#5 - Specific Reference, Must Be True, Purpose/Function

[deck1134]

Hi PowerScore Staff,

How might we distinguish between B and D? I thought that B encompasses D and thus picked it.

[Adam Tyson]

I'd say the problem with answer B, as compared to D, is that B is too specific, Deck. The use of "vocabulary" is intended to draw some sort of analogy, comparing canary songs to human language, but the comparison is very general - they are both things that are learned over time that shouldn't go away unless the brain degrades in some way. The similarity doesn't have to extend all the way down to the structure of words being similar to the structure of the songs - that's way more complex an idea than is supported by the passage!

In fact, your analysis looks a little like what we call the uniqueness principle of answers, which means that only one answer can be fully correct. Where one answer, if true, forces another answer to be just as true, then the one doing the forcing cannot be the correct answer. If it was, then both answers would be equally correct! If answer B encompasses answer D, as you said (and I'm not sure it really does - having a repertoire, or a collection, is not required by having similar structural elements) then answer B could not be correct unless answer D was ALSO correct, and they cannot both be correct. If that's how you saw it, that would be a good reason to reject answer B, not a reason to select it!

[pavandeep9]

Thanks for the above explanation, but I’m having trouble understanding why A is wrong. I appreciate your thoughtful insight!

[Claire Horan]

Hi Pavandeep9,

Answer choice (A) is wrong because nothing in the passage mentioned "grammatical" structure. Although the passage states that the song because more stable during the season, there is nothing that suggests there are rules about the how the notes may be arranged (grammar refers to rules that dictate the structure of language).

In some ways, the LSAT can be a vocabulary test. Your takeaway from this question should be to be very nitpicking about what each word means, such as asking yourself, "Does the passage suggest that birdsong really has 'grammatical' structure, or not?"

Good question and good luck studying!