In 1977, a young wolf was observed
entering a cave in pursuit of prey. Soon,
other wolves started entering the cave,
and over the next few seasons, this
behavior became the norm for the entire
wolf pack. Before 1977, no wolf had been
seen entering or leaving the cave, and no
signs of wolves were found in the cave.
By 2004, the entire pack was spending
most of its winters in or near the cave.
Therefore, these wolves are capable of
adopting and passing on new behaviors,
and are not merely bound by their
genetics.
The argument above is based on which
of the following assumptions?
A) Genetic mutations in wolves can occur
in a fairly short timespan such as a few
decades.
B) New behaviors that emerge in wolf
populations over the course of a couple of
decades are not necessarily genetically
predetermined.
C) Only after certain patterns of behavior
become the norm for a given animal
population can it be inferred that a
genetic mutation has occurred in that
group.
D) The social actions of wolves are fully
independent of their genetics.
E) The wolves' new pattern of behavior
will continue for several generations to
come.
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Lets focus on the conclusion ;- wolves are capable of adopting changes and are not merely bound by genetics.
We have to find an answer that was considered while framing the argument i.e to say Assumption.
I ended up selecting B as it kills the conclusion when negated.
C:- It is a generalized answer just as inference type answer..we are required to find assumption not the conclusion. Hence C is out.
E:- It is what follows from the statement in a nutshell Must be true type answer... But yes even in Must be true this wont have been a correct answer as it strays out of the scope.. We cannot comment when will their this adopted behavior end. It may take generations or may end very soon.
D:- Is not true and cannot be considered an assumption. we are not concerned about just one habit of the wolves. It is contrary to barking of dogs if one dog barks all of them will bark, hence its a social action and is genetic.
I think in assumption questions we should without wasting time eliminate on the basis of out of scope and other, zero it down to two and then use negation technique.
close
58% (02:10) correct
