LSAT 123 | Section 4 | Reading Comprehension: Q10

RC Question 10 Explanation

DISCUSSION: This is a tricky question. All of the answers are mentioned in at least one passage. And the right answer only had an offhand mention in passage A.

It might make sense to scan the answers and leave this question for later. Then, when other questions have you look back at the passage, you might find the answer mentioned in both.

Personally, I did this question by skimming. I knew

• A. that bonding was a topic for passage B,
• C. that neurological research wasn’t central for either,
• D. that helplessness was just context for passage B
• E. and that tools weren’t important.

C and E were unimportant to either passage, and so they were unlikely to be correct. A and D were important for passage B, but they’re too specific, and hence they’re unlikely to be something mentioned offhand in passage A.

So I focussed on answer B. It was central to passage B (like A and D), but it was vague enough that passage A might have mentioned it in an offhand reference. I skimmed passage A to find that reference.

Why was I looking for a vague answer? Consider this: It is perhaps likely that a conversation will eventually mention something that falls under “History”, but it is unlikely for a conversation to mention, say, “The Battle of Concord”.

Specific things come up infrequently. General categories, however, are vague enough that many things fall under them. “Human Emotion” is so broad and vague that it’s very hard not to talk about it at all when discussing humans. That’s why I thought passage A was likely to have mentioned it at least in passing.

___________

1. Only passage B mentions bonding, between mothers and infants.
2. CORRECT. Passage A doesn’t focus on emotion, but it mentions it in lines 2-3. Passage B is mainly about the role of music in emotional bonding. See line 35 for one mention.
3. Only passage A mentions neurological research (lines 6-7). Passage B mentions neurological basis (line 60), but that isn’t neurological research. If I say “dog” that doesn’t mean I’m talking about “dog research”. You need the actual word.
4. Passage B mentions infant helplessness, in lines 54-55. Passage A mentions increasing brain size, but it doesn’t say that this causes helplessness.
5. Only passage A mentions tools, on line 4. Passage B does mention making videotapes of mothers (videotapes are a tool), but it was the mothers who were making sounds, without tools.