LSAT 121 – Section 4 – Question 03

LSAT 121 - Section 4 - Question 03

December 2005

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Question
QuickView		 Type Tags Answer
Choices		 Curve Question
Difficulty		 Psg/Game/S
Difficulty		 Explanation
PT121 S4 Q03
+LR
Most strongly supported +MSS
A
1%
152
B
3%
161
C
1%
153
D
90%
164
E
5%
158
124
136
148
 +Easier 146.544 +SubsectionMedium

Since 1989 the importation of ivory from African elephants into the United States and Canada has been illegal, but the importation of ivory from the excavated tusks of ancient mammoths remains legal in both countries. Following the ban, there was a sharp increase in the importation of ivory that importers identified as mammoth ivory. In 1989 customs officials lacked a technique for distinguishing elephant ivory from that of mammoths. Just after such a technique was invented and its use by customs officials became widely known, there was a dramatic decrease in the amount of ivory presented for importation into the U.S. and Canada that was identified by importers as mammoth ivory.

Summary
Since 1989, importing ivory from African elephants into the US and Canada has been illegal. But, importing ivory from ancient mammoths is legal. Following the 1989 ban on importing elephant ivory, there was a sharp uptick in ivory imports labeled as mammoth ivory. However, once a technique was developed to reliably distinguish between elephant and mammoth ivory, there was a dramatic decline in the amount of imported ivory labeled as mammoth ivory.

Strongly Supported Conclusions
Before the technique to distinguish between the two types of ivory was introduced, much of the ivory labeled mammoth ivory was actually elephant ivory.

A
Customs officials still cannot reliably distinguish elephant ivory from mammoth ivory.
This is antisupported. The stimulus says that a technique was discovered and widely known.
B
Most of the ivory currently imported into the U.S. and Canada comes from neither African elephants nor mammoths.
The stimulus does not provide information about the current sources of most ivory imports.
C
In the period since the technique for distinguishing elephant ivory from mammoth ivory was implemented, the population of African elephants has declined.
The stimulus does not give any information about the population of elephants. You need a few assumptions to make this work.
D
Much of the ivory imported as mammoth ivory just after the ban on ivory from African elephants went into effect was actually elephant ivory.
The stimulus explains that following the ban, there was a significant increase in mammoth ivory imports and a massive decrease once a technique to distinguish between the two ivories was implemented. You can assume that many ivory imports were mislabeled to get around the law.
E
Shortly after the importation of ivory from African elephants was outlawed, there was a sharp increase in the total amount of all ivory presented for importation into the U.S. and Canada.
The stimulus says that there was a massive increase in mammoth-labeled ivory, not an overall increase in the *total* amount of ivory imported.

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LSAT PrepTest 121 Explanations

Section 1 - Logical Reasoning

Section 2 - Reading Comprehension

Section 3 - Reading Comprehension

Section 4 - Logical Reasoning

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