LSAT 101 – Section 2 – Question 12

LSAT 101 - Section 2 - Question 12

December 1997

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Question
QuickView		 Type Tags Answer
Choices		 Curve Question
Difficulty		 Psg/Game/S
Difficulty		 Explanation
PT101 S2 Q12
+LR
Main conclusion or main point +MC
Lack of Support v. False Conclusion +LSvFC
A
8%
163
B
0%
166
C
81%
169
D
5%
159
E
5%
160
143
152
162
 +Medium 150.088 +SubsectionMedium

For years scientists have been scanning the skies in the hope of finding life on other planets. But in spite of the ever-increasing sophistication of the equipment they employ, some of it costing hundreds of millions of dollars, not the first shred of evidence of such life has been forthcoming. And there is no reason to think that these scientists will be any more successful in the future, no matter how much money is invested in the search. The dream of finding extraterrestrial life is destined to remain a dream, as science’s experience up to this point should indicate.

Summarize Argument
The author thinks that scientists will never successfully find life among the stars, based on how the search has gone so far. Although scientists have tried their hardest, they have not yet found any evidence at all of alien life. The author also tells us that there is no reason to believe any further success will emerge in the future. Taken together, these statements support the claim that we will not find extraterrestrial life.

Identify Conclusion
The conclusion is the author’s outlook on the future prospects of discovering aliens: “The dream of finding extraterrestrial life is destined to remain a dream.”

A
There is no reason to believe that life exists on other planets.
The author never makes this claim. The argument is not concerned with whether or not there is a reason to believe that alien life exists, just whether humanity will ever find it.
B
The equipment that scientists employ is not as sophisticated as it should be.
The author never speculates about why scientists won’t find alien life, nor does the argument suggest that scientists need better equipment.
C
Scientists searching for extraterrestrial life will not find it.
This accurately paraphrases the conclusion. The dream of finding aliens is destined to remain a dream, meaning that no matter how hard scientists try, they will never find extraterrestrial life.
D
Only if scientists had already found evidence of life on other planets would continued search be justified.
The author doesn’t weigh in on the issue of justification one way or the other. Nothing in the argument offers conditions that would lead to the search being justified or unjustified.
E
We should not spend money on sophisticated equipment to aid in the search for extraterrestrial life.
The author never makes a recommendation about how money should be spent. Although the author tells us scientists’ equipment can get expensive, no opinion is offered about whether we should be spending that money.

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LSAT PrepTest 101 Explanations

Section 1 - Reading Comprehension

Section 2 - Logical Reasoning

Section 3 - Logical Reasoning

Section 4 - Reading Comprehension

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