LSAT 110 – Section 3 – Question 06

LSAT 110 - Section 3 - Question 06

June 2001

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Question
QuickView		 Type Tags Answer
Choices		 Curve Question
Difficulty		 Psg/Game/S
Difficulty		 Explanation
PT110 S3 Q06
+LR
Weaken +Weak
Conditional Reasoning +CondR
Eliminating Options +ElimOpt
A
7%
161
B
85%
167
C
6%
163
D
1%
163
E
1%
160
129
143
157
 +Medium 145.976 +SubsectionMedium

Standard archaeological techniques make it possible to determine the age of anything containing vegetable matter, but only if the object is free of minerals containing carbon. Prehistoric artists painted on limestone with pigments composed of vegetable matter, but it is impossible to collect samples of this prehistoric paint without removing limestone, a mineral containing carbon, with the paint. Therefore, it is not possible to determine the age of prehistoric paintings on limestone using standard archaeological techniques.

Summarize Argument
The author concludes that standard archeology cannot measure the ages of ancient paintings on limestone. Why? Because carbon always comes along with vegetable-based paint samples collected from limestone, and anything with carbon and vegetable matter can’t be aged using standard techniques.

Notable Assumptions
The author assumes that neither vegetable matter nor carbon can be removed from the samples after collection. If either material can be separated out, then the remaining paint would not be restricted by the author’s general rule and standard techniques may be usable.

A
There exist several different techniques for collecting samples of prehistoric pigments on limestone.
The author states that all such techniques involve removing limestone. This does not imply that any method allows paint to be collected without carbon coming along.
B
Laboratory procedures exist that can remove all the limestone from a sample of prehistoric paint on limestone.
This disputes the assumption that the samples must retain their carbon. If limestone can be removed, then the carbon-free paint can be isolated and may be measurable using standard techniques.
C
The age of the limestone itself can be determined from samples that contain no vegetable-based paint.
This suggests a method to determine the limestone’s age, not the paint’s age. The author does not say that knowing the limestone’s age allows archaeologists to know the paint's age.
D
Prehistoric artists did not use anything other than vegetable matter to make their paints.
This does not imply the samples are free of carbon, since the carbon comes from the limestone. It eliminates the possibility that vegetable matter can be separated from the remaining paint, thus strengthening the argument.
E
The proportion of carbon to other elements in limestone is the same in all samples of limestone.
This implies the amount of carbon in a sample can be known, not that it can be removed. The author states that the presence of carbon, not the variability of carbon, makes standard techniques unusable.

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LSAT PrepTest 110 Explanations

Section 1 - Reading Comprehension

Section 2 - Logical Reasoning

Section 3 - Logical Reasoning

Section 4 - Reading Comprehension

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