Logical ReasoningDifficulty: Hard

PT157 S3 Q11 Explanation

Biologist: The evolutionary advantage

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

TopicsRole

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Stimulus

Biologist: The evolutionary advantage of sexual reproduction is that it increases the range of genetic variation in a species, which is an advantage for the species as a whole. However, an increased range of genetic variation in a species is not advantageous for any individual member of the species. It follows that plants is that natural selection has favored some entire species over others.

What this question is testing

Role

Conclusion

Sexual reproduction won the evolutionary popularity contest because entire species that reproduced sexually beat out species that did not. Species-level natural selection did the work.

Evidence

Genetic variation from sexual reproduction helps the species, not the individual. If it helped individuals, regular individual-level selection would explain it. Since it does not, the explanation must be at the species level.

Evaluate

The quoted statement — that genetic variation does not help individuals — is the linchpin. It forces the explanation from the individual level up to the species level.

Goal

Find the answer that says this statement supports the conclusion.

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The question
11.

The claim that an increased range of genetic variation in a species is not advantageous for any individual member of the species plays which one of the following

Answer choices

  1. Correct65% picked this

    It is a claim offered in support of the

    Why this is right

    The quoted statement is evidence — a claim that supports the conclusion. It establishes that genetic variation does not benefit individuals, which forces the explanation for sexual reproduction's prevalence to the species level. This directly supports the conclusion about species-level natural selection.

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

  2. Opposing Idea5% picked this

    It is presented to raise a question that sheds doubt on

    The quoted statement does not raise doubt about the conclusion — it supports it. By showing that genetic variation does not benefit individuals, it strengthens the case for species-level selection. It is an ally of the conclusion, not a challenger.

  3. Opposing Idea9% picked this

    It is a claim that the argument is designed to call

    The argument does not call the quoted statement into question — it embraces it as support for the conclusion. The argument builds upon this claim rather than attempting to undermine it.

  4. Conclusion17% picked this

    It describes an observed phenomenon for which the argument seeks

    The conclusion explains why sexual reproduction has become the rule — the "observed phenomenon" if there is one. But the quoted statement is about whether genetic variation benefits individuals, which is evidence, not the phenomenon being explained. The phenomenon the argument seeks to explain is the prevalence of sexual reproduction, described in the conclusion itself.

  5. Conclusion5% picked this

    It is presented as the main explanation of the origin of

    The main explanation of why sexual reproduction prevails is in the conclusion: species-level natural selection. The quoted statement is not the explanation — it is evidence that leads to the explanation. It establishes that individual-level selection cannot explain sexual reproduction, which then supports the species-level explanation in the conclusion.

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