PrepTest 141, Section 1, Question 3
Charles Darwin objected to all attempts to reduce(440 more words not shown)
The author asserts which one(8 more words not shown)
- AThe majority of(9 more words not shown)
- BThe majority of(10 more words not shown)
- CThe majority of(9 more words not shown)
- DThe majority of(8 more words not shown)
- EThe majority of(9 more words not shown)
Reading the passage
The genetics paragraph divides mutations by their effect on reproductive success. Some help, some hurt, and most do neither. That's the distinction we should carry into the choices.
What we’re looking for
Be careful with “neither.” It doesn't mean most mutations produce no changes at all. The author says neutral changes can affect a species' attributes while making no difference to reproduction. Their persistence is precisely what creates a problem for the strict constructionist account.
Working the answers
- A
The author discusses neutral changes that persist across generations. We aren't told that most mutations fail to get passed down.
- B
This combines the two examples into a claim neither makes. Mass extinctions appear in the paleontology discussion; the author doesn't say most mutations occur during them.
- C
There is no comparison establishing that most mutations affect behavior rather than appearance. Both kinds of attributes fall within the broader discussion.
- DCorrect
Most mutations neither enhance nor diminish reproductive success. This states the actual majority claim from the third paragraph. It also explains why the author thinks natural selection cannot account for the persistence of all such changes.
- E
We aren't given a relationship between an organism's size and how often mutations occur. Small size matters in the later survival example, not in this claim about most mutations.
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