kpadma wrote:
Recently discovered fossil evidence casts doubt on the evolutionary theory that dinosaurs are more closely related to reptiles than to other classes of animals. Fossils show that some dinosaurs had hollow bones-a feature found today only in warm-blooded creatures, such as birds, that have a high metabolic rate. Dinosaurs had well-developed senses of sight and hearing, which is not true of present-day cold-blooded creatures like reptiles. The highly arched mouth roof of some dinosaurs would have permitted them to breathe while eating, as fast-breathing animals, such as birds, need to do. Today, all fast-breathing animals are warm-blooded. Finally, fossils reveal that many dinosaurs had a pattern of growth typical of warm-blooded animals.
The argument in the passage proceeds by
(A) attempting to justify one position by demonstrating that an opposing position is based on erroneous information
(B) establishing a general principle that it then uses to draw a conclusion about a particular case
(C) dismissing a claim made about the present on the basis of historical evidence
(D) assuming that if all members of a category have a certain property then all things with that property belong to the category
(E) presenting evidence that a past phenomenon is more similar to one rather than the other of two present-day phenomena
Could some one explain the difference between position, principle, claim, and phenomenon. I thought I know the difference, but this question proved me otherwise!
The main point of the argument is that recently discovered dinosaurs' fossils support that dinosaurs were warm blooded (like birds), not cold blooded (like reptiles) as previously thought.
Then it goes on to give 4 specific points why it is likely that dinosaurs were warm blooded. The author uses present day evidence (warm blooded vs cold blooded animals today) to establish something about the past (how dinosaurs were millions of years ago)
(A) attempting to justify one position by demonstrating that an opposing position is based on erroneous information
The passage attempts to justify "dinosaurs were warm blooded" and oppose "dinosaurs were cold blooded".
The passage does not give any erroneous info on which cold blooded position is based. Instead, it gives recent discovery evidence that suggests warm blooded.
(B) establishing a general principle that it then uses to draw a conclusion about a particular case
The argument does not really establish any general principle. A general principle would be something like "only warm blooded animals have hollow bones".
The author gives us facts about today - today only warm blooded animals have hollow bones - and says that since dinosaurs' fossils show that they had hollow bones, so dinosaurs must have been warm blooded etc.
(C) dismissing a claim made about the present on the basis of historical evidence
It is the other way around. He makes a claim about the past based on present day evidence.
(D) assuming that if all members of a category have a certain property then all things with that property belong to the category
This would have been true if the author had said that all warm blooded animals have hollow bones and since dinosaurs had hollow bones too, dinosaurs must have been warm blooded. But that is not what he says. He says that today ONLY warm blooded animals have hollow bones (no cold blooded animals have hollow bones) so dinosaurs must have been warm blooded. The same for all other points he mentions too. He says ALL fast breathing are warm blooded so dinosaurs must have been warm blooded too.
(E) presenting evidence that a past phenomenon is more similar to one rather than the other of two present-day phenomena
Correct. He says that dinosaurs were more similar to warm blooded animals than to cold blooded animals.
Answer (E)