LSAT 101 – Section 2 – Question 15

LSAT 101 - Section 2 - Question 15

December 1997

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Question
QuickView		 Type Tags Answer
Choices		 Curve Question
Difficulty		 Psg/Game/S
Difficulty		 Explanation
PT101 S2 Q15
+LR
Main conclusion or main point +MC
Sampling +Smpl
Link Assumption +LinkA
A
97%
168
B
1%
164
C
1%
162
D
0%
151
E
0%
141
120
127
139
 +Easiest 150.088 +SubsectionMedium

The authors of a recent article examined warnings of an impending wave of extinctions of animal species within the next 100 years. These authors say that no evidence exists to support the idea that the rate of extinction of animal species is now accelerating. They are wrong, however. Consider only the data on fishes: 40 species and subspecies of North American fishes have vanished in the twentieth century, 13 between 1900 and 1950, and 27 since 1950.

Summarize Argument: Counter-Position
The author believes that a recent article was incorrect when it claimed that there is no evidence the rate of extinction of animal species is increasing; in other words, the author believes that there is evidence that the rate of extinction of animal species is increasing. This position is supported by data on North American fish extinctions, which show more than double the extinctions from 1950-2000 than there were from 1900-1950.

Identify Conclusion
The conclusion is the author’s statement of disagreement with the article authors: “They are wrong.”

A
There is evidence that the rate of extinction of animal species is accelerating.
This accurately rephrases the argument’s conclusion. This is just another way of saying that the author disagrees with the claim that there is no evidence of an accelerating extinction rate.
B
The future rate of extinction of animal species cannot be determined from available evidence.
The author does not make this claim. Whether an exact future extinction rate can be determined is not discussed, the dispute is just over whether or not the rate is increasing.
C
The rate of extinction of North American fishes is parallel to the rate of extinction of all animal species taken together.
The argument is not designed to support this claim. While this might be taken as an assumption the author makes, nothing in the argument gives us a reason to believe that the North American fish extinction rate is representative.
D
Forty species and subspecies of North American fishes have vanished in the twentieth century.
This claim is not supported by the rest of the argument. The author states this number as a fact to help demonstrate the increasing fish extinction rate, but nothing else provides support for the claim of how many fish species have vanished.
E
A substantial number of fish species are in danger of imminent extinction.
The author never claims this to be true. The argument isn’t concerned with how many fish species are likely to go extinct soon, fish are just used as an example to demonstrate a general increase in extinction rates.

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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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