LSAT 122 – Section 2 – Question 02

LSAT 122 - Section 2 - Question 02

June 2006

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Question
QuickView		 Type Tags Answer
Choices		 Curve Question
Difficulty		 Psg/Game/S
Difficulty		 Explanation
PT122 S2 Q02
+LR
Resolve reconcile or explain +RRE
Causal Reasoning +CausR
A
1%
154
B
2%
155
C
1%
156
D
3%
154
E
93%
164
128
138
147
 +Easier 146.896 +SubsectionMedium

Statistical studies show that last year there was the greatest drop in the violent crime rate over the course of a year since such statistics were first gathered. But they also reveal that at the same time public anxiety about violent crime substantially increased.

"Surprising" Phenomenon
Why did public anxiety about violent crime greatly increase over the course of the last year when during the same time there was the greatest drop in violent crime over the course of a year since such statistics were first gathered?

Objective
The right answer will be a hypothesis that explains a disconnect between the amount of violent crime that was committed last year and peoples’ knowledge or perceptions of violent crime over the course of last year.

A
Longer prison sentences were the primary cause of the decrease in the violent crime rate over the course of last year.
We aren’t worried about why violent crime dropped last year. We want to know why people became more anxious about violent crime last year while violent crime was dropping.
B
As in the past, last year’s increase in public anxiety about violent crime has been consistently underreported in the news media.
The amount that the media has reported anxiety about violent crime is irrelevant. (B) doesn’t help explain why people became increasingly anxious about violent crime over the course of last year.
C
Most people can realistically assess the likelihood that they will become victims of violent crime.
Knowing that people can accurately assess their likelihood of being a victim of violent crime does nothing to explain why the public’s anxiety about violent crime increased last year while violent crime was dropping.
D
People who feel the most anxiety about violent crime usually live in areas with relatively high violent crime rates.
It doesn’t matter which people tend to be the most anxious about violent crime. We want to know why people, in the aggregate, were becoming increasingly anxious about violent crime last year while the violent crime rate was dropping.
E
The proportion of violent crimes covered in the news media nearly doubled over the course of last year.
This gives a possible explanation for people becoming more anxious about violent crime last year while violent crime was dropping. The increased coverage of violent crimes may have increased the public’s anxiety about violent crime even though violent crime was decreasing.

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LSAT PrepTest 122 Explanations

Section 1 - Logical Reasoning

Section 2 - Logical Reasoning

Section 3 - Reading Comprehension

Section 4 - Logical Reasoning

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