Free Practice Question
CR · Critical Reasoning
505-555
Resolve a Paradox
Shark teeth are among the most common vertebrate fossils; yet fossilized shark skeletons are much less common—indeed, comparatively rare among fossilized vertebrate skeletons.
Which one of the following, if true, most helps to resolve the apparent paradox described above?
Answer Choices
Correct answer marked belowUnlike the bony skeletons of other vertebrates, shark skeletons are composed of cartilage, and teeth and bone are much more likely to fossilize than cartilage is.
Correct
B
The rare fossilized skeletons of sharks that are found are often found in areas other than those in which fossils of shark teeth are plentiful.
C
Fossils of sharks’ teeth are quite difficult to distinguish from fossils of other kinds of teeth.
D
Some species of sharks alive today grow and lose many sets of teeth during their lifetimes.
E
The physical and chemical processes involved in the fossilization of sharks’ teeth are as common as those involved in the fossilization of shark skeletons.
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Sign in to commentWhat this question tests
What it tests
Whether you can explain an apparent contradiction in a way that makes both facts true.
Common trap
Picking an option that explains one side of the paradox while making the other side false.
Details
Difficulty
505-555
Type
CR