LSAT 123 – Section 2 – Question 05

LSAT 123 - Section 2 - Question 05

June 2007

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Question
QuickView		 Type Tags Answer
Choices		 Curve Question
Difficulty		 Psg/Game/S
Difficulty		 Explanation
PT123 S2 Q05
+LR
Weaken +Weak
Causal Reasoning +CausR
A
7%
142
B
61%
154
C
18%
148
D
8%
146
E
6%
142
137
146
155
 +Medium 143.659 +SubsectionEasier

Relevant lessons: Referential phrasing | Phenomenon-hypothesis questions | Weakening Questions

Scientist: Earth’s average annual temperature has increased by about 0.5 degrees Celsius over the last century. This warming is primarily the result of the buildup of minor gases in the atmosphere, blocking the outward flow of heat from the planet.

Summarize Argument: Phenomenon-Hypothesis
The scientist hypothesizes that the Earth’s warming is a result of the buildup of minor gases in the atmosphere. She bases this on the fact that such gases block the outward flow of heat away from the planet.

Notable Assumptions
Based merely on a correlation between the buildup of gases and the Earth’s warming, the scientist assumes that the former causes the latter. This means she doesn’t believe that the causal relationship is the inverse, or that there’s some hidden third factor causing both a building of gases and the Earth’s warming. The scientist also assumes a true (i.e. 1:1) correlation between the buildup of gases and the Earth’s warming over the last century, without providing data to prove such a correlation.

A
Only some of the minor gases whose presence in the atmosphere allegedly resulted in the phenomenon described by the scientist were produced by industrial pollution.
The stimulus never mentions pollution. The scientist doesn’t seem to care what caused the gases to build up in the atmosphere.
B
Most of the warming occurred before 1940, while most of the buildup of minor gases in the atmosphere occurred after 1940.
If the warming largely preceded the gas buildup, the gas buildup certainly couldn’t have caused the warming. This destroys the causation that the scientist assumes to be true.
C
Over the last century, Earth received slightly more solar radiation in certain years than it did in others.
We don’t know which years those were, or what the effects of solar radiation are. This doesn’t give us nearly enough information.
D
Volcanic dust and other particles in the atmosphere reflect much of the Sun’s radiation back into space before it can reach Earth’s surface.
The scientist doesn’t care about solar radiation.
E
The accumulation of minor gases in the atmosphere has been greater over the last century than at any other time in Earth’s history.
We don’t care about what happened in past centuries. We need to know if the buildup of gases in the last century caused the Earth’s warming.

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LSAT PrepTest 123 Explanations

Section 1 - Reading Comprehension

Section 2 - Logical Reasoning

Section 3 - Logical Reasoning

Section 4 - Reading Comprehension

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