LSAT 122 – Section 4 – Question 08

LSAT 122 - Section 4 - Question 08

June 2006

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Question
QuickView		 Type Tags Answer
Choices		 Curve Question
Difficulty		 Psg/Game/S
Difficulty		 Explanation
PT122 S4 Q08
+LR
Weaken +Weak
A
76%
165
B
0%
145
C
18%
159
D
6%
161
E
0%
135
148
162
 +Medium 146.485 +SubsectionMedium

One good clue as to which geographical regions an ancient relic was moved through in the past involves the analysis of pollen that clings to the surface of the relic. A relic is linked to a geographical area by the identification of pollen from plants that are known to have been unique to that area.

Summarize Argument
The author argues that pollen analysis can help determine which geographical regions ancient relics moved through. This is because relics can be linked to certain regions due to having pollen traces from plants unique to those regions.

Notable Assumptions
The author assumes that if pollen on the surface of a relic signifies a certain geographical region, then the relic in question has passed through that region at some point. This means the author assumes there’s no other way for a relic to collect pollen samples than by passing through a region. It also means the author assumes that there’s no way for pollen unique to one area to be collected in a different region.

A
Pollens are often transported from one region to another by wind or human movement.
Since pollens unique to one region often end up in another, it would be tough to tell which regions a relic has passed through based on the pollen that clings to its surface. This weakens the author’s contention that pollen is generally a useful clue.
B
There are several less complicated methods of determining the history of the movement of an object than the analysis and identification of pollen.
Even if the pollen method is complicated, it may still be useful. We need something that tells us it either isn’t useful, or that it’s usefulness is seriously limited.
C
Many types of pollen were common to several geographical regions in the ancient world.
The stimulus deals with pollen types unique to certain regions. We don’t care about ones common to several geographical regions.
D
Data are scarce as to the geographical distribution of the pollens of many ancient plants.
This casts some doubt on the author’s argument. However, “many” is too weak to say the pollen analysis technique wouldn’t nevertheless be helpful for assessing the regions some ancient relics moved through, even if the data on pollen distribution isn’t entirely complete.
E
Pollen analysis is a painstaking process that is also expensive to conduct.
We don’t care how feasible pollen analysis is. We’re concerned with whether or not we can draw certain conclusions from its results.

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LSAT PrepTest 122 Explanations

Section 1 - Logical Reasoning

Section 2 - Logical Reasoning

Section 3 - Reading Comprehension

Section 4 - Logical Reasoning

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