LSAT 113 – Section 4 – Question 25

LSAT 113 - Section 4 - Question 25

June 2002

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Question
QuickView		 Type Tags Answer
Choices		 Curve Question
Difficulty		 Psg/Game/S
Difficulty		 Explanation
PT113 S4 Q25
+LR
Strengthen +Streng
Causal Reasoning +CausR
A
7%
154
B
81%
161
C
4%
154
D
5%
154
E
3%
152
138
147
156
 +Medium 145.144 +SubsectionEasier

In ancient Mesopotamia, prior to 2900 B.C., wheat was cultivated in considerable quantities, but after 2900 B.C. production of that grain began to decline as the production of barley increased sharply. Some historians who study ancient Mesopotamia contend that the decline in wheat production was due to excessive irrigation, lack of drainage, and the consequent accumulation of salt residues in the soil.

Summarize Argument: Phenomenon-Hypothesis
Historians hypothesize that the decline in Mesopotamian wheat production was caused by too much irrigation, too little drainage, and a subsequent buildup of salt in soil. No evidence is provided.

Notable Assumptions
The historians assume that wheat production decreases when salt accumulates in the soil, while barley production isn’t affected by (or benefits from) salt accumulation.

A
The cultivation of barley requires considerably less water than does the cultivation of wheat.
The Mesopotamians didn’t seem to be running out of water. They still could’ve grown crops that required lots of water.
B
Barley has much greater resistance to the presence of salt in soil than does wheat.
Wheat couldn’t be grown in the salt-laden soil, so Mesopotamians switched to a crop that could be grown in salt-laden soil: barley.
C
Prior to 2900 B.C., barley was cultivated along with wheat, but the amount of barley produced was far less than the amount of wheat produced.
We care about how much production increased and decreased. We’re not interested in raw totals.
D
Around 2900 B.C., a series of wheat blights occurred, destroying much of the wheat crop year after year.
This actually weakens the author’s argument. Wheat production didn’t decrease because of the accumulation of salt in the soil, but rather because of the constant blights.
E
Literary and archaeological evidence indicates that in the period following 2900 B.C., barley became the principal grain in the diet of most of the inhabitants of Mesopotamia.
The historians argue about why such a change happened. We don’t care if barley virtually superseded wheat in Mesopotamian diets.

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LSAT PrepTest 113 Explanations

Section 1 - Reading Comprehension

Section 2 - Logical Reasoning

Section 3 - Logical Reasoning

Section 4 - Logical Reasoning

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