November 2019 LSAT Section 2 Question 7

Thousands of fossils from the long-extinct dire wolf have been found in a cluster of natural tar pits in which animal...

AndrewArabie on November 7, 2022

I ruled out D for the same reason the explanation rules out E which was my choice

I negated D to read "The entrapment of dire wolves in the tar pits *did not* most frequently occur when those animals were scavenging or hunting." Both negated and not negated, this allows for the possibility that this wolves in question were not trapped while scavenging or hunting but doing something else. To me it doesn't collapse the conclusion.

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AndrewArabie on November 8, 2022

The frequency doesn't seem to me to be a necessary component of the argument.

Emil-Kunkin on November 16, 2022

Hi, if the wolves did not most often become entrapped when hunting, then we would have no reason to think that young wolves did not go on hunts too. The argument is that since we have no young wolves in the traps, young wolves didn't hunt. However, if the trapped wolves were not hunting, the argument makes no sense.

AndrewArabie on November 16, 2022

Thank you Emil

AndrewArabie on November 16, 2022

The necessary assumption to me is that the wolves that were trapped were hunting and scavenging. My hang up is with "most frequently." I guess the word "probably" hints to the answer choice because probability would relate to frequency. But I just can't make that connection on my own. As you said, if only the minority of the time the wolves trapped were hunting/scavenging and the majority they were doing something else, then we couldn't be sure that pups didn't go on hunts, maybe the pups just didn't go on *those* hunts. I don't know, but I just don't see how I'll ever be able to get this question right on the real LSAT.

Emil-Kunkin on November 17, 2022

One thing I would note is that each argument has many many necessary assumptions. Technically, the author has necessarily assumed that these fossils are real and not modern fakes, or that the fossils of a juvenile would survive as well as that of an adult. I would treat these as must be true questions. If something is a necessary assumption, then it is something the author must believe is true.

AndrewArabie on November 17, 2022

Ah yes, I remember that from your office hour. I'll try to remember to implement that.