Q22 - On the basis of relatively

[mshinners]

Question Type:
Inference (Must Be False)

Stimulus Breakdown:
Same tools
Different environments
Same tools → Same Daily Challenges + Same Solutions

Answer Anticipation:
Must Be False questions require a contradiction, and it's much easier to contradict extreme statements. If there are conditional statements, the correct answer will generally contradict it/them.

Combining what I know about Cro-Magnons and Neanderthals with the conditional, I can say that these two groups faced the same daily challenges and reached the same solutions, despite living in different environments. The correct answer will contradict these statements.

Correct Answer:
(B)

Answer Choice Analysis:
(A) Confusing. This would survive the first pass because I have no idea what it's saying. I'd hopefully find an answer I like better, letting me come back and re-read this with an eye towards eliminating. After reading (B) and coming back, I'd rephrase this to get rid of the double negative: Two populations can be of the same species despite having morphological differences. If anything, that aligns with the argument.

(B) Bingo. "Unique" is a strong word and easy to break - a single example of two different environments offering the same challenge means this Must Be False. Combining the conditional with the similar tools, the stimulus lets us say that Cro-Magnons and Neanderthals faced the same challenges, and they were in different environments. That means this answer Must Be False.

(C) While there isn't enough information to make this comparison between these three groups, there's also no information to contradict it. In general, "out of scope" should be eliminated; if it's out of scope, you don't have enough information to determine if it's true or false, so it might be true.

(D) A bit of a reversal. The author seems to agree that using similar tools in similar ways makes two groups members of the same species (not really, but, if anything, that's the direction it cuts). This answer reverses that into being a requirement. However, reversals, while being a "bad thing to do", might be true. If all strong people exercise, it's possible that everyone who exercises is strong (it's just not guaranteed).

(E) If anything, this is supported by the stimulus. This looks like an answer where they were trying to get you to forget the question type you were in, especially since MBF questions are rare and they waited until the last answer to get you to bite on an answer that is closer to MSS/MBT.

Takeaway/Pattern:
Must Be False questions require a contradiction, not just an illogical jump. Also, if an answer choice is confusing, feel free to circle back. For ones that involve a lot of double-speak/double negatives, rephrase!

#officialexplanation

[chike_eze]

So, this is a could be true, EXCEPT problem. Which means we are looking for one answer (the correct answer) that Must be False.

This one was a mouthful. I definitely skipped it during my timed PT, but I still couldn't get to the right answer on review.

Can someone provide a detailed (yet concise) explanation in support of choice (B) and against the other choices, especially (C).

Thanks.

[timmydoeslsat]

This is a must be false question.

There are relatively minor morphological differences between Neanderthals and Cro-Magnons.

Some scientists suggest that these two should be considered distinct species because of that.

However, the tools used by those two groups living in different environments had uncanny similarities.

If those two had such similar tools (which we they did) ---> Faced the same daily challenges and met them in the same way


So the author states that this suggests that they were in fact the same species. The morphological differences is a reflection of the different environments, rather than them being different species.


Answer choices:

A) Convoluted answer choice here. This is saying that morphological differences between members of two populations (such as the Neanderthals and the Cro-Magnons) do not automatically give us the right to call them separate species.

This is something that, according to this author, must be true.


B) This must be false. We know that the two groups of hominids (Neanderthals and Cro-Magnons) lived in different environments. We also know that they had very similar tools. A necessary condition of them having such tools was that they faced the same daily challenges and met them in the same way.

This comes from the conditional statement given in the stimulus:

If those two had such similar tools (which we they did) ---> Faced the same daily challenges and met them in the same way

We know therefore that the daily challenges were the same for Neanderthals and Cro-Magnons. This would mean that is must be false for the challenges to be unique to an environment, as the two hominid groups lived in different environments.


C) There are greater morphological differences between Cro-Magnons and current humans than between Cro-Magnons and Neanderthals.

We know that there are very minor morphological differences between Cro-Magnons and Neanderthals. Could this difference be less than between Cro-Magnons and modern humans?

Of course it could be true.


D) We are not given anything that leads us to believe that this must be false. Perhaps similar tools are required.


E) Could be true. We were not given information regarding much of their co-existence.

[mswang7]

Premises: some scientists: Neanderthals different than cro magnons
these 2 lived in different environments but used the same tools ->similar behavior
only if face same challenges ->similar tools
Concl: same species

A. True - argument states morph differences are due to different envirn but this does not mean they are diff species
B. One of the premises is similar challenges/ similar tools which follows that although they were in different envirnments the challenges in those were the same making this answer choice false
C. We have no information around how these compare to humans so this could be true
D. We know similar tools-> same species but not that it's a requirement so this could be true
E. True - argument discusses in detail the different environments

[Laura Damone]

Nailed it!

[HughM388]

Question Type:
Inference (Must Be False)

Stimulus Breakdown:
Same tools
Different environments
Same tools → Same Daily Challenges + Same Solutions

Answer Anticipation:
Must Be False questions require a contradiction, and it's much easier to contradict extreme statements. If there are conditional statements, the correct answer will generally contradict it/them.

Combining what I know about Cro-Magnons and Neanderthals with the conditional, I can say that these two groups faced the same daily challenges and reached the same solutions, despite living in different environments. The correct answer will contradict these statements.

Correct Answer:
(B)

Answer Choice Analysis:
(A) Confusing. This would survive the first pass because I have no idea what it's saying. I'd hopefully find an answer I like better, letting me come back and re-read this with an eye towards eliminating. After reading (B) and coming back, I'd rephrase this to get rid of the double negative: Two populations can be of the same species despite having morphological differences. If anything, that aligns with the argument.

(B) Bingo. "Unique" is a strong word and easy to break - a single example of two different environments offering the same challenge means this Must Be False. Combining the conditional with the similar tools, the stimulus lets us say that Cro-Magnons and Neanderthals faced the same challenges, and they were in different environments. That means this answer Must Be False.

(C) While there isn't enough information to make this comparison between these three groups, there's also no information to contradict it. In general, "out of scope" should be eliminated; if it's out of scope, you don't have enough information to determine if it's true or false, so it might be true.

(D) A bit of a reversal. The author seems to agree that using similar tools in similar ways makes two groups members of the same species (not really, but, if anything, that's the direction it cuts). This answer reverses that into being a requirement. However, reversals, while being a "bad thing to do", might be true. If all strong people exercise, it's possible that everyone who exercises is strong (it's just not guaranteed).

(E) If anything, this is supported by the stimulus. This looks like an answer where they were trying to get you to forget the question type you were in, especially since MBF questions are rare and they waited until the last answer to get you to bite on an answer that is closer to MSS/MBT.

Takeaway/Pattern:
Must Be False questions require a contradiction, not just an illogical jump. Also, if an answer choice is confusing, feel free to circle back. For ones that involve a lot of double-speak/double negatives, rephrase!

#officialexplanation

So the stimulus tells us that it could not be true that an environment presents unique challenges? That seems fairly extreme in its own right. Because two species (among the many, many millions of species that have ever existed) made a few similar tools, there is consequently no variety among the challenges offered by the vast diversity of climes and conditions throughout the universe?

The deep oceans and outer space would present no challenges that are unique to those environments? The atmospheric pressure on the ocean floor is immense—that would not present a unique challenge to deep-sea inhabitants? Meanwhile, the lack of atmosphere in outer space would seem to present fairly unique challenges of its own. And yet we are to infer that it simply could not be true that such environs present unique challenges? Please…