Unlike in the vast majority of species of monkeys, in a newly discover

Question

Unlike in the vast majority of species of monkeys, in a newly discovered society of minuscule monkeys in South Africa the dominant male is not the largest specimen, but rather the one with the strongest odor, even if it is quite unimpressive looking.

Which of the following, if true, would most contribute to an explanation of the facts above?

A. The new type of monkey is deaf.

B. Odor plays a role in the ability to determine ovulation among many mammals.

C. The new species of monkey is visually impaired, and thus relies on its sense of smell.

D. In most monkey communities the largest and strongest males are the alpha males and they mate with the mature females of the community.

E. Monkeys have a wide variety of parameters which together establish order of precedence among the males of a community.

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dhart · Answer

So, if this is case, as in many mammals , female selection of alpha male for breeding is done via difeerent physical characteristics, for miinsicule monkeys it is odor B

Shyam97 · Answer

option B refers to ovulation, which is about female reproductive cycles. The passage, however, is specifically about male dominance and hierarchy

option C If the species is visually impaired, physical appearance and size are useless for assessing dominance. This directly explains why they must rely on their sense of smell instead.

Rest option A, D and E is eliminated easiliy

ans must be C

dhart · Answer

Yes, since the species is visually impaired , then physical characteristics won't matter only thing that will matter is sense of smel. !Bingo

Minka99 · Answer

For me, B is the clear winner. The passage talks about dominant males, and how this newly discovered species shows that the most dominant male monkeys are not the biggest as is the case with other monkey species, but they have the strongest smell. This is the factor that determines their dominance. What is also true in nature is that the most dominant males are the most desirable by ovulating females.

EDIT

After reading the newer posts, I went over answer choices B and C again, and agree that C is the stronger choice here. In B, "many mammals" is absolutely too generic. Also, the logic of C is right: if the species of monkeys are visually impaired, size becomes significantly less important and smell significantly more crucial.

counterclash1 · Answer

Correct Answer: C

PARADOX DECONSTRUCTION:
- Standard Fact: In most monkey species, male dominance is based on size and physical appearance (visual traits).
- Unexpected Finding: In the newly discovered species, male dominance is based on odor strength, even if the male looks physically unimpressive.
- Core Question: What explains why visual appearance is ignored in favor of smell in this specific species?

STEP-BY-STEP OPTION BREAKDOWN:

- Option A: The new type of monkey is deaf.
 INCORRECT. Hearing is completely irrelevant to why the species uses smell instead of visual size to determine male hierarchy.

- Option B: Odor plays a role in the ability to determine ovulation among many mammals.
 INCORRECT. Ovulation relates to detecting female fertility, not establishing social rank or dominance among males.

-  Option C: The new species of monkey is visually impaired, and thus relies on its sense of smell.
 CORRECT. Provides the exact physical cause: because these monkeys cannot see well, visual size is useless to them, forcing them to rely on scent to evaluate and rank males.

- Option D: In most monkey communities the largest and strongest males are the alpha males and they mate with the mature females of the community.
 INCORRECT. Merely repeats the standard baseline rule already given in the prompt without explaining the exception in the new species.

- Option E: Monkeys have a wide variety of parameters which together establish order of precedence among the males of a community.
 INCORRECT. Too vague and general. Fails to explain specifically why odor overrides physical size in this particular species.

dhart · Answer

One or two , i accept , can have visual impairment, so C reasoning looks a bit away from line. B looks a lil more acceptable & relevnt , i too would go for  B
Due to this phiysical limitation , the monkeys can't see well . So the conclusion the natural selection of mating partner nwho has strongest odor holds right, i too thinnk option C

Vivek1707 · Answer

A. Being deaf doesn't explain why smell becomes more important than size or appearance.
B. This explains why smell can matter for reproduction, but the question is about male dominance, not detecting ovulation. Additionally "many mammals" is too generic.
C. Correct: If these monkeys can't see well, size and appearance become much less useful. So it makes sense that they rely more on smell to determine dominance.
D. This actually describes the usual pattern in other monkeys. It doesn't explain why this species is different.
E. Too vague. It says there are many factors, but doesn't explain why odor specifically is the deciding factor here.

Bunuel · Answer

OFFICIAL EXPLANATION

Unlike in the vast majority of species of monkeys, in a newly discovered society of minuscule monkeys in South Africa the dominant male is not the largest specimen, but rather the one with the strongest odor, even if it is quite unimpressive looking.

Which of the following, if true, would most contribute to an explanation of the facts above?

A. The new type of monkey is deaf.

Incorrect.

This is a Paradox question, so it is made up of premises only; you need to find a new premise which best resolves the apparent discrepancy between the existing premises. The first premise is derived from the words "Unlike in the vast majority...", as seen in the breakdown below:

Premise A: In most types of monkeys, the larger and more impressive looking males are the dominant ones.
✖
Premise B: A new monkey was discovered in which the dominant male is the one with the strongest smell, even if he is small.

Resolving Premise: ?

The fact that the new type of monkey is deaf does not explain the precedence of odor over size and appearance.

B. Odor plays a role in the ability to determine ovulation among many mammals.

Incorrect.

This answer choice explains why smell is important, but not how an unimpressive looking and smallish male can become the dominant one. In addition, ovulation occurs in females; while you do not need to know that to eliminate the answer choice, it could help you verify your suspicions.

C. The new species of monkey is visually impaired, and thus relies on its sense of smell.

If the newly discovered monkey is visually impaired, looks or even size become much less important. This indeed contributes to an explanation of how the strongest smelling male is the dominant one.

D. In most monkey communities the largest and strongest males are the alpha males and they mate with the mature females of the community.

Incorrect.

This is a Paradox question, so it is made up of premises only; you need to find a new premise which best resolves the apparent discrepancy between the existing premises. The first premise is derived from the words "Unlike in the vast majority...", as seen in the breakdown below:

Premise A: In most types of monkeys, the larger and more impressive looking males are the dominant ones.
✖
Premise B: A new monkey was discovered in which the dominant male is the one with the strongest smell, even if he is small.

Resolving Premise: ?

This answer choice emphasizes the paradox. If in most monkey communities the largest and strongest males are the alphas, why is the newly discovered species different?

E. Monkeys have a wide variety of parameters which together establish order of precedence among the males of a community.

Incorrect.

While this answer choice doesn't necessarily contradict the premises, it also does not resolve our paradox as it is too general and does not explain why odor is more important than looks among the newly discovered monkey community. There is a better answer choice which does so - look for it!

Unlike in the vast majority of species of monkeys, in a newly discover

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Unlike in the vast majority of species of monkeys, in a newly discover

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615 to 715 in 15 Days (Ria's Strategies)

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