LSAT 101 – Section 3 – Question 09

LSAT 101 - Section 3 - Question 09

December 1997

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Question
QuickView		 Type Tags Answer
Choices		 Curve Question
Difficulty		 Psg/Game/S
Difficulty		 Explanation
PT101 S3 Q09
+LR
Weaken +Weak
Link Assumption +LinkA
Eliminating Options +ElimOpt
A
2%
164
B
11%
161
C
2%
161
D
1%
161
E
84%
168
138
149
160
 +Medium 146.901 +SubsectionMedium

J.Y.’s explanation

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The play Mankind must have been written between 1431 and 1471. It cannot have been written before 1431, for in that year the rose noble, a coin mentioned in the play, was first circulated. The play cannot have been written after 1471, since in that year King Henry VI died, and he is mentioned as a living monarch in the play’s dedication.

Summarize Argument
A play called Mankind must have been written between 1431 and 1471. This is because a certain coin referenced in the play wasn’t in circulation until 1431, and because a certain king referenced in the play as a living monarch died in 1471.

Notable Assumptions
The author assumes that the rose noble coin didn’t exist before it went into circulation. The author also assumes that because Henry VI was mentioned as living in the play’s means he was really alive. This means the author assumes that the dedication is historically accurate and representative of the time the play was written, rather than tacked on by a later playwright or compiler.

A
The Royal Theatre Company includes the play on a list of those performed in 1480.
We’re not interested in when the play was performed. We care about when it was written.
B
Another coin mentioned in the play was first minted in 1422.
Even if that coin was first minted in 1422, it could well have been in circulation later. The reason the rose noble is so important is because it wasn’t in circulation until 1431.
C
The rose noble was neither minted nor circulated after 1468.
Even if the coin was out of circulation 1468, it still could’ve been mentioned in the play. This doesn’t weaken the claim that Mankind was written between 1431 and 1471.
D
Although Henry VI was deposed in 1461, he was briefly restored to the throne in 1470.
At best, this simply means Mankind was written between 1431-61 and 1470-71, which doesn’t weaken the argument. But even if Henry VI was deposed in the 1460s, he was still a “living monarch” at the time—just one not currently ruling the country.
E
In a letter written in early 1428, a merchant told of having seen the design for a much-discussed new coin called the “rose noble.”
This pushes the possible date for Mankind to have been written back three years. Even if the rose noble wasn’t in circulation, there was a chance the playwright had heard of it.

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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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