LSAT 128 | Section 3 | Logical Reasoning: Q10

LR Question 10 Explanation

QUESTION TEXT: Biologists often announce that a certain kind of animal …

QUESTION TYPE: Method of Reasoning

CONCLUSION: All animals use tools so the biologists’ announcements are unsurprising.

REASONING: If an animal achieves a purpose by using an external physical object, that object can reasonably be considered a tool. All animals do this.

ANALYSIS: The statement that biologists’ announcements are unsurprising is positioned as the conclusion of the argument. Essentially, the author argues that tool use is so broadly defined that every animal qualifies as a tool user, making biologists’ discoveries unremarkable.

___________

1. The argument assumes these activities are purposeful, but the statement about biologists’ announcements doesn’t provide evidence for this.
2. CORRECT. The argument builds up to the idea that all animals use tools, which is why biologists’ claims are unsurprising.
3. It’s not an assumption that the argument depends on without proving – it’s derived from the argument’s reasoning.
4. It doesn’t directly challenge the biologists’ criteria or prove them wrong. It simply claims that under the broader definition, their announcements are trivial.
5. There’s no ambiguous use of the word “external”.