PrepTest 142, Section 2, Question 15
Often a type of organ or body structure(58 more words not shown)
Which one of the following(9 more words not shown)
- Awill often live(11 more words not shown)
- Bwill in many(10 more words not shown)
- Cwill develop adaptations(6 more words not shown)
- Dwill resemble other(5 more words not shown)
- Ewill all develop(5 more words not shown)
Reading the argument
Different animals can arrive at the same solution without inheriting it from the same source.
Imagine two unrelated animals facing a similar problem, such as moving fluid through their bodies. If a particular pumping structure were the only workable solution, it wouldn't be surprising for both to develop that kind of structure. The shared result would reflect the shared problem and the limited ways of solving it. That's an illustration of the reasoning, not a claim that every animal must have the same anatomy.
What we’re looking for
The passage makes that point with organs and body structures such as eyes and wings. It then tells us animals have fundamentally similar needs despite differences in their heritage and habitats. To finish the sentence, carry that thought forward: similar needs will often lead to similar adaptations, even in unrelated species.
Working the answers
- A
Sharing a need doesn't require sharing an environment. The passage explicitly allows different habitats and explains why animals could still develop similar structures. A shifts the conclusion to where they live rather than how they meet their needs.
- BCorrect
Similar adaptations meeting similar needs complete the reasoning. When animals face a shared task and only certain structures can accomplish it, independent evolution can produce similar solutions. “In many instances” also fits the passage's claim that this often happens, without turning it into a rule about every animal.
- C
Developing adaptations is only part of the thought. The passage explains why unrelated species can develop similar adaptations. C drops that similarity, so it could describe each species developing an entirely different solution. It misses the point the opening sentence sets up.
- D
The passage connects similar needs with similar solutions. D switches to species with different biological needs and offers a broad resemblance instead of the particular adaptation relationship. That isn't the connection we're completing.
- E
Eyes and wings are examples, not required equipment for every animal. The argument doesn't say all animals need to see or fly, or that they must develop either of those particular structures. It says similar problems can produce similar adaptations; E turns two illustrations into a universal prediction.
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