Struggling with MSS

Lsatgeek1

I am having trouble understanding how to approach MSS question types. Any tips on how to approach them?

HelLSat-0

For MSS questions, take the stimulus slow and ensure comprehension. The argument, premises, the conclusion--for MSS, all of these are TRUE. The correct answer choice must be found by process of elimination, skip pre-phrasing and let the correct AC feed you/give you clues. Eliminate incorrect answers as you search for whichever AC naturally flows from the stimulus. You could also think about the correct AC on MSS as a puzzle piece that fits with the stimulus whole. MSS are not quite inference or MBT questions but the process is fairly similar. Four of the answers will not naturally flow from the stimulus, only one will.

Here is a brand new, fake, imperfect MSS Q:

"Storm Chaser: The Fujita Scale and Enhanced Fujita Scale are ranking scales that rely upon the level of destruction a given Tornado leaves in its wake to evaluate Tornado strength. The severity of damage caused by a Tornado is investigated and then meteorologists, based upon these assessments, make their classification. But even the newer Enhanced Fujita Scale relies too heavily on crime-scene-like analysis of apparent structural damage as it doesn't properly take into account live radar-measured wind speeds. Thus, the 2013 El Reno Tornado should not have been classified as a mere EF3 and instead should be regarded as a maximally powerful EF5.

A. Users of the Enhanced Fujita scale cannot make determinations about Tornado strength utilizing wind speed estimates.
B. Looking at live, radar-measured wind speeds is not as reliable a way to assess Tornado strength as evaluating apparent structural damage.
C. The 2013 El Reno Tornado did not cause EF5 structural damage.
D. The Fujita scale was a more effective means of calculating wind speeds.
E. It would be reasonable to upgrade the 2013 El Reno Tornado to a F4 classification."

Spoiler/Correct answer: The University of Oklahoma's RaXPol mobile Doppler weather radar, positioned at a nearby overpass, measured winds preliminarily analyzed as in excess of 296 mph (476 km/h). These winds are considered the second-highest ever measured worldwide, just shy of the 302 ± 22 mph (486 ± 35 km/h) recorded during the 1999 Bridge Creek–Moore tornado.[22][23] On August 30, the National Weather Service office in Norman once again revised the intensity of the El Reno tornado. Keli Pirtle, a Public Affairs worker at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, stated that, "despite the radar-measured wind speeds, the survey team did not find damage that would support a rating higher than EF3. While the wind measurements from the mobile radars are considered reliable, NWS policy for determining EF-ratings is based on surveys of ground damage."[21] The lack of EF5 damage was likely a result of the rural nature of the area, as the sub-vortices that contained the EF5 wind speeds did not impact any structures.[28][29] Rick Smith, the warning coordination meteorologist at the National Weather Service Weather Forecast Office in Norman, stated that this tornado was among a "super-rare" category within the EF5 rating. Smith also stated that it was fortunate the tornado did not track into more densely populated areas, particularly those within the Oklahoma City metropolitan area, "this would have been … I don't even want to imagine what it would have been."[25] William Hooke, a senior policy fellow at the American Meteorological Society stated that, "[Oklahoma City] dodged a bullet...You lay that path over Oklahoma City, and you have devastation of biblical proportions."[27]Alongside rush hour traffic, thousands of residents in Oklahoma City attempted to outrun the storm by taking to the roads in an attempt to drive out of the tornado's projected path. By attempting to escape the storm by vehicle, in direct contrast to the recommended plan of action, residents put themselves at great risk from the storm; had the tornado maintained itself and passed over the congested freeways, more than 500 lives could have been lost.[8]The tornado killed four storm chasers (three professional and one amateur), the first known deaths in the history of storm chasing.[3] The National Weather Service referred to the tornado as "the most dangerous tornado in storm observing history."[7]

(Only 11 days after the EF5 Moore tornado, the El Reno tornado, measuring 2.6 miles wide, struck central Oklahoma. It was categorized as an EF3, but its width was the largest ever recorded and its wind speeds were the second highest ever recorded. It killed nine people in their cars and caused widespread flash flooding that killed 14 more.)