LSAT 121 – Section 4 – Question 17

LSAT 121 - Section 4 - Question 17

December 2005

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Question
QuickView		 Type Tags Answer
Choices		 Curve Question
Difficulty		 Psg/Game/S
Difficulty		 Explanation
PT121 S4 Q17
+LR
Flaw or descriptive weakening +Flaw
Causal Reasoning +CausR
A
5%
157
B
0%
152
C
87%
164
D
4%
155
E
4%
160
135
144
154
 +Medium 146.544 +SubsectionMedium

A large amount of rainfall in April and May typically leads to an increase in the mosquito population and thus to an increased threat of encephalitis. People cannot change the weather. Thus people cannot decrease the threat of encephalitis.

A
takes for granted that because one event precedes another the former must be the cause of the latter
The author’s premises explicitly state that heavy rainfall in April and May can cause an increased risk of encephalitis. So she isn’t assuming a causal relationship where none exists.
B
presumes, without providing justification, that a certain outcome would be desirable
Presumably encephalitis is an undesirable outcome, but regardless, the author never makes any claims or assumptions about whether a certain outcome would be desirable. She just argues that people can’t affect that outcome.
C
ignores the possibility that a certain type of outcome is dependent on more than one factor
The author ignores the possibility that the threat of encephalitis is dependent on more than just heavy rainfall. Perhaps people can still decrease the threat of encephalitis by controlling other factors, like wearing bug spray, even though they can’t control the weather.
D
takes for granted that a threat that is aggravated by certain factors could not occur in the absence of those factors
The author never assumes that encephalitis could not occur without heavy rainfall in April and May. She just argues that heavy rainfall leads to more mosquitoes, which increases the threat of encephalitis.
E
draws a conclusion about what is possible from a premise about what is actually the case
The author does draw a conclusion about what’s possible— that it’s impossible for people to decrease the threat of encephalitis— from premises about what is actually the case. But the flaw is that she fails to address other factors that can also affect the threat of encephalitis.

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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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