Reading ComprehensionDifficulty: Easy

PT107 S2 P3 Q20 Explanation

Platypus Bill

A free, expert breakdown of this official LSAT Reading Comprehension question.

TopicsInferenceScience

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Passage

Scientists have long known that the soft surface of the bill of the platypus is perforated with openings that contain sensitive nerve endings. Only recently, however, have biologists concluded on the basis of new evidence that the animal uses its bill to locate its prey while underwater, a conclusion suggested by the bill. But Bohringer’s investigations did not explain how the animal locates its prey at a distance.

Scheich’s neurophysiological studies contribute to solving this mystery. His initial work showed that when a platypus feeds, it swims along steadily wagging its bill from side to side until prey is encountered. It thereupon switches to searching behavior, characterized by erratic movements of the bill over a small area at the bottom reasonable to assume that all the invertebrates on which the platypus feeds must produce electric fields.

What this question is testing

Inference

Your task

Find what must be true based on what the passage or stimulus states.

Common trap

Answers that are plausible or likely but not actually guaranteed by the text.

Winning move

Keep only the choice the statements fully support — eliminate anything that requires an extra assumption.

Reading along? Open the full official question in LawHub — we show a fragment here and keep the reasoning in our own words.

The question
20.

It can be inferred from the passage that during patrolling behavior, the platypus

Answer choices

  1. Wrong Mode5% picked this

    capture prey that it has

    We're looking for "attempting to locate prey", and this is saying "attempting to capture prey that it has detected". First, it's on patrol, looking for prey. Once it encounters prey, it switches out of patrolling mode and into searching mode. So this answer seems to describe searching mode.

  2. Wrong Mode4% picked this

    distinguish one kind of prey from

    We're looking for "attempting to locate prey", and this is saying "attempting to distinguish one kind of prey from another". Distinguishing prey happens once it's already homing in on the object and seizing it (during Search Mode)

  3. Correct83% picked this

    detect electric fields produced by potential

    Why this is right

    We're looking for "attempting to locate prey", and this and (E) are the two answers that convey the idea of trying to locate prey. So then we have to ask ourselves, does a platypus locate prey by detecting electric fields (C), or by picking up the scent (E)? The 2nd paragraph is telling us that the platypus detects the electric field of its prey. That's how in the experiment they were able to attract a platypus using a 1.5 volt battery.

    Skill tested: Inference · how this choice captures the passage's function is the move to repeat next time.

  4. Wrong Receptor5% picked this

    stimulate its

    The mechanoreceptors are what is used for tactile pressure, once the platypus has switched into searching mode and is homing in on the object and seizing it. The electroreceptors are what the platypus is using during the patrolling phase, as it tries to detect prey by picking up on their electric field.

  5. Wrong Detection Mechanism3% picked this

    pick up the scent of its

    We're looking for "attempting to locate prey", and this and (C) are the two answers that convey the idea of trying to locate prey. So then we have to ask ourselves, does a platypus locate prey by detecting electric fields (C), or by picking up the scent (E)? The 2nd paragraph is telling us that the platypus detects the electric field of its prey. That's how in the experiment they were able to attract a platypus using a 1.5 volt battery. The platypus likely can't smell anything underwater, especially given that "its eyes, ears, and nostrils are sealed when it is submerged" (2nd sentence of passage).

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