LSAT 134 – Section 2 – Question 14

LSAT 134 - Section 2 - Question 14

October 2011

You need a full course to see this video. Enroll now and get started in less than a minute.

Request new explanation

Target time: 1:30

This is question data from the 7Sage LSAT Scorer. You can score your LSATs, track your results, and analyze your performance with pretty charts and vital statistics - all with a Free Account ← sign up in less than 10 seconds

Question
QuickView		 Type Tags Answer
Choices		 Curve Question
Difficulty		 Psg/Game/S
Difficulty		 Explanation
PT134 S2 Q14
+LR
+Exp
Resolve reconcile or explain +RRE
Causal Reasoning +CausR
Sampling +Smpl
A
15%
158
B
1%
152
C
73%
164
D
3%
154
E
8%
158
142
152
162
 +Medium 146.032 +SubsectionMedium

For one academic year all the students at a high school were observed. The aim was to test the hypothesis that studying more increased a student’s chances of earning a higher grade. It turned out that the students who spent the most time studying did not earn grades as high as did many students who studied less. Nonetheless, the researchers concluded that the results of the observation supported the initial hypothesis.

"Surprising" Phenomenon
Why did researchers conclude that studying increases a student’s chances of earning a higher grade when many students who did not study got better grades than the students who studied the most?

Objective
The correct answer must state a reason for researchers to conclude that studying increased a student’s chances of getting a higher grade. It must allow for some students who did not study to get better grades than those students who studied the most.

A
The students who spent the most time studying earned higher grades than did some students who studied for less time than the average.
This is not enough to justify the researchers’ conclusion. It is possible that students who studied the most earned better grades than only a small proportion of the students who studied little, in which case their conclusion remains unexplained.
B
The students tended to get slightly lower grades as the academic year progressed.
This does not imply that students studied less as the year progressed, only that they received lower grades. Without information about the time students spent studying, this does not support the researchers’ conclusion.
C
In each course, the more a student studied, the better his or her grade was in that course.
This states that students in a given course are more likely to succeed with more study. It is consistent with the evidence because it implies the students who studied the most were in different courses than the students who performed better with less studying.
D
The students who spent the least time studying tended to be students with no more than average involvement in extracurricular activities.
This does not explain the researchers’ conclusion. It is not implied that involvement in extracurriculars makes a student more or less likely to earn high grades.
E
Students who spent more time studying understood the course material better than other students did.
Researchers concluded that studying leads to higher grades, not a better understanding of the course material. This does not explain why some students who did not study got better grades than students who did.

Take PrepTest

Review Results

LSAT PrepTest 134 Explanations

Section 1 - Logical Reasoning

Section 2 - Logical Reasoning

Section 3 - Logical Reasoning

Section 4 - Reading Comprehension

Get full LSAT course

Leave a Reply