PT70.S4.Q12 - though earth's human population

Tina Cho

https://7sage.com/lsat_explanations/lsat-70-section-4-question-12/
Hi, I am struggling between B and C...
I thought B is wrong because they might be able to get water from other regions if they run out their water...
Why are we not allowed to think in this way in this question? because it's not practical in real world?
Also for C...I thought it's correct because if they do not adopt water conservation methods in the near future, some regions may run out water. (but then it sounds like it suggests the same issue as B...maybe then can get water from other regions)
Is C wrong because in the conclusion it says "unless pop. growth trends change are simply mistaken" so adopting water conservation methods or not does not matter?

Thank you in advance!

danielznelson

I initially had the same reservations about B and because of the exact scenario that you posed.

But according to what B is actually claiming, it doesn't seem like some regions could get water from other regions. B isn't saying something like, "The amount of fresh water varies from region to region."

I think if this were B, your reservation would be dead on. But B is far from that. B instead asserts that the amount of water actually available differs from region to region. The varying availability is not referring to each region's respective amount of "local" water but is instead claiming that the amount of water actually capable of reaching a region varies. If this is the case, the argument is most certainly weakened.

The difficulty with B is realizing what "availability" actually means - it's using the term very literally, as opposed to using it in a colloquial sense that would refer more to non-import (i.e. immediately and readily available) water.

Does that distinction make sense?

danielznelson

Forgot about your question on C!

"Not all" only means that - not all. "All but one" or "most" both have to be accepted as possible quantifiers for C. Heck, "not all of Earth's population" could mean everyone on the planet but one person. Outside of the fact that "not all" offers little conviction, C is also iffy because of the first sentence in the stimulus indicating that only a small fraction of the supply of fresh water is actually used. If, say, just a few people are not conserving fresh water (of which only a small fraction is actually being used), is there really any risk of a fresh water shortage?

Tina Cho

Hi Daniel, thank you so much for your explanations!
Again it helped me a lot, and now I understand why C is wrong and B is the best one among 5.
This was really a tricky question, I feel the test becomes harder and trickier...
Anyways, thank you again!

danielznelson

That's great! And don't worry too much about the test seeming harder. I know a lot of those studying for this test feel the same, and I think it has the most to do with the fact that the questions are written just slightly differently. The logic is always the same across all LSATs, but the structure of the questions may vary across the various "eras" of the test. You'll get used to the new stuff for sure.

Tina Cho

Yeah, but actually sometimes that's the problem...I understand the behind logic, what's wrong in the stimulus, but the way they write answer choices sometimes is so hard to understand and I cannot get what they mean...but your comment made me feel a little better, thanks!