@jperkett this is a Cannot Be True question, so we are looking for the answer choice that directly conflicts with the information set forth in the stimulus.
The key here is the first sentence, i.e. "For all species of higher animals; reproduction requires the production of eggs but not necessarily the production of sperm."
Notice that answer choice (B), i.e. ""There are some species of higher animals none of whose members produces eggs," directly conflicts with this sentence.
Reproduction in species of higher animals requires the production of eggs so (B) cannot be true.
Therefore, (B) would be the correct answer.
Hope that helps! Please let us know if you have any other questions.
DeannaKSeptember 26, 2019
Can you please explain why A is incorrect?
ShirnelApril 26, 2020
So in this case does ALL translate to ALWAYS. I chose (D) because I saw (B) as a possibility since the passage didn't say ALL species of higher animals produce eggs, it said reproduction required eggs and not sperm.
shunheMay 3, 2020
Hi @DeannaK and @Shirnel,
Thanks for the questions! So first, let me talk about why (A) is incorrect. First, let’s go over the stimulus quickly: we know that for all species of higher animals, reproduction requires eggs but not necessarily sperm. Some species have female-only members. But there’s a drawback: those species are less adaptive because of less diverse genetic codes.
Now the question is asking us what cannot be true. Let’s take a look at (A), which tells us that there are some species of salamanders that have both male and female members. Could this be true and consistent with the premise? Absolutely! We are told that there is one female-only species of salamander, but that doesn’t preclude the existence of other salamander species that have both male and female members. And so (A) could be consistent with the passage, and cannot be our answer here.
Now onto Shirnel’s question: in this case (as well as generally on the LSAT), ALL does translate to “ALWAYS.” If ALL swans are white on the LSAT, for example, then swans are always white, and there are no black ones. The passage actually DOES say that the information in the passage applies to “ALL species of higher animals” in the very first words before the semicolon, specifically that reproduction requires the production of eggs. Now, since we know that those animals reproduce (which is a very basic assumption that we can make), those animals have to have eggs. Reproduction requires eggs and not sperm, and higher animals reproduce, so they produce eggs.
Hope this helps! Feel free to ask any other questions that you might have.
