WeakenDiff: Medium
Logic Breakdown
Passage Summary: Researchers found that turtles off the coast of Mexico share nearly identical DNA with turtles in Japan, suggesting a massive migration across the Pacific.
Conclusion: No explicit conclusion (Fact Set), but the evidence implies that juvenile Pacific loggerheads near Baja hatched at Japanese nesting sites.
Reasoning: There is a 95 percent DNA match between the turtles found near the Baja peninsula and those at nesting sites in Japan, despite being 10,000 kilometers apart.
Analysis: To weaken this connection, we need to find a reason why that 95 percent DNA match doesn't necessarily prove the turtles came from Japan. Perhaps there is another nesting site much closer to Baja that shares the same genetic profile, or maybe that specific DNA sequence is common to all Pacific loggerheads regardless of where they hatch. We want to find an answer that introduces an alternative explanation for the genetic similarity or suggests the 10,000-kilometer journey is unlikely for these juveniles.
Conclusion: No explicit conclusion (Fact Set), but the evidence implies that juvenile Pacific loggerheads near Baja hatched at Japanese nesting sites.
Reasoning: There is a 95 percent DNA match between the turtles found near the Baja peninsula and those at nesting sites in Japan, despite being 10,000 kilometers apart.
Analysis: To weaken this connection, we need to find a reason why that 95 percent DNA match doesn't necessarily prove the turtles came from Japan. Perhaps there is another nesting site much closer to Baja that shares the same genetic profile, or maybe that specific DNA sequence is common to all Pacific loggerheads regardless of where they hatch. We want to find an answer that introduces an alternative explanation for the genetic similarity or suggests the 10,000-kilometer journey is unlikely for these juveniles.
Passage Stimulus
Passage Redacted
Unlock Full Passage15.Which one of the following, if true, most seriously weakens the reasoning above?
Correct Answer
D
If 95% of Baja samples also match Atlantic turtles, the DNA markers aren’t unique to Japan. That undercuts the inference that Baja juveniles must have hatched in Japan.
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