PrepTest 145, Section 2, Question 19
A recent study examined the daytime and nighttime(90 more words not shown)
Which one of the following,(19 more words not shown)
- AFor both lemur(12 more words not shown)
- BThe primary predators(17 more words not shown)
- CIn both habitats,(13 more words not shown)
- DThe lemur population(15 more words not shown)
- EThe lemur population(19 more words not shown)
Reading the argument
Why is the winter shift toward nighttime activity stronger in the forest that loses leaves?
Both groups become more nocturnal in winter. The difference is that the shift is much more pronounced in the deciduous forest, where many trees lose their leaves. The rain forest keeps a more consistent canopy. So we need something about those different conditions that would make nighttime activity especially useful in the deciduous forest.
What we’re looking for
Could it be food? Perhaps a food source there is easier to find at night. Or could it be predators? Losing cover might make daytime activity riskier. These are possibilities, not facts we can add. The question asks for evidence explaining the difference between the groups, so an answer should connect a supplied fact to that difference in winter behavior.
Working the answers
- A
Daytime competitors could give both groups some reason to seek food at night. But A doesn't explain why the winter shift is larger in the deciduous forest. It provides no connection between competition and the change in tree cover or any other relevant difference between the habitats.
- BCorrect
High-flying birds hunt by sight during daylight. Now the tree cover matters: when many leaves fall in the deciduous forest, lemurs can become more exposed to predators looking down from above. Being active at night helps avoid that particular danger.
In the rain forest, the consistent canopy can continue to provide cover. The difference needn't be perfect protection in one forest and none in the other; greater exposure in the deciduous forest is enough to help explain a larger shift.
Notice that B describes a threat shared by both populations. That doesn't disqualify it. The same visual hunters can affect the two groups differently because their winter cover differs. The answer works together with the habitat information in the passage.
- C
More active daytime snakes could help explain why both populations become more nocturnal in winter. But why would that pressure increase more in one forest? Unlike the high-flying birds in B, these snakes aren't described in a way that connects the loss of overhead cover to a greater danger for one group. We would need to supply that missing link.
- D
Twice as many lemurs doesn't explain a different activity pattern. We need to know why the time of activity changes more in one group. Population size alone gives no reason for that seasonal difference.
- E
A dietary difference sounds promising because food was one of our guesses. But we aren't told when the insects are available or why eating them requires daytime activity. Nor are we told how the diets create a different winter pressure.
To make E work, we'd have to add a story—for example, that insects can be caught only during the day, keeping rain-forest lemurs active then. The answer doesn't give us that story. B supplies the daylight hunting mechanism and connects it to the canopy difference already established.
More Paradox questions
Learn the LSAT our way
Our platform drills Paradox questions at your level and adjusts as you improve.