When species are extensively hunted, individuals that reach reproductive maturity early make up a larger proportion of the population, because...
GMAT Critical Reasoning : (CR) Questions
When species are extensively hunted, individuals that reach reproductive maturity early make up a larger proportion of the population, because they have a better chance of reproducing. When species face diminished food resources, on the other hand, individuals tend to take longer to reach reproductive maturity. These considerations may help settle whether the primary cause of the gradual disappearance of North America's mastodons, prehistoric animals related to elephants, was diminished food resources or human hunting
Which of the following most logically completes the reasoning?
Passage Analysis:
| Text from Passage | Analysis |
| When species are extensively hunted, individuals that reach reproductive maturity early make up a larger proportion of the population, because they have a better chance of reproducing. |
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| When species face diminished food resources, on the other hand, individuals tend to take longer to reach reproductive maturity. |
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| These considerations may help settle whether the primary cause of the gradual disappearance of North America's mastodons, prehistoric animals related to elephants, was diminished food resources or human hunting |
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Argument Flow:
The argument sets up two contrasting biological principles: hunting leads to early maturation, while food shortage leads to late maturation. It then suggests we can use these opposing effects to determine what caused mastodon extinction by examining mastodon maturation patterns.
Main Conclusion:
The two biological principles about how hunting and food shortage affect reproductive maturity can help determine what caused mastodon extinction.
Logical Structure:
The argument uses a diagnostic approach - if we know that hunting and food shortage produce opposite effects on maturation timing, then examining mastodon fossil evidence for maturation patterns should reveal which factor was responsible for their extinction.
Prethinking:
Question type:
Logically Completes - We need to find what would logically finish the argument's reasoning about using biological principles to determine what caused mastodon extinction
Precision of Claims
The argument establishes two specific biological patterns: hunting creates populations with more early-maturing individuals, while food scarcity causes individuals to mature later. We need to complete how these patterns would help determine mastodon extinction cause
Strategy
The argument sets up a method to solve the mastodon mystery by examining two opposing biological effects. To complete this reasoning, we need to explain how examining mastodon fossil evidence for signs of early vs late maturation would reveal whether hunting or food scarcity was the primary cause. The completion should connect the biological principles to observable evidence in the mastodon case
This choice focuses on determining whether weapons found near mastodon remains were actually used to hunt mastodons. While this might provide some evidence of hunting, it doesn't connect to the argument's core reasoning about using maturation patterns to distinguish between hunting and food scarcity as extinction causes. The argument specifically sets up biological principles about how these two factors affect reproductive maturity timing, so we need something that allows us to examine mastodon maturation patterns, not just evidence of hunting weapons.
This choice provides exactly what we need to complete the argument's reasoning. The argument establishes that hunting leads to early maturation while food scarcity leads to late maturation. To apply these principles to determine what caused mastodon extinction, we need to be able to examine mastodon reproductive maturity patterns from fossil evidence. This choice tells us we can determine the average age of reproductive maturity from mastodon tusks across different periods, which would allow us to see whether mastodons showed early maturation (indicating hunting pressure) or late maturation (indicating food shortage), thus solving the extinction mystery using the established biological principles.
This choice about accurately estimating when mastodons became extinct doesn't help us apply the biological principles about maturation timing. Knowing the exact extinction date doesn't tell us whether mastodons showed early or late maturation patterns, which is what we need to distinguish between hunting and food scarcity as causes. The argument's method depends on examining maturation characteristics, not extinction timing.
This choice about whether male and female mastodons reached maturity at similar ages misses the point entirely. The argument's reasoning depends on comparing mastodon maturation timing to normal patterns to see if they showed signs of hunting pressure (early maturation) or food stress (late maturation). Whether males and females matured at the same age doesn't help us apply the biological principles to determine the extinction cause.
This choice about comparing the timing of dwellings made from mastodon materials versus hunting weapons doesn't connect to the argument's core method. The argument specifically establishes biological principles about how hunting and food scarcity affect maturation timing, so we need to be able to examine mastodon maturation patterns to apply these principles. This choice focuses on human artifact timing rather than the biological evidence needed to use the established maturation principles.