Logical ReasoningDifficulty: Easy

PT142 S4 Q10 Explanation

In 2005, paleontologist Mary

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

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Stimulus

In 2005, paleontologist Mary Schweitzer made headlines when she reported finding preserved soft tissue in the bones of a Tyrannosaurus rex dinosaur. Analysis of the collagen proteins from the T. rex showed them to be similar to the collagen proteins in modern-day chickens. evidence that dinosaurs are closely related to birds.

What this question is testing

Evaluate

Your task

Break the argument into its conclusion and evidence, then do exactly what the question stem asks with that structure.

Common trap

Answers that sound relevant to the topic but don't connect to the argument's actual reasoning.

Winning move

Predict what a right answer must do, then test each choice against the conclusion-evidence gap.

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

The question
10.

The answer to which one of the following questions would be most useful to know in order to

Answer choices

  1. Trap1% picked this

    How rare is it to find preserved soft tissue in the bones

  2. Trap4% picked this

    Is there any evidence at all against the claim that dinosaurs are closely

  3. Correct91% picked this

    How likely is it for animals that are not closely related to each other to

    Why this is right

    Answer C is correct.

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

  4. Trap2% picked this

    Is it possible that T. rex is more closely related to modern-day chickens than to certain

  5. Trap2% picked this

    Before Schweitzer's discovery, did researchers suppose that the collagen proteins in T. rex and chickens

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