LSAT 155 | Section 1 | Logical Reasoning: Q5

LR Question 5 Explanation

QUESTION TEXT: Of the dinosaurs of birdlike group called ornithomimids, the later…

QUESTION TYPE: Strengthen

CONCLUSION: G. bullatus fed by filtering food from water and mud.

REASONING: G. bullatus has remnants of a comblike plate in the beak. Such plates are used in modern ducks and geese to strain food from water and mud.

ANALYSIS: Like many arguments in Strengthen and Weaken questions, this argument has an assumption in it. The best way to strengthen the argument is to show that the assumption is justified. Here, the paleontologists conclude from the existence of a comblike plate that it was used for a particular purpose. One way to strengthen the argument is to show that the plate is likely to have been used for that purpose.

___________

1. This has nothing to do with the claim that this particular dinosaur with toothless beaks and weak jaw muscles filtered its food from water and mud.
2. The toothless beaks and weak jaw muscles are a red herring. We are really concerned with the comblike plate.
3. This doesn’t strengthen the argument. We don’t care how similar ducks and geese are to G. bullatus.
4. CORRECT. If the fossils are mostly in wet environments, it points toward the conclusion that the plate was used to filter water and mud.
5. It doesn’t matter how common the comblike plate is in other dinosaurs. We know that it’s present in this species.

Recap: The question begins with “Of the dinosaurs of birdlike group called ornithomimids, the later”. It is a Strengthen question. Learn how to master LSAT Strengthen questions on the LSAT Logical Reasoning question types page.