PrepTest 153, Section 2, Question 14
Biologists are mistaken in thinking that the fossil(56 more words not shown)
Which one of the following(9 more words not shown)
- ANo early apes(8 more words not shown)
- BThe claims made(7 more words not shown)
- CThe fossil remains(12 more words not shown)
- DThe fossil record(9 more words not shown)
- EPaleontologists' classifications of(12 more words not shown)
Reading the argument
Why wouldn't fossils provide direct evidence? I'd want to understand that objection before accepting it.
The author says fossil classification depends on the models scientists bring to the evidence. The pelvis example makes the concern more concrete. A pelvis is a hip bone. If someone says, “This pelvis supported upright walking, so it belonged to an early human,” that classification relies on upright walking being a feature that distinguishes early humans from apes. The author questions treating the classification as evidence independent of that assumption.
What we’re looking for
I'm not ready to decide from this short passage whether that criticism is successful. But the question asks for the conclusion, so we do not have to settle the scientific dispute. What is the author trying to establish? That the biologists are mistaken about the fossil record providing direct evidence. The discussion of classification and the pelvis example are offered to support that objection.
Working the answers
- A
This resembles the assumption involved in the pelvis example. It is not the argument's ultimate point, and the author does not establish as a universal biological fact that no early ape could stand upright. The example is supposed to expose an assumption in classification, not prove that assumption.
- B
This is broader than the argument. The author criticizes interpreting fossils as direct evidence; B speaks about objectively testing the claims of evolutionary theorists generally. Those claims might involve evidence other than fossil classification. B does not accurately restate the targeted conclusion.
- C
Difficulty distinguishing remains may sound related to the pelvis example, but that is not what the author is ultimately trying to prove. The conclusion challenges the claim that the fossil record directly reveals human evolution. C substitutes a claim about distinguishing particular remains.
- DCorrect
I initially wanted an answer beginning with “The biologists are mistaken.” This one does not use those words, but it says what the author thinks they are mistaken about.
The biologists' claim is that the fossil record provides direct evidence of the course of human evolution. Calling them mistaken about that claim means denying that the record directly reveals that course. D expresses that denial. It is an accurate restatement, not merely the closest-looking answer.
Check the support direction: why does the author deny direct evidence? Because the classifications depend on the theories being tested. That explanation supports D, which is why D is the overall conclusion.
- E
This is the reason the author gives for rejecting the biologists' view. Classifications supposedly depend on the theories, so the fossil record supposedly does not provide direct evidence. E is important to the argument, but it serves the larger claim in D rather than replacing it.
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