR
Strengthen +Streng
Causal Reasoning +CausR
A
0%
147
B
1%
158
C
97%
164
D
1%
151
E
1%
159
121
131
140
 +Easiest 145.991 +SubsectionMedium

Scientist: Rattlesnakes prey on young California ground squirrels. Protective adult squirrels harass a threatening rattlesnake by puffing up their tails and wagging them. New results show that the squirrel’s tail also heats up when harassing a rattlesnake. Since rattlesnakes have an infrared sensing organ that detects body heat, the heating up of the squirrel’s tail probably plays a role in repelling rattlesnakes.

Summarize Argument: Phenomenon-Hypothesis
The author hypothesizes that the heating up of the squirrel’s tail probably helps to repel rattlesnakes. This is based on the fact that adult squirrels harass threatening rattlesnakes by wagging and puffing up their tails. In addition, the tail heats up, and rattlesnakes can detect body heat.

Notable Assumptions
The author assumes there isn’t another explanation for why the squirrel’s tail heats up when a squirrel harasses a rattlesnake.

A
Rattlesnakes do not have the ability to increase the temperature of their tails.
We’re talking about the purpose of squirrels heating up their own tails. Rattlesnake tails are irrelevant.
B
Squirrels puff up their tails and wag them when they attempt to attract the attention of other squirrels.
This has no clear connection to the heating up of a tail and whether it’s related to repelling rattlesnakes.
C
Rattlesnakes react much more defensively when confronted with a squirrel whose tail is heated up than when confronted with one whose tail is not.
This strengthens the hypothesis by making it more plausible. The heating in a squirrel’s tail seems to make the rattlesnake feel more threatened, which is what we’d expect if the heat played a role in repelling snakes.
D
The rattlesnake is not the only predator of the California ground squirrel that causes it to engage in harassing behavior as a defensive mechanism.
The argument is about the role of a heated tail in repelling rattlesnakes. Other predators don’t strengthen the connection between a heated tail and repelling rattlesnakes.
E
Mammals such as the California ground squirrel have no organ for sensing infrared energy.
We’re talking about the effect of a squirrel’s heated tail on rattlesnakes. Whether squirrels can detect heat doesn’t matter, because we know that rattlesnakes can detect heat.

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LSAT PrepTest 142 Explanations

Section 1 - Logical Reasoning

Section 2 - Logical Reasoning

Section 3 - Reading Comprehension

Section 4 - Logical Reasoning

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