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Fossilized teeth of an extinct species of herbivorous great

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Fossilized teeth of an extinct species of herbivorous great [#permalink] New post 06 Apr 2011, 07:22
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54% (02:29) correct 45% (01:25) wrong based on 2 sessions
Fossilized teeth of an extinct species of herbivorous great
ape have on them phytoliths, which are microscopic
petrified remains of plants. Since only phytoliths from
certain species of plants are found on the teeth, the apes'
diet must have consisted only of those plants.

The argument assumes which one of the following?

(A) None of the plant species that left phytoliths on the
apes' teeth has since become extinct.
(B) Plants of every type eaten by the apes left phytoliths on
their teeth.
(C) Each of the teeth examined had phytoliths of the same
plant species on it as all the other teeth.
(D) Phytoliths have also been found on the fossilized teeth
of apes of other extinct species.
(E) Most species of great ape alive today have diets that
consist of a fairly narrow range of plants.
[Reveal] Spoiler: OA

Last edited by vjsharma25 on 06 Apr 2011, 13:46, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Fossilized teeth [#permalink] New post 06 Apr 2011, 12:17
It's clearly (B)
Consider: apes might have eaten other plants, but scientists can't find any evidences, because these plants didn't leave phytoliths. So the conclusion will be flawed in this case.
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Re: Fossilized teeth [#permalink] New post 06 Apr 2011, 12:35
I agree with the post above,
[Reveal] Spoiler:
B
.

Argument summary;

x has been found on the fossilized teeth of an ape. Only certain variation of x are found on the teeth. Thus, the ape only ate those variations of x.

What is the argument assuming? Many things but more notably,
- All plants the ape ate would have left x.
- Wear and tear would not cause some x to fall off.
- X wasn't added to the apes teeth after he died.
etc...

(A) is wrong. If the plants became extinct or not is irrelevant. They could still have left x.
(B) is correct. This is the same as one of the assumption I wrote above ("All plants the ape ate would have left x).
(C) is wrong. Which x were on which teeth is irrelevant.
(D) is wrong. This would actually provide evidence that the conclusion is incorrect, so, obviously the author is not assuming it. Assumption are things that must be true to make teh conclusion true.
(E) is wrong. It is irrelevant what ape species today eat. The authoer is talkinga bout ancient apes, not modern ones.

If anything I wrote above is unclear, please ask me to clarify.

Thanks,

Jared
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Re: Fossilized teeth [#permalink] New post 06 Apr 2011, 12:39
ulm wrote:
It's clearly (B)
Consider: apes might have eaten other plants, but scientists can't find any evidences, because these plants didn't leave phytoliths. So the conclusion will be flawed in this case.

The argument says that plants of "certain types" but the answer says that "plant of every type". I got confused by this.Thogh we can reach the answer by POE as none of the other options presents a reasonable/strong assumption.
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Re: Fossilized teeth [#permalink] New post 06 Apr 2011, 12:48
b - eliminates the possibility that could weaken the conclusion

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Re: Fossilized teeth [#permalink] New post 15 Sep 2011, 22:44
B helps the argument stand by stating that all plans eaten by apes left phytoliths on teeth. If only some plants ate by apes have phytoliths, the argument will not be valid.

This is a defender type assumption question.
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Re: Fossilized teeth [#permalink] New post 15 Sep 2011, 22:54
ulm wrote:
It's clearly (B)
Consider: apes might have eaten other plants, but scientists can't find any evidences, because these plants didn't leave phytoliths. So the conclusion will be flawed in this case.



agree with you
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Re: Fossilized teeth of an extinct species of herbivorous great [#permalink] New post 18 Apr 2012, 10:14
+1 B

If some plants don't leave residues, we cannot conclude that there were the only plants consumed.
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Re: Fossilized teeth of an extinct species of herbivorous great [#permalink] New post 07 May 2012, 06:52
Clearly after B ..one stops looking at other options
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Re: Fossilized teeth of an extinct species of herbivorous great [#permalink] New post 22 May 2012, 11:44
easier one but time taking for me..but i got it right..B it is!
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Re: Fossilized teeth of an extinct species of herbivorous great   [#permalink] 22 May 2012, 11:44
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