PrepTest 141, Section 4, 15. Hine’s emerald dragonflies…

How will the right answer fit in terms of support and conclusion?

Only the right answer will support that “the surprising fact” isn’t actually that surprising.

Highlight the main conclusion in the passage, if there is one:

There is no conclusion in the passage, which you can anticipate since the prompt doesn’t mention an “argument”.

[BACKGROUND]. [SUPPORT]. [SUPPORT].

It wants to be pretty clear that the right answer will bring in a factor the passage ignored in the comparison between “areas where red devil crayfish are present” and “areas without red devil crayfish”.

Map the wording of the answers to the wording of the passage:

(A) …dig chambers that remain filled with water…

I’d expect you to at least agree that this answer is more info about the same crayfish vs. no crayfish comparison as in the passage. And it did say “the larvae of these dragonflies can only survive in water”, so having more water around would be a nice benefit even if the crayfish are also predators.

(B) …present no threat to adult…

Don’t fight the passage. We we’re already told the larvae are “subject to predation” by these crayfish. Naturally if you’re eaten before you’re born, you don’t ever get to be a non-threatened adult anyway. In any case, this doesn’t explain the comparison in the passage.

(C) …diet of the red devil crayfish does not include…

We already know the crayfish prey on the dragonfly larvae, so bringing in any other new info about their diet does nothing for the comparison in the passage.

(D) …found in many more locations…

Cool story. I hope we all agree it would take at least a step or two of way-out-of-scope reasoning to connect the dots to the comparison in the passage. LSAT right answers never make you do that.

(E) …do not drop significantly if…

This answer is getting into some kind of cause-and-effect thing between these two populations. That kind of info isn’t going to explain a comparison between crayfish areas and non-crayfish areas.

(A) is the correct answer.

Common pattern/s in this question: Once you see the “surprising fact” is making a comparison, you can bet the right answer will talk about the same comparison (even if it’s only in a lame indirect way).