LSAT 146 – Section 1 – Question 17

LSAT 146 - Section 1 - Question 17

June 2016

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Question
QuickView		 Type Tags Answer
Choices		 Curve Question
Difficulty		 Psg/Game/S
Difficulty		 Explanation
PT146 S1 Q17
+LR
Resolve reconcile or explain +RRE
Net Effect +NetEff
A
7%
160
B
7%
160
C
9%
163
D
9%
160
E
68%
165
139
153
168
 +Harder 149.45 +SubsectionMedium

In order to relieve traffic congestion, the city of Gastner built a new highway linking several of the city’s suburbs to the downtown area. However, the average commute time for workers in downtown Gastner increased after the new highway opened.

"Surprising" Phenomenon

Why did the average commute time for workers in downtown Gastner increase after the new highway, which linked several suburbs to downtown and was built to relieve traffic congestion, opened?

Objective

The correct answer will be a hypothesis that explains a key difference in traffic patterns before and after the new highway opened. This difference must result in an increased commute time for downtown workers, either because of an overall increase in drivers to downtown Gastner, or because of some traffic shift caused by the new highway.

A
Most people who work in the downtown area of Gastner commute from one of the city’s suburbs.

If most downtown workers commute from the suburbs and the new highway links the suburbs to downtown, shouldn’t most downtown workers’ commute time have decreased? (A) doesn’t help to explain why the average commute time actually increased after the highway opened.

B
The location of the new highway is most convenient for people who commute to and from Gastner’s largest suburbs.

The highway’s convenience for people from the largest suburbs doesn’t explain why the average commute time for downtown workers increased after the highway opened. We need an answer choice that explains how traffic patterns in Gastner changed because of the new highway.

C
Shortly after the new highway was opened, several suburban roads connecting to the new highway were upgraded with new stoplights.

We don't know if new stoplights on suburban roads would increase commute times. Maybe all the suburban roads previously had stop signs, which are generally much slower than stoplights. We still need an explanation for why workers' commute times increased after the highway opened.

D
At the same time the new highway was being built, road repair work was being done on important streets leading to downtown Gastner.

We need an explanation for why workers’ commute times increased after the highway opened, not while the highway was being built.

E
In Gastner’s downtown area, traffic on the roads near the new highway became more congested after the new highway was opened.

This explains a key difference in downtown traffic patterns before and after the new highway opened that caused workers’ commute times to increase. Because of the new highway, traffic on downtown roads near the highway became more congested, which led to increased commute times.

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LSAT PrepTest 146 Explanations

Section 1 - Logical Reasoning

Section 2 - Logical Reasoning

Section 3 - Logical Reasoning

Section 4 - Reading Comprehension

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