LSAT 118 – Section 3 – Question 02

LSAT 118 - Section 3 - Question 02

December 2004

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Question
QuickView		 Type Tags Answer
Choices		 Curve Question
Difficulty		 Psg/Game/S
Difficulty		 Explanation
PT118 S3 Q02
+LR
+Exp
Weaken +Weak
Causal Reasoning +CausR
Net Effect +NetEff
A
3%
154
B
0%
158
C
96%
166
D
0%
158
E
0%
150
133
140
147
 +Easier 146.785 +SubsectionMedium

The process by which nylon is manufactured releases large amounts of the gas nitrous oxide, which is harmful to the environment. Since the processing of cotton fiber does not release environmentally harmful gases, there would be less environmental damage done if cotton fiber rather than nylon were used to make products such as thread and rope.

Summarize Argument
Using cotton fiber instead of nylon to make products like thread and rope would result in reduced environmental damage. This is because manufacturing cotton fiber does not release harmful gases into the environment, whereas manufacturing nylon does.

Notable Assumptions
The author assumes that the process of manufacturing cotton fiber does not cause significant environmental damage, even though it does not release harmful gases. Producing cotton fiber could cause more environmental harm than producing nylon in ways other than gas emissions.

A
Even if the quantity of nitrous oxide released into the environment decreased, many environmental problems would remain unsolved.
This does not affect the argument. The author does not assume that replacing nylon with cotton fiber in thread and rope will solve all environmental problems. The persistence of many environmental issues despite this change does not weaken the argument.
B
Even if only some of the thread and rope that is currently being made from nylon were instead made from cotton fiber, some environmental damage would be avoided.
This strengthens the argument. It reinforces the idea that replacing nylon with cotton fiber in thread and rope would reduce environmental damage by suggesting that environmental benefits could be seen even if only some of the nylon is replaced with cotton fiber.
C
If cotton fiber replaced nylon in the production of thread and rope, there would be a resulting increase in the amount of nylon used in other manufactured products.
This weakens the argument by making it unclear whether replacing nylon with cotton fiber in thread and rope would have a net positive effect on the environment. If this switch increases nylon production and thus, nitrous oxide emissions, the environment may actually be worse off.
D
If the quantity of nylon manufactured annually decreased substantially, the volume of several pollutants that are released into the environment during its manufacture would be reduced.
This strengthens the argument. If nylon is replaced with cotton fiber in thread and rope, the levels of several other pollutants in addition to nitrous oxide would decrease. This reinforces the idea that the switch would reduce environmental damage.
E
If thread and rope continue to be made from nylon, the production of cotton fiber will not increase as rapidly as it would if all thread and rope were to be made from cotton fiber.
This does not affect the argument. (E) says the production of cotton fiber would increase faster if cotton fiber replaced nylon in thread and rope, which does not have any impact on the argument.

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LSAT PrepTest 118 Explanations

Section 1 - Logical Reasoning

Section 2 - Reading Comprehension

Section 3 - Logical Reasoning

Section 4 - Logical Reasoning

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