LSAT 147 – Section 1 – Question 01

LSAT 147 - Section 1 - Question 01

September 2016

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Question
QuickView		 Type Tags Answer
Choices		 Curve Question
Difficulty		 Psg/Game/S
Difficulty		 Explanation
PT147 S1 Q01
+LR
Resolve reconcile or explain +RRE
A
1%
156
B
1%
153
C
96%
162
D
1%
155
E
1%
149
125
133
141
 +Easiest 147.09 +SubsectionMedium

After a major toll highway introduced a system of electronic toll paying, delays at all of its interchanges declined significantly. Travel time per car trip decreased by an average of 10 percent. Tailpipe pollution for each trip decreased commensurately. Despite this, the total air pollution from vehicles on that highway did not decrease measurably.

"Surprising" Phenomenon
The new electronic tolling system reduced delays on the highway, which decreased travel times and consequently lowered pollution levels per trip, but the total air pollution on the highway did not decrease measurably.

Objective
The correct answer will describe some other factor or phenomenon that also began when the tolls changed, but which caused increased pollution on the highway. That increase must offset the decrease from the shortened trip times, yielding essentially constant pollution levels as described in the stimulus.

A
The highway began charging higher tolls when it switched to electronic toll paying.
This would likely cause fewer people to take the highway, leading to further decreased pollution levels. We’re looking for something that would cause heightened pollution to counteract the decrease from the shortened trip times, so this does the opposite of what we need.
B
Even after the switch to electronic toll paying, there were sometimes long delays at the highway’s interchanges.
This answer doesn’t give us a factor that helps explain the constant pollution levels. The stimulus tells us that the average trip length decreased with the toll method switch, which remains true even if some trips are impacted by long delays.
C
The prospect of faster, more convenient travel induced more drivers to use the highway.
This explains why the pollution level on the highway remains the same despite the fact that the average pollution per trip went down: the shortened trip times attracted more drivers, so even though each trip produces less pollution on average, there are now more trips overall.
D
Travel time on the highway for car trips under 30 kilometers (18.6 miles) did not decrease appreciably.
Even if shorter-distance trips did not become markedly faster, we know that trips on the highway did on average. We would therefore still expect to see lowered pollution levels based on this answer and the stimulus alone, so this doesn’t help reconcile the issue at hand.
E
Some drivers did not switch to the electronic system but instead continued to use cash to pay their tolls at toll booths.
This answer doesn’t give us a factor that helps explain the constant pollution levels. The stimulus tells us that the switch to the electronic system had an impact on average trip times, whether or not every driver utilized the new system.

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LSAT PrepTest 147 Explanations

Section 1 - Logical Reasoning

Section 2 - Reading Comprehension

Section 3 - Reading Comprehension

Section 4 - Logical Reasoning

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