PrepTest 127, Section 4, Question 13
Mechanisms for recognizing kin are found throughout the(466 more words not shown)
The passage states which one(15 more words not shown)
- AThe mechanisms are(23 more words not shown)
- BThe mechanisms have(11 more words not shown)
- CThe mechanisms have(10 more words not shown)
- DThe detailed workings(14 more words not shown)
- EThe mechanisms operate(12 more words not shown)
Reading the passage
Keep the opening distinction straight: mechanisms tell us how organisms recognize relatives; evolutionary explanations address why that ability developed. This question asks for a stated point about the mechanisms. We should return to that wording rather than supply another plausible biological generalization.
Working the answers
- A
The author allows different purposes in different species, rather than recommending an assumption that all serve the same purpose.
- BCorrect
The second sentence says improved understanding of the mechanisms has turned attention to the reason organisms recognize relatives in the first place (paragraph 1). That's exactly the movement B describes: better understanding of how, followed by interest in why.
- C
The 1960s date belongs to inclusive fitness theory. It doesn't date the first theoretical attention to recognition mechanisms generally.
- D
We aren't told that further understanding of the detailed workings is a prerequisite for fully explaining their purpose. Describing progress that prompted a question doesn't establish this requirement.
- E
The examples don't establish differently operating mechanisms serving exactly the same function. Different possible purposes are discussed; the particular same-function comparison E adds isn't stated.
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