PT 74.S1.Q17 - How the pigment known as Han Purple

WishingOnAStarWishingOnAStar Alum Member
edited April 2021 in Logical Reasoning 83 karma

Hello, friends! This is my first time posting some analysis on a question. Please feel free to provide feedback or any corrections.

STRENGTHEN

Premise: The same ingredients and processes were used to make Han purple AND a common white glass (during the Han and Qin periods in ancient China).

Conclusion: Han purple was probably discovered by accident while making the white glass.

Initial analysis: The stimulus includes nothing that suggests Han purple was particularly rare, or at least rarer than the white glass. There are a variety of problems with this logic, which has many gaping holes to fill with an answer. Just because two things are made similarly and with the same ingredients does not mean that one must've been discovered while making the other. They could've been discovered simultaneously, independently, etc.

Answer anticipation: Anything that shows that the white glass was made prior to Han purple, restricts geographic location of where both were made, shows that Han purple was rarer, shows that one must've been expert with white glass production to make Han purple, etc.

A: CORRECT. If chemical analysis shows that both Han purple and the white glass were made in a relatively restricted area, this eliminates the possibility that Han purple was discovered independently elsewhere.

B: No. How Han purple and the white glass were used AFTER creation tells us nothing about how Han purple was originally created / discovered.

C: No. We don't know if the technique for making white glass was also widely known. And the number of people who know how to make Han purple doesn't tell us anything about how it was created / discovered originally. Han purple could have been discovered independent of white glass with only a few people knowing how to make it.

D: No. How easily obtainable the ingredients were isn't relevant to answering whether Han purple was discovered while making white glass. If anything this weakens in some minuscule way—if ingredients were easily obtainable it makes it more likely that Han purple was discovered by a random person who happened to NOT be making white glass.

E: No. What is left of the white glass in artifacts today v. Han purple tells us nothing about how Han purple was discovered. Maybe it was discovered independently but for some reason just didn't hold up as well as the white glass did over time.

Final thoughts: I really struggled with this question during both my practice test and blind review and still missed on blind review (I typically go -2/3 on LR). I think it's because the argument was overall quite terrible and there were many logical holes that a correct answer choice could've filled so it was difficult to anticipate. For me, I didn't initially connect that limiting the geographical location could help, if even slightly.

As another commenter wrote about answer choice A online in a different forum:

"one of the weakest Strengthen answers you are ever likely to see."
'
Admin Note: https://7sage.com/lsat_explanations/lsat-74-section-1-question-17/

Comments

  • yang9999yang9999 Core Member
    419 karma

    yeah I've been told this is a Strengthen "NA" question where the correct answer supplies a necessary assumption and barely strengthens the argument.

  • Help2222Help2222 Member
    240 karma

    I totally agree with the analysis above. I, also, believes the correct answer is A.

  • WishingOnAStarWishingOnAStar Alum Member
    edited April 2021 83 karma

    Thanks for your comment, @yang9999. Have you seen other similar strengthen NA questions that barely strengthen an argument? Or do you feel it's an anomaly? Not quite sure how to "learn" from this question, TBH.

  • WishingOnAStarWishingOnAStar Alum Member
    edited April 2021 83 karma

    Thank you, @Help2222! Always good to hear others in agreement with your reasoning! :)

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