Preptest 7 LR Section 1 #14 Lobster Traps Forum

[secretad]

It is an assumption question (necessary assumption).

I picked the correct answer but it was luck, I had it between two answers, B and E.

I want to talk more about answer choice B. When you negate that answer choice to see if it makes the argument, aka its conclusion, fall apart.

The negation of choice B is that two months is not the longest known period during which eight or more lobsters have been trapped together.

Well, if this is the case, I feel it destroys the argument's conclusion. The conclusion is, "The marine biologists' hypothesis, therefore, is clearly wrong."

If it is the case that the biologists only checked for two months, and two months is not the longest known period, then you cannot say "clearly the hypothesis is wrong." This is because you have not allowed for adequate time for the action to occur. Perhaps it takes a while for these lobsters to get desperate and eventually cave in to cannibalism. Maybe they have an instinct that is triggered only when a certain amount of time passes, which was caused by evolutionary means.

[EarlCat]

It is an assumption question (necessary assumption).

I picked the correct answer but it was luck, I had it between two answers, B and E.

I want to talk more about answer choice B. When you negate that answer choice to see if it makes the argument, aka its conclusion, fall apart.

The negation of choice B is that two months is not the longest known period during which eight or more lobsters have been trapped together.

Well, if this is the case, I feel it destroys the argument's conclusion. The conclusion is, "The marine biologists' hypothesis, therefore, is clearly wrong."

If it is the case that the biologists only checked for two months, and two months is not the longest known period, then you cannot say "clearly the hypothesis is wrong." This is because you have not allowed for adequate time for the action to occur. Perhaps it takes a while for these lobsters to get desperate and eventually cave in to cannibalism. Maybe they have an instinct that is triggered only when a certain amount of time passes, which was caused by evolutionary means.

First and foremost, THIS is how you post an LSAT question. You ID'd the question, explained where you got held up, and provided your reasoning. This is soooooo much more useful than "I don't get why it's E and not B."

The problem with B is that you can only speculate about what took place during that period of longer than two months. If some lobsters had been in a trap for 3 months or 4 months or 30 years and didn't cave into cannibalism, that doesn't really change the conclusion. The biologists think lobsters will eat each other in response to hunger. What's missing from B is any discussion of whether the lobsters, during those long periods sharing a trap, got hungry.

[vamos]

Here's my paraphrase of the stimulus and correct answer choice:

Hypothesis: Hunger causes cannibalism
Argument: 2 months without any signs of cannibalism (assumes hunger occured), therefore, the hypothesis is wrong

(E) hunger occurred

[secretad]

First and foremost, THIS is how you post an LSAT question. You ID'd the question, explained where you got held up, and provided your reasoning. This is soooooo much more useful than "I don't get why it's E and not B."

The problem with B is that you can only speculate about what took place during that period of longer than two months. If some lobsters had been in a trap for 3 months or 4 months or 30 years and didn't cave into cannibalism, that doesn't really change the conclusion. The biologists think lobsters will eat each other in response to hunger. What's missing from B is any discussion of whether the lobsters, during those long periods sharing a trap, got hungry.

Thanks for the kind remarks.

This is the kind of question right now that is keeping me from the 170 mark. It isn't the necessary assumption questions. Rather, it is the elimination of all answer choices but two, and being able to make a case for both choices. As in the case of this question, a question I ACTUALLY GOT RIGHT, I feel it is a false correct answer for myself because I could not, at that time, explain why E was right or B was wrong.

Its precisely these answer choices, like B, that I do not have enough mental ammo to place as an incorrect answer. Thanks for the help.

[EarlCat]

Its precisely these answer choices, like B, that I do not have enough mental ammo to place as an incorrect answer. Thanks for the help.

You got the ammo...your aim was just a little off.