PT155 S2 Q7 ExplanationThousands of fossils from the long-extinct

Answer choices, explained

1. A

   Out of Scope: success9% picked this

   Dire wolf pups under six months old would not have contributed to the adults’ success

   The author is only trying to prove that the pups didn't hunt or scavenge, not that they shouldn't have. It doesn't hurt the author's argument to say, "the pups would have contributed to the adults' success". The author would be like, "cool, that may be true, but it doesn't look like the pups did hunt or scavenge."

   9%
2. B

   Opposite2% picked this

   If a dire wolf pup under six months old became trapped in a tar pit, it would be better able to pull itself free

   The author is definitely never comparing the ability of a pup vs. an adult to get out of a tar pit. If the author actually believed that pups had an easier time freeing themselves, then THAT could have been the reason why we found adults but not pups trapped in the tar pits. This would actually be an alternate explanation for why there are no pups in the pits, which would weaken the author's argument (that there are no pups because this was a hunting/scavenging expedition that wouldn't have included pups).

   2%
3. C

   Too Strong0% picked this

   Before the dire wolf became extinct, more dire wolves became trapped in the tar pits than did

   Too Strong: more than any other Out of Scope: other species The author in no way cares where dire wolves rank on the "Top 100 animals who get stuck in tar pits".

   0%
4. D

   Correct84% picked this

   The entrapment of dire wolves in the tar pits most frequently occurred when those animals

   Why this is right

   The only way that the author can go from "we didn't find pups in the pits" to "I guess the pups didn't come on hunting/scavenging" trips is for him to think that "getting trapped in the pits means that you were on a hunting / scavenging trip". The "most frequently occurred" matches with the "probably" in the conclusion.

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

   84%
5. E

   Too Strong: favorite location5% picked this

   For the dire wolves that lived nearby, the tar pits were a favorite location for

   It doesn't make any difference to this argument whether the tar pits are a favorite location, a mediocre location, or a despised location. As long as it was a location they sometimes used for scavenging or hunting, the argument can work. The author is assuming "for the dire wolves that lived nearby, the tar pits were near a location for scavenging and hunting."

   5%