LSAT 150 – Section 3 – Question 06

LSAT 150 - Section 3 - Question 06

June 2018

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Question QuickView	Type	Tags	Answer Choices	Curve	Question Difficulty	Psg/Game/S Difficulty	Explanation
PT150 S3 Q06	+LR	Strengthen +Streng Causal Reasoning +CausR	A 0% 146 B 6% 160 C 61% 163 D 29% 162 E 4% 153	127 152 176	+Medium	148.057 +SubsectionMedium

Strengthen

Pretty hard question.

Premises tell us that Shooter Island's waters are exceptionally still and that there are lots of juvenile birds gathered around its waters. There aren't very many juvenile birds in waters in neighboring islands. We have to catch on that we are not told WHY the juveniles are gathering in still waters/Shooter Island. It could be for any number of reasons. The conclusion says that it's because it's their nursery. Okay, that makes sense I guess baby birds like still waters. They're probably using it as a nursery and that's why there are so many juvenile birds there.

If you thought that, then you likely overlooked (C). (C) tells us that whenever possible, waterbirds use still water as nurseries. We think... don't we already know that? Nope, we don't. This is a really powerful assumption that if established, would do wonders for the argument.

(C) tells us waterbird's preference is to use still waters for nurseries whenever it's possible. The stimulus tells us that there are in fact an overabundance of juveniles in still waters. You put the two statements together and now we're pretty sure that they're actually there because they're using it as a nursery and not for some other reason. Our argument is made much better.

(D) is an attractive trap. It says that the waters around the other islands are MUCH rougher. This seems like new information but it hardly is. We already knew from the premises that Shooter Island water is EXCEPTIONALLY still. Not just kind of still. It's exceptionally still. So even if the neighboring waters are a little bit rough, they're MUCH rougher than exceptionally still.

But let's just say that the waters in the neighboring islands are truly objectively rough. Okay, we still don't know why juvenile birds are gathering in still waters/Shooter Island. Is it as the conclusion says that it's because this is their nursery? Maybe. Or maybe it's for some other reason. That means the argument was as strong/weak as it ever was. We didn't do our job of strengthening the argument.

The waters surrounding Shooter’s Island have long been a dumping ground for ruined ships and boats, and the wreckage there has caused these waters to be exceptionally still. An ornithologist found that the overall abundance of waterbirds around Shooter’s Island is similar to that around each of the neighboring islands, but that juvenile waterbirds are much more abundant around Shooter’s Island than around those other islands. This suggests that the still waters around Shooter’s Island serve as a nursery for the juveniles.

Summarize Argument: Phenomenon-Hypothesis

The author hypothesizes the abnormally still waters surrounding Shooter’s Island act like a nursery for juvenile waterbirds. Why? Because those waters have roughly as many total waterbirds as waters around nearby islands, but many more juvenile waterbirds.

Notable Assumptions

The author assumes there’s a higher proportion of juvenile waterbirds around Shooter’s Island because the still waters act as a nursery, and not for some other reason. This means assuming adult waterbirds prefer to raise their young in still waters, perhaps because still waters offer some benefit to the development of juvenile waterbirds.

The ruined ships and boats around Shooter’s Island have been there for decades.

This is irrelevant. It doesn’t say the ruined ships and boats make life any easier for juvenile waterbirds.

The number of juvenile waterbirds around Shooter’s Island, as well as the number around each neighboring island, does not fluctuate dramatically throughout the year.

This establishes that Shooter’s Island is surrounded by an unusually large proportion of juvenile waterbirds throughout the year, but it doesn’t favor the author’s hypothesis. It gives no reason to identify still waters as the cause of that juvenile presence.

Waterbirds use still waters as nurseries for juveniles whenever possible.

This makes concrete the author’s assumption that adult waterbirds prefer to raise their young in still waters. It’s a reason to single out still waters as the cause of the juvenile waterbird presence around Shooter’s Island.

The waters around the islands neighboring Shooter’s Island are much rougher than the waters around Shooter’s Island.

This offers detail, but doesn’t favor the author’s hypothesis. It doesn’t say juvenile waterbirds prefer still waters to rough waters—it just confirms that the waters around Shooter’s Island are, in fact, exceptionally still.

Waterbirds are typically much more abundant in areas that serve as nurseries for juvenile waterbirds than in areas that do not.

This weakens the argument. Since waterbirds in general are no more abundant around Shooter’s Island, it suggests waters around Shooter’s Island are probably not a nursery for them.

LSAT 150 – Section 3 – Question 06

LSAT 150 - Section 3 - Question 06

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LSAT PrepTest 150 Explanations

Section 1 - Reading Comprehension

Section 2 - Logical Reasoning

Section 3 - Logical Reasoning

Section 4 - Reading Comprehension

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