Question

Difficulty: EasyMust Be True Questions

If a frog species inhabits the upper canopy of the rainforest, it must have specialized toe pads. Any frog species that has specialized toe pads is capable of adhering to wet leaves. The blue-legged tree frog is a frog species that inhabits the upper canopy of the rainforest.

Which of the following must be true on the basis of the statements above?

  1. A
    Any frog species capable of adhering to wet leaves inhabits the upper canopy of the rainforest.
  2. The blue-legged tree frog is capable of adhering to wet leaves.Answer
  3. C
    Frog species that do not inhabit the upper canopy of the rainforest lack specialized toe pads.
  4. D
    The blue-legged tree frog spends most of its time hunting on wet leaves.
  5. E
    Most frog species that have specialized toe pads are blue-legged tree frogs.

Answer

The blue-legged tree frog is capable of adhering to wet leaves.
The stimulus provides a direct chain of conditional reasoning: Canopy → Toe Pads → Adhere to Wet Leaves. Since we are explicitly told that the blue-legged tree frog is a canopy species, it triggers this entire chain, guaranteeing that it can adhere to wet leaves.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Identify the conditional relationships presented as facts in the stimulus.
Inhabits upper canopy → Has specialized toe pads. Has specialized toe pads → Capable of adhering to wet leaves.
Mapping the conditional logic is the most reliable way to find deductions that are mathematically certain.
2
Chain the conditional statements together using their shared term.
Inhabits upper canopy → Capable of adhering to wet leaves.
The transitive property of logic allows us to connect the first sufficient condition directly to the final necessary condition.
3
Apply the specific factual premise to the logical chain.
Because the blue-legged tree frog satisfies the sufficient condition (inhabits upper canopy), the necessary condition (capable of adhering to wet leaves) must apply to it.
This guarantees a 100% provable inference, which is required for 'Must Be True' questions.

Key Concept

Must Be True Questions
Rate this question