LSAT 105 – Section 4 – Question 01

LSAT 105 - Section 4 - Question 01

February 1999

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Question
QuickView		 Type Tags Answer
Choices		 Curve Question
Difficulty		 Psg/Game/S
Difficulty		 Explanation
PT105 S4 Q01
+LR
Most strongly supported +MSS
A
95%
166
B
1%
159
C
1%
155
D
1%
154
E
3%
158
125
135
145
 +Easier 144.839 +SubsectionEasier

Shortly after Isaac Newton circulated some of his theories of light in 1672, his colleague Robert Hooke claimed that most of those theories were based on Hooke’s own work. A modern reader might interpret Newton’s famous comment, “if I have seen further it is by standing on the shoulders of giants,” as a conciliatory gesture acknowledging indebtedness to Hooke and other contemporary scientists for some of his theories. Conciliatory gestures acknowledging indebtedness were uncharacteristic of Newton, however, and in his day such allusions to “giants” typically referred to the ancient Greeks, not to contemporary scientists.

Summary
After Isaac Newton announced his theories of light, his colleague Robert Hooke claimed most of those theories were based on Hooke’s work. Newton famously commented “if I have seen further it is by standing on the shoulder of giants.” A modern reader may interpret this quote as acknowledging Newton’s indebtedness to Hooke and other scientists for some of Newton’s theories. However, these gestures were uncharacteristic of Newton, and in Newton’s day “giants” usually referred to the ancient Greeks.

Strongly Supported Conclusions
Newton probably did not intend his famous quote to give credit to Hooke and other scientists for his theories.

A
Newton did not intend the quoted comment to be an acknowledgment that his theories of light were largely derived from Hooke’s.
This answer is strongly supported. If Newton’s reference to “giants” typically referred to the ancient greeks, then it is highly unlikely Newton’s famous quote was intended to give credit to Hooke for Newton’s theories of light.
B
Newton did not take credit for any advances that Hooke made in the theory of light.
This answer is unsupported. We don’t know for a fact if Newton did not take credit for any part of Hooke’s work. We only know from the stimulus that Hooke claims that most of Newton’s theories were based on Hooke’s work.
C
Newton did not believe that any of Hooke’s theories of light were based on those of the ancient Greeks.
This answer is unsupported. We don’t know from the stimulus what Newton believed about Hooke’s work. We only know that Hooke claimed that most of Newton’s theories were based on Hooke’s work.
D
Newton intended to credit some contemporary scientists other than Hooke for some of the advances that Newton made in the theory of light.
This answer is unsupported. We don’t know for a fact what Newton’s intentions were.
E
Newton was not familiar with Hooke’s work on the theory of light.
This answer is unsupported. We don’t know from the stimulus what Newton knew about any of Hooke’s work. We only know that Hooke claimed that most of Newton’s theories were based on Hooke’s work.

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LSAT PrepTest 105 Explanations

Section 1 - Logical Reasoning

Section 2 - Logical Reasoning

Section 3 - Reading Comprehension

Section 4 - Logical Reasoning

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