Inferences

SAT Reading and Writing· difficulty 2/5

Some lizard species, when grasped by a predator's jaws, can voluntarily detach their tails, which continue to twitch energetically on the ground. The motion distracts the predator long enough for the lizard to escape, often into a crevice. The tail regrows over the following months, though typically with cartilage rather than bone, and is sometimes shorter or differently colored than the original.

Based on the passage, which inference is most strongly supported about tail-detachment?

  • A

    Detachment is involuntary in all lizard species

  • B

    Detachment provides a tradeoff in which an immediate cost is exchanged for a chance of survival

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  • C

    Detached tails grow back identical to the original within a few days

  • D

    Detachment carries no apparent cost to the lizard

Explanation

Tail loss and imperfect regrowth in exchange for escape supports B. A contradicts cost; C contradicts "voluntarily"; D contradicts "months" and differences.

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