Shark teeth are among the most

Answer choices

1. A

   Correct89% picked this

   Unlike the bony skeletons of other vertebrates, shark skeletons are composed of cartilage, and teeth and bone are much more likely

   Why this is right

   This explains why shark teeth are more common than than shark skeletons. Shark skeletons are composed of cartilage and cartilage is much less likely to fossilize than teeth and bone.

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

   89%
2. B

   Too Weak2% picked this

   The rare fossilized skeletons of sharks that are found are often found in areas other than those in which fossils

   That shark skeletons are found in different areas than shark teeth does not explain why they are found less often than shark teeth.

   2%
3. C

   Too Weak1% picked this

   Fossils of sharks' teeth are quite difficult to distinguish from fossils of other

   For this to explain the abundance of shark teeth relative to shark skeletons it would need to be assumed that other kinds of teeth are misidentified as shark teeth. If shark teeth were misidentified as other kinds of teeth, then the apparent paradox would be deepened for the abundance of shark teeth relative to shark skeletons would be even greater than is now understood.

   1%
4. D

   Too Weak7% picked this

   Some species of sharks alive today grow and lose many sets of teeth

   This is about some species of shark alive today, while the apparent paradox centers on fossilized shark teeth and skeletons. Without knowing that these sharks that grow and lose many sets of teeth existed in the past, this cannot explain the fossil record.

   7%
5. E

   Too Weak0% picked this

   The physical and chemical processes involved in the fossilization of sharks' teeth are as common as those involved in

   This does not necessarily explain why there are more fossilized shark teeth than skeletons, since it does not make those conditions that fossilize teeth more common.

   0%