October 1999 LSAT Section 1 Question 4

Cats spend much of their time sleeping; they seem to awaken only to stretch and yawn. Yet they have a strong, agile ...

bryantjsoto on July 26, 2016

Logic Reasoning

I wanted some insight on this question. I selected answer A which is the incorrect answer with the correct answer being D. An explanation on why the answer is a better reason than what I had selected would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!

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Mehran on August 7, 2016

@bryantjsoto sure! Let's take a closer look.

This is a Paradox question, so we are looking for the answer choice that serves as a possible explanation for the discrepancy set forth in the stimulus.

What is the discrepancy in the stimulus?

"Cats spend much of their time sleeping; they seem to awaken only to stretch and yawn."

"Yet they have a strong, agile musculature that most animals would have to exercise strenuously to acquire."

So again, we are looking for a possible explanation for this discrepancy.

(A) states, "Cats have a greater physiological need for sleep than other animals."

Okay, so (A) would explain why cats spend much of their time sleeping, but it would not explain how they still have agile musculature that most animals would have to exercise strenuously to acquire.

Therefore, (A) is eliminated.

(D), on the other hand, states, "Cats derive ample exercise from frequent stretching."

This clearly serves as a possible explanation for the discrepancy in the stimulus.

Cats are able to have agile musculature that most animals would have to exercise strenuously to acquire, even though cats spend much of their time sleeping, because they derive ample exercise from frequent stretching.

Hope this helps! Please let us know if you have any other questions.