The last members of a now-extinct species of a European wild deer call

why not D?
If the paintings were made well before 16000 years ago, it could be at a time when the deers had a hump which could have disapeared progressively.

C



D could be easily refuted by an argument - that may be the painting depict some other species of deer (which lived in the different time period) rather than the one in question. C is best suited here.

Dear gmatexam439,

I'm happy to respond

My friend, many students labor under the misconception that ALL outside information is irrelevant to the GMAT CR. It's true that one doesn't need specific knowledge of the topic--in this instance, the giant deer--but one definitely has to have a sense of how the real world works. Think about it. Why does the GMAT ask Critical Reasoning questions? The GMAT has this question precisely because managers in the real world need to evaluate arguments of all kinds every day. In order to be successful on the GMAT CR, you have to have a keen sense of the business world and you need to have a grasp of the basic scientific facts that everyone learns in school. See:
GMAT Critical Reasoning and Outside Knowledge

Choice (C) does NOT refute the premise. Fossils are made of bone. Bone, the only rock-like part of the body, is the only part that endures like rock for centuries, even millennia. By contrast, the humps that these giant deer had were "fatty tissue, which doos not fossilize." Much in the same way, if you looked, say, at the skeleton of a camel, you wouldn't see the spine curve up into the humps. The humps of a camel are a real anatomical feature that we can see, but this feature is not reflected in the skeleton.

The live animal, whether the ancient giant deer or the modern camel, has the fatty humps we can see: they are part of the living animal. Ancient cave painters, seeing the living giant deer, would have seen its hump. When the animal dies and rots away, so only the rock-like bones of the fossil are left, no hump would be visible on either animal. Thus, the animal really has a hump and the fossil doesn't.

Does all this make sense?
Mike

Dear gmatexam439,

I'm happy to respond.

My friend, context is everything! Don't get caught in the trap of applying a one-size-fits-all rule.

Think about it. In human affairs--the business world, the political realm, social movements, etc.--there really is no true "always" or "never" statement. The human realm is one of exceptions. This is precisely why extreme statements on these issues are suspect. There are general trends, of course--most scientists would say that evolution is scientifically accepted, most people flying for business fly first class, most environmentalists are politically liberal, etc. All of those and many other similar statements are perfectly true with "most" but would be false with "all."

By contrast, the natural sciences and mathematics are realms were things frequently are always or never true.
No multiple of 12 is a prime number.
A positive electrical charge is always attracted to a negative charge.
When an object is accelerating, this acceleration always indicates the presence of an unbalanced force.
Soft animal tissue (i.e. not bone, teeth, shell, etc.) never fossilizes.
Those may be "extreme" sounding statements, but they are perfectly true.

Does this make sense?
Mike

Which of following most logically completes the argument?

The last members of a now-extinct species of a European wild deer called the giant dear lived in Ireland about 16,000 years ago. Prehistoric cave paintings in France depict this animal as having a large hump on its back. Fossils of this animal, however, do not show any hump. Nevertheless, there is no reason to conclude that the cave paintings are therefore inaccurate in this regard, since ______.

A. some prehistoric cave paintings in France also depict other animals as having a hump
B. fossils of the giant deer are much more common in Ireland than in France
C. animal humps are composed of fatty tissue, which does not fossilize
D. the cave paintings of the giant deer were painted well before 16,000 years ago
E. only one currently existing species of deer has any anatomical feature that even remotely resembles a hump

why not D?
If the paintings were made well before 16000 years ago, it could be at a time when the deer had a hump which could have disappeared progressively.

why not D?
If the paintings were made well before 16000 years ago, it could be at a time when the deers had a hump which could have disapeared progressively.

https://gmatclub.com/forum/which-of-following-most-logically-completes-the-argument-33561.html

Which of following most logically completes the argument?

The last members of a now-extinct species of a European wild deer called the giant dear lived in Ireland about 16,000 years ago. Prehistoric cave paintings in France depict this animal as having a large hump on its back. Fossils of this animal, however, do not show any hump. Nevertheless, there is no reason to conclude that the cave paintings are therefore inaccurate in this regard, since ______.

Notes
Ancient deer lived somewhere.
Paintings show deer with hump.
Fossils no hump.
C: paintings not inaccurate,
because

A. some prehistoric cave paintings in France also depict other animals as having a hump

Wrong:
Other animals Out of scope

B. fossils of the giant deer are much more common in Ireland than in France

Wrong: incidence of Fossils are not an issue in argument

C. animal humps are composed of fatty tissue, which dose not fossilize

Correct: People saw animal with hump, but Fossils did not capture it.
Negating Answer weakens argument, because it shows that Fossils would have captured the hump, but didn't and Therfore the paintings were inaccurate.

D. the cave paintings of the giant deer were painted well before 16,000 years ago

Wrong, because it shows that the painters did not capture the correct animal. This weakens the argument.

E. only one currently existing species of deer has any anatomical feature that even remotely resembles a hump

Wrong :
Out of scope: we aren't taking about currently existing species of deer.