PrepTest 113, Section 3, Question 8
For all species of higher animals, reproduction requires(64 more words not shown)
If the statements above are(9 more words not shown)
- AThere are some(10 more words not shown)
- BThere are some(10 more words not shown)
- CThere is a(8 more words not shown)
- DSome species of(12 more words not shown)
- ESome offspring of(23 more words not shown)
Reading the argument
Keep the first rule in view: these animals need eggs to reproduce, but they don't all need sperm.
The female-only salamander gives us a concrete example of the second part. Its eggs hatch without fertilization. The passage then describes a drawback: the offspring's genetic codes are nearly identical to the parent's, making this species less adaptive than species with both sexes. We can follow those statements without supplying our own biology lesson or deciding exactly which animals count as 'higher.'
What we’re looking for
The question asks which choice cannot be true along with the passage. Four choices can fit; one directly conflicts. An unfamiliar claim isn't enough to reject an answer. We need to point to something in the passage that rules it out.
Working the answers
- A
A female-only salamander species doesn't prevent other salamander species from having males and females. The passage identifies a rare example, not a rule governing every salamander. A can be true alongside that example.
- BCorrect
This conflicts with the opening requirement. Every species of higher animal needs the production of eggs for reproduction. B describes a species in that category with no members producing eggs. That removes what the passage says is required.
We don't need the later details about genetic similarity to find the conflict. The first sentence supplies the rule B cannot fit, making B the exception we're looking for.
- C
We aren't told how many female-only species of higher animals exist. Calling this particular salamander species rare doesn't establish that the entire category contains only a few species. A significant number could exist without contradicting the example or the general reproductive rule.
- D
'Less adaptive' is a comparison, not a promise that every species with both sexes is highly adaptive. A species with both sexes could be more adaptive than the female-only example and still not be very adaptive overall. The passage gives us no absolute level that would rule D out.
- E
The passage describes genetic similarity in the female-only species. It doesn't require offspring in two-sex species to have genetic codes equally similar to each parent. E can remain possible without contradicting anything stated.
We shouldn't confuse similarity with a claim about the percentage inherited from each parent. E concerns how similar the codes are, and the passage doesn't settle that comparison.
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