One adaptation that enables an animal

Answer choices

1. A

   Too Weak20% picked this

   Most species with black-and-white coloration are more populous than the species that

   We might have thought, "well, they have no adaptations to counteract predation, but because they're more populous than the species that prey upon them, they've been able to survive for a long time". For example, cicadas come out of the ground every 17 years or so, in such staggering numbers that even though squirrels and birds and other animals feast on as many cicadas as they can eat, there are enough cicadas that still live to mate / reproduce, and keep the species going. But this answer isn't saying that they're the black-and-white creatures are way more populous, such that the predators would get full or tired before decimating the prey population. We'd be adding too many of our own assumptions to make this answer work.

   20%
2. B

   Too Weak Unrelated to Goal2% picked this

   No form of camouflage is completely effective against all kinds

   This is a super weak answer, since it just says "there at least one form a camouflage that is not 100% effective against 100% of predators". But that is kind of an obvious given about the world, kinda like no medicine is completely effective against all kinds of illnesses. More importantly, this is an answer about a species that has camouflage but not protection from predators. We're trying to solve a mystery about species that don't seem to camouflage but do have protection from predators.

   2%
3. C

   Correct64% picked this

   Animals of many predatory species do not perceive color or pattern in the same manner

   Why this is right

   This answer is supposed to be communicating, "these black and white species really DO have effective camouflage! Even though their coloration seems (to human perception) to be unlikely to provide effective camouflage, to many animals species, their perception of color and pattern might be such that to them this black and white coloration is effective camouflage." Where do I begin with my problems with this answer choice? - when I read in an LSAT paragraph that these species have coloration that seems unlikely to provide effective camouflage, I am assuming that this is a FACT coming from a source that is informed about the animal kingdom, not an uninformed opinion by someone who just looks at black and white and says "I reckon that wouldn't be good camouflage". - it seems like a high percentage of us (maybe even a majority) already know what (C) is saying. It doesn't provide any new information, because it is already thoroughly within normal common sense that there are differences in how animals of different species perceive color and pattern. - the intended logical force of this answer is only very weakly suggested by the actual language of the answer. There's a big gap between "many animals perceive color/pattern differently from how humans do" and "these animals find this black and white coloration difficult to discern". My recommendation for all of us is to ignore this question ever existed. There is nothing to learn here except the humility that comes with knowing that the test writers sometimes just write terrible questions that we can't blame ourselves for not finding our way through.

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

   64%
4. D

   Unrelated to Goal4% picked this

   Conspicuous black-and-white areas help animals of the same species avoid encounters

   We're not interested in how this B&W coloration relates to how these species deal with other members of their species. We're only interested in how this B&W coloration relates to how these species manage to evade predation.

   4%
5. E

   Unclear Impact10% picked this

   Black-and-white coloration is not as great a liability against predators at night as it is

   This might be useful if we knew that these species were purely nocturnal, and thus their black and white coloration was still provided some camouflage at night, but we don't know if they're nocturnal. Also, saying "not as great a liability" is not the same as "NOT a liability", so it's still a pretty weak explanation for how they're able to avoid predation.

   10%