Zoologists seeking evidence that the Gigantopithicus (giant ape) once

VERITAS PREP OFFICIAL SOLUTION:

Solution: C

This is an Inference question, as evidenced by the phrase “which of the following conclusions is best supported.” The information in the body of the question supports the conclusions below. Since we are looking at an Inference question, our first line of defense is to apply the “no new information” filter to the conclusions. Conclusions with new information not found in the body of the question are not necessarily true.

Answer choice “A” mentions that the Neanderthals were not native to this region, but there is no information in the body of the question that supports this. Neanderthals moving in from another region is clearly new information. We cannot make a conclusion about something we don’t have information on. As a result, we do not know that answer choice “A” is true.

Answer choice “B” also contains new information: the body of the question does not mention how long the Gigantopithicus species lived. Therefore, we cannot make a conclusion about something we don’t have information on. Answer choice “B” is not necessarily true.

Answer choice “C” combines two given premises: if Gigantopithicus is known to have gone extinct before Neanderthal man came into existence and the bottom of the middle layer contains some Neanderthal bones, then the middle layer could not represent the period in which Gigantopithicus lived. (Notice that Gigantopithicus must have lived before the Neanderthal bones could have been deposited.) The evidence strongly supports answer choice “C”.

Answer choice “D” contains a prediction of the future – “Zoologists will not find any evidence…” This is a common trap of the Testmaker. Predictions imply that the same conditions that exist for a small sample will be the same for another sample. This is a type of overgeneralization and is very hard to prove. There is no support either way of what will happen, either way. It is possible that the zoologists will not find any evidence of Gigantopithecus, but it is also possible that they will find some. After all, they are not done digging!

Answer choice “E” contains information not supported in the passage. We know that Neanderthal bones were found in the middle layer, but the problem explicitly states that no Neanderthal bones were found in the lower layer. Thus, we do not know if the lower layer represents a period during which Neanderthal man lived. We cannot make a conclusion about something we don’t have information on. Answer choice “E” is not necessarily true.­