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13 Oct 2021, 01:30
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A
Be sure to select an answer first to save it in the Error Log before revealing the correct answer (OA)!
Difficulty:
45%
(medium)
Question Stats:
69% (02:04) correct
31%
(02:13)
wrong
based on 414
sessions
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One theory to explain the sudden extinction of all dinosaurs points to “drug overdoses” as the cause. Angiosperms, a certain class of plants, first appeared at the time that dinosaurs became extinct. These plants produce amino-acid-based alkaloids that are psychoactive agents. Most plant-eating mammals avoid these potentially lethal poisons because they taste bitter. Moreover, mammals have livers that help detoxify such drugs. However, dinosaurs could neither taste the bitterness nor detoxify the substance once it was ingested. This theory receives its strongest support from the fact that it helps explain why so many dinosaur fossils are found in unusual and contorted positions.
Which one of the following, if true, would most undermine the theory presented above?
(A) Many fossils of large mammals are found in contorted positions.
(B) Angiosperms provide a great deal of nutrition.
(C) Carnivorous dinosaurs mostly ate other, vegetarian, dinosaurs that fed on angiosperms.
(D) Some poisonous plants do not produce amino-acid-based alkaloids.
(E) Mammals sometimes die of drug overdoses from eating angiosperms.
Which one of the following, if true, would most undermine the theory presented above?
(A) Many fossils of large mammals are found in contorted positions.
(B) Angiosperms provide a great deal of nutrition.
(C) Carnivorous dinosaurs mostly ate other, vegetarian, dinosaurs that fed on angiosperms.
(D) Some poisonous plants do not produce amino-acid-based alkaloids.
(E) Mammals sometimes die of drug overdoses from eating angiosperms.
14 Oct 2021, 01:15
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Bunuel
EXPLANATION FROM Fox LSAT
Oh my God, what the **** is this? “Fossils are found in unusual and contorted positions, therefore dinosaurs must have been tripping on magic mushrooms”?
We’re asked to undermine this theory, which should be fairly easy given that it is the stupidest thing I have ever heard. There are about a zillion reasons why fossils would be found in contorted positions that make more sense than tripping on drugs. Geological forces, for one thing, which would have had millions of years to contort the fossils after the dinosaurs were already dead. Or how about a T-Rex ripping the head off a Brontosaurus while eating him, thus leaving the loser’s body in a contorted position? This argument is just comically bad.
A) I suppose this weakens the theory, because unless whales and elephants were also tripping on mushrooms then it provides a disconnect between “found in contorted positions” and “tripping.”
B) How is nutrition relevant? The nutjob would say, “Yes, I know that magic mushrooms are nutritious! And they also made the dinosaurs see purple unicorns.”
C) I don’t see how carnivores vs. herbivores is relevant, either. The nutjob might say, “Even if the herbivores were the only ones eating the mushrooms, the carnivores were also tripping off the herbivore carcasses.”
D) Nah. This answer is very weak because of the word “some.” “Some” just means “one or more,” and I don’t see how “one or more poisonous plants do not produce alkaloids” would ruin the idea that the dinosaurs were tripping.
E) This would only strengthen the argument, not weaken it.
Our answer is A, because it comes the closest to saying, “There are a lot of other reasons a fossil might be found in contorted positions besides tripping.” This might be the strangest LSAT question of all time, by the way.
General Discussion
13 Oct 2021, 02:12
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(A) This weakens the theory presented in the passage as mammal's could detoxify such drugs while dinosaurs couldn't, the toxic plants cannot be the reason that dinosaurs are found in unusual and contorted positions and thus "drug overdoses" cannot be the reason behind their sudden extinction. Correct
(B) The nutritional value of the plants is irrelevant to whether or not they caused the dinosaurs' sudden extinction. Incorrect
(C) This would strengthen the argument as it now offers a reason as to why meat-eating dinosaurs would have gone extinct from a "drug overdose". Incorrect
(D) This is irrelevant to the argument. While some may not, others do and could still be the reason behind the "drug overdose". Incorrect
(E) Does nothing to weaken the theory presented in the passage. Incorrect
Answer A
(B) The nutritional value of the plants is irrelevant to whether or not they caused the dinosaurs' sudden extinction. Incorrect
(C) This would strengthen the argument as it now offers a reason as to why meat-eating dinosaurs would have gone extinct from a "drug overdose". Incorrect
(D) This is irrelevant to the argument. While some may not, others do and could still be the reason behind the "drug overdose". Incorrect
(E) Does nothing to weaken the theory presented in the passage. Incorrect
Answer A
