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Q31·CSAT · Prelims 2022

Reasons why natural selection cannot anticipate environmental changes

Reading Comp.Science / Evolution passageStatement-basedMedium

Question

According to the passage, natural selection cannot anticipate future environments on the earth as

  1. 1.

    species not fully prepared to face the environmental changes that await them will face extinction

  2. 2.

    all the existing species would get extinct as their genomes will not withstand biological mishaps

  3. 3.

    inability of the genome to withstand environmental changes would result in extinction

  4. 4.

    extinction of species is a common feature

Options

a

1, 2 and 3

b

2, 3 and 4

c

1, 3 and 4

Answer
d

1, 2 and 4

Explanation

Evaluate each statement against the text:

Statement 1 is supported: "An outcome of this is the extinction of those species which cannot overcome environmental adversity." Statement 2 uses the extreme absolute "all the existing species would get extinct", which is factually false and contradicts the text's assertion that only those ill-equipped fail to survive. Statement 3 is supported: "failure to survive... can be attributed to the genomes which are unable to withstand..." Statement 4 is supported: "extinction of species has been a major feature."

Statements 1, 3, and 4 are valid deductions.

Always eliminate RC options containing sweeping absolutes (like "all existing species") when the text outlines a conditional mechanism (only those unable to adapt will fail).

Answer: (c).

Question details

Year

2022

Paper

CSAT

Question

Q31

Section

Reading Comprehension

Sub-topic

Science / Evolution passage

Type

Statement-based

Difficulty

Medium

Source hint

Passage 1 (Natural selection and evolution) - Q31

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