Logical Reasoning

PT105 · S2 · Q6 Besides laying eggs in her own

A free, expert breakdown of this official LSAT Logical Reasoning question.

  • Save & drill this skill — build targeted practice sets from questions like this one

  • Video walkthroughs — watch every question solved step by step

  • 81 official LSATs — as questions, timed sections & full-length tests

Start practicing free

Besides laying eggs in her own nest, any female wood duck will lay an egg in the nest of another female wood duck if she sees the other duck leaving her nest.

Statements

If a female wood duck sees another duck leaving its nest, the female will lay an egg in that nest.

Usually, this doesn't happen too much because the ducks' nests are well hidden.

pivot (however) causal (undercut)

When people put up nesting boxes, it undercuts the ducks' reproductive efforts.

These boxes become so crowded with eggs that few, if any, hatch.

Evaluate

This paragraph has the structure of, .

Normally, there aren't too many parasitic eggs put into a duck's nest because the nests are well hidden. However, when people put up a nesting box, there are tons of parasitic eggs in the box.

Often, the test wants us to notice how we've Flipped the Causal Difference-Maker.

Previously, there weren't too many extra eggs in one nest, because the nest was well-hidden. If nesting boxes do end up with too many extra eggs, it suggests that nesting boxes are not well hidden. It is much easier for a female duck to see another duck leave its nesting box.

Goal

Let's look for something safely worded that reinforces this contrast between well hidden nests that don't get extra eggs and more visible nesting boxes that result in too many extra eggs, which then somehow prevents most of the eggs in those boxes from hatching.

6.

The statements above, if true, most strongly support which one of the following?

  1. Female wood ducks will establish

    Too Strong: only when

    This is an extremely strong idea (conditional strength), which says, "If a natural nesting site isn't available, then a female wood duck will never establish a nest in a nest box". We don't have any to support such a harsh, limiting claim.

    2% picked this

  2. Nesting female wood ducks who

    Too Strong: most successful

    The paragraph doesn't give us any means of ranking which type of female wood duck is the #1 most successful of all, when it comes to breeding efforts.

    1% picked this

  3. The nesting boxes for wood

    Out of Scope: less space

    This answer is speculating a causal reason why nesting boxes get more filled up with eggs than natural sites do. But the passage insinuates a different causal reason: the natural nesting sites are well hidden. So if we're going to speculate why nesting boxes get more filled up with extra eggs, then it should be for the reason supported by the paragraph, not a brand new one like "nesting boxes are smaller".

    17% picked this

  4. Correct

    The nesting boxes would be

    Why this is right

    This has the classic Flip the Causal Difference-Maker form. If we're told that "Dave doesn't have much luck at job interviews because he talks too much about his knife collection", then we can infer that "Dave would be more effective in job interviews if he talked less about his knife collection". We inferred from the passage that nesting boxes fill up with extra eggs because they're not well hidden, which then undercuts the ducks' reproductive efforts. So we can support this flipped counterfactual that, "If nesting boxes were less visible (more well hidden), they would be more effective in helping wood ducks' reproductive efforts,"

    Skill tested: Most Supported · how this choice captures the argument's function is the move to repeat next time.

    79% picked this

  5. Nesting boxes are needed to

    Out of Scope: destruction of habitat

    Nothing in the paragraph suggested that nesting boxes are needed, nor do we have any evidence that much of the ducks' habitat has been destroyed. This answer is speculating a causal backstory for why "people put up nesting boxes to help the ducks breed".

    0% picked this

Continue the review in LSAT Lab

Save this question, watch the video walkthrough, and drill similar questions in your LSAT Lab account.

Save and practice this skill
LSAT Lab

Turn this review into a targeted study plan.

Save this question, drill more like it, watch the video walkthrough, and track your progress in your LSAT Lab account.

Start practicing free