PT54.S4.Q04 - cynthia claims that her car's trunk popped

LivePumpkin

Hi everyone!

I was going over the questions I got wrong and I really do not understand what C is saying. I understand why all of the other AC are incorrect, I also understand why D is correct; however, I am having trouble understanding what C is saying. From what I understand: is C saying that only one cause can have one effect? But isn’t Ray saying that the effect (trunk popping) could be caused by anything other than a pothole? Or maybe I’m not understanding the logic of this question? It was shocking that I got this question wrong because I have usually only been getting questions near the end wrong. I really don’t understand why C is wrong. Can someone please clarify?

Thank you!

https://7sage.com/lsat_explanations/lsat-54-section-4-question-04/

Sami

@LivePumpkin said:
Hi everyone!

I really do not understand what C is saying. however, I am having trouble understanding what C is saying. From what I understand: is C saying that only one cause can have one effect?

Answer choice "C" is saying if one event (hitting a pothole) causes another (opens trunk) then it (hitting a pothole) cannot also cause a third event (for example puncturing a tire). So the questions to ask is Ray thinking Cynthia is wrong about the cause of trunk opening to be a pothole because a pothole can cause other events like puncturing a tire etc?.

I think if you put it this way its easier to see that Ray doesn't have an issue with a pothole causing other effects/issues. His issue is because there have been times where the cause of trunk opening was not pothole, therefore, Cynthia is wrong about pothole being the cause of her trunk opening.

I think "C" would be the correct answer if the stimulus was like, Cynthia claims a pothole caused her trunk to open but a pothole in another accident caused a tire to deflate. Therefore Cynthia is wrong that a pothole caused her trunk to open.
- In this stimulus the Ray is assuming because pothole has caused a tire to deflate it can have no other effect like popping a trunk to open.
It's like saying, because smoking causes lung cancer it cannot also cause heart disease.

But isn’t Ray saying that the effect (trunk popping) could be caused by anything other than a pothole?

That's exactly what Ray is saying but I think its possible that you are not understanding what C is saying is different than what Ray is assuming.

Let me know if the above explanation helped.

EvetteCee

You're on the right track. Answer choice C is saying that 1 cause cannot have more than 1 effect.
So, its wrong because the wording is off. It should have read 1 effect cannot have more than 1 cause. This is why answer choice C is wrong.

As written, it's saying that a pothole (cause) could not have more than 1 effect (trunk popping open). And that's not what the argument is saying.

Ray believes that the trunk popping open (effect) could not have more than 1 cause. He rejects the possibility that a pothole could have led to Cynthia's trunk popping open. This is why answer choice D is correct.

Hope that makes sense!

LivePumpkin

Thank you both! It makes much more sense now!