Logical Reasoning

PT145 · S4 · Q16 Researcher: Dinosaurs lack turbinates

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Researcher: Dinosaurs lack turbinates—nasal cavity bone structures in warm-blooded species that minimize water loss during breathing.

Conclusion

These paleobiologist must be mistaken (not all dinosaurs were cold-blooded)

Evidence

Some dinosaurs lived in Australia and Alaska, where temperatures drop below freezing.

Only warm -blooded animals can live in those temperatures.

Evaluate

Whenever we're doing Main Conclusion or Role, we read the argument knowing that there's a high tendency the Conclusion will either be the first sentence, or it will be part of some but /yet/ however rebuttal.

This one is the latter, signified by "however".

The claim we're being asked about it the final claim, which was the 2nd of our two premises.

Goal

Let's look for some version of .

16.

Which one of the following most accurately describes the role played in the researcher's argument by the claim that only warm-blooded animals could survive temperatures below freezing?

  1. It is presented as a

    Opposite

    Our claim is SUPPORT for the Main Conclusion. A counterexample is OPPOSING.

    2% picked this

  2. Correct

    It is a premise offered

    Why this is right

    Looks good. The conclusion was "some dinos were warm-blooded", and why should we believe that? Two premises combined: - some dinos lived in where there were sub-freezing temps - only warm-blooded can live in sub-freezing temps

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

    76% picked this

  3. It is presented as counterevidence

    Wrong Role

    The turbinates discussion was how paleobiologists arrived at the conclusion that all dinosaurs were cold-blooded, but the author doesn't ever directly address the turbinate evidence. It also doesn't sound like our claim could sensibly be construed as counterevidence. paleobiologists: dinosaurs lack turbinates us: no, they don't paleobiologists: what's your counterevidence? us: only warm blooded animals can survive sub-freezing temps paleobiologists: ... ?

    5% picked this

  4. It is the argument’s main

    Wrong Role

    The conclusion was "these paleobiologists must be mistaken". The conclusion on Role questions is almost never (90% or more of the time) the final claim. The final claim, 90% of the time, is some sort of Supporting idea. We shouldn't expect "only warm-blooded animals can survive sub-freezing temps" to be a conclusion anywhere on LSAT, since it sounds like a fact, not an opinion.

    2% picked this

  5. It is an intermediate conclusion

    Wrong Role

    When we have a SUPPORT idea, and an answer choice says, "was it an Intermediate Conclusion", then we just do The Support Test. An intermediate conclusion provides support to the Main Conclusion but receives support from a Premise. Main Conc. why? because Intermediate Conc. why? because Premise According to this answer choice, we could arrange the final two claims like this: Only warm-blooded animals can survive sub-freezing temperatures. Why should we believe that? Because, some dinosaurs lived in Australia and Alaska. Say, WHAT? That conversation made no sense. So we can tell that the 2nd to last idea is not providing support for why we should believe the last idea. The two of them work together to prove the conclusion. Survive sub-freezing ? warm blooded + Some dinosaurs (in Australia/Alaska) survived sub-freezing ------------------ Some dinosaurs warm blooded.

    16% picked this

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