#25 - Global Reference, Must Be True

[Administrator]

Complete Question Explanation

The correct answer choice is (E).

Answer choice (A):

Answer choice (B):

Answer choice (C):

Answer choice (D):

Answer choice (E): This is the correct answer choice.

This explanation is still in progress. Please post any questions below!

[ArizonaRobin]

I got the answer correct to this by process of elimination, but was troubled that I couldn't find the answer explicitly in the passage. Any thoughts that would help me with these types of questions in the future?

[Rachael Wilkenfeld]

Hi ArizonaRobin,

Did you find it in the end? It's in the final paragraph, starting with the sentence "Observations of modern sand dunes...." The best way to answer these is to think about which answer choice would show up where in the passage. Some of the answer choices you should be able to eliminate because they don't fit what the passage addresses. But for the other answer choices, you might need to jump back to the passage to find them. Here's where that time spent setting out the passage will pay off. Your diagram and notes here should help you go right to where it would be in the passage.

Hope that helps!

[ArizonaRobin]

Hi ArizonaRobin,

Did you find it in the end? It's in the final paragraph, starting with the sentence "Observations of modern sand dunes...." The best way to answer these is to think about which answer choice would show up where in the passage. Some of the answer choices you should be able to eliminate because they don't fit what the passage addresses. But for the other answer choices, you might need to jump back to the passage to find them. Here's where that time spent setting out the passage will pay off. Your diagram and notes here should help you go right to where it would be in the passage.

Hope that helps!

Yes, I had no problem finding the part where the modern dunes were discussed, but they didn't specifically talk about sandslides. Rather, the discussion centered around what conditions would lead to clay accumulation. I felt worried about making that jump from clay to a sandslide because of how particular the LSAT writers can be.

[Adam Tyson]

It's often the case that we are asked to make an inference based on what the passage said, ArizonaRobin, rather than finding the answer explicitly stated in the passage, and that's the case with this question and the correct answer, which is E. While the passage does not explicitly state that these types of sandslides still occur, the evidence supports that because of the tense used: "Unusually heavy rains can therefore cause a layer of wet sand to rush down a dune's face." Not "could have caused," but "can cause," indicating that it is a phenomenon of the present and future as well as the past. That, along with the reference Rachel quoted, can be put together to answer this question in the affirmative.

I didn't love that answer and also got it by process of elimination, but there is at least some evidence to allow us to form an answer and so it is acceptable, even if we may dislike it a bit!

[powermyscoreplz]

Can someone please explain why C is incorrect? I ultimately chose the correct answer but initially found C attractive because at the end of the passage, the author states "If the animals of Ukhaa Tolgod were indeed killed by sandslides, this suggests that the Gobi area at that time was not a sterile desert, but a stable dune field with plant life and rain" -- which to me sounded as though they have not yet found evidence of plant life in the area at that time. I assume this interpretation is incorrect, but could you explain why that is?

[katehos]

Hi powermyscoreplz!

I would actually interpret that last sentence to mean there was likely plant life in the area at the time (as the vegetation is what allows the clay to build up and cause sandslides and the end of the sentence mentions how the Gobi area was a "field with plant life and rain"), but regardless, the question posed in (C) is not whether or not plants existed at the time, but rather it is whether or not fossilized plants have ever been found in sandstone in the Gobi desert.

The passage does not answer this question, directly or indirectly, so (C) is incorrect. If plants did not exist in the area at the time, do we know if fossilized plants have ever been found in the sandstone there? No! What about if there were plants in the area at the time (as the passage seems to suggest)? Still, we don't know anything about the fossilization of plants, nor do we know anything about if any fossilized plants from that time have ever been found! This leaves us uncertain about any possible answers to the question posed in (C). You can also keep the general context clues from the passage in mind, as the passage heavily deals with the fossilization of dinosaur, lizard, and mammals - not plants. This should make you less inclined to select answer choice (C) off the bat, and after a brief survey of the passage to confirm that there is no evidence to support an answer to (C), you can feel confident eliminating this answer!

I hope this helps
Kate

[goingslow]

Hi there! I would appreciate it if you'd be willing to explain why (B) is not supported by the 2nd paragraph, "The scientists found that there ARE three distinct types of sandstone at the site" (present tense).

Many thanks!!!

[Adam Tyson]

Those three types of sandstone have presumably been there a long time, goingslow, because it has ancient footprints in it. The discussion of those three types in the second paragraph is about sandstone that formed long ago, by wind or slides in the past, but answer B is about sandstone that "is currently being formed." Is there any evidence that any sandstone is currently being formed, or what type it is? Not that I can find!

[katnyc]

I chose answer A because of the first paragraph talking about lizards. Is it wrong because it is just just briefly as an example?