LSAT 129 – Section 1 – Question 11

LSAT 129 - Section 1 - Question 11

June 2009

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Question
QuickView		 Type Tags Answer
Choices		 Curve Question
Difficulty		 Psg/Game/S
Difficulty		 Explanation
PT129 S1 Q11
+LR
+Exp
Point at issue: disagree +Disagr
Value Judgment +ValJudg
A
9%
160
B
11%
160
C
16%
159
D
4%
157
E
59%
165
146
158
170
 +Harder 146.023 +SubsectionMedium

Cynthia: Corporations amply fund research that generates marketable new technologies. But the fundamental goal of science is to achieve a comprehensive knowledge of the workings of the universe. The government should help fund those basic scientific research projects that seek to further our theoretical knowledge of nature.

Luis: The basic goal of government support of scientific research is to generate technological advances that will benefit society as a whole. So only research that is expected to yield practical applications in fields such as agriculture and medicine ought to be funded.

Speaker 1 Summary
Cynthia believes that the government should help fund basic scientific research projects that aim to further theoretical knowledge of nature. This is because the fundamental goal of science is to achieve a comprehensive understanding of the universe.

Speaker 2 Summary
Luis argues that the government should only fund scientific research that is expected to yield practical applications because the basic goal of government support for scientific research is to generate technological benefits for society.

Objective
Disagree: Cynthia and Luis disagree over what kinds of research the government should fund. Cynthia is much broader, while Luis believes that only research that results in practical applications should be funded.

A
The government should help fund pure theoretical research because such research might have unforeseen practical applications in fields such as agriculture and medicine.
Cynthia does not give an opinion on funding pure theoretical research, but there is an argument for why she may support this statement. Luis also clearly supports this statement, so this cannot be the right answer.
B
A proposed study of the effects of chemical fertilizers on crops, for the purpose of developing more-resistant and higher-yielding breeds, should not receive government funding.
Cynthia does not take a position against funding practical research, and Luis would disagree with this because he believes the government should fund research with practical applications.
C
Although some research projects in theoretical science yield practical benefits, most do not, and so no research projects in theoretical science should be funded by the government.
Cynthia easily disagrees with this statement because she is in favor of funding for theoretical science. This is too strong for Luis to agree with. Luis is in favor of funding projects that have practical benefits.
D
Research for the sole purpose of developing new technologies ought to be financed exclusively by corporations.
Cynthia does not give an opinion on who should exclusively finance new technologies, and Luis disagrees because he thinks the government should help fund such research
E
Knowledge gained through basic scientific research need not be expected to lead to new and useful technologies in order for the research to merit government funding.
Cynthia agrees with this because she believes that the purpose of science is to learn more about the universe. Luis disagrees because he believes that only projects with practical benefits should be funded.

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LSAT PrepTest 129 Explanations

Section 1 - Logical Reasoning

Section 2 - Logical Reasoning

Section 3 - Logical Reasoning

Section 4 - Reading Comprehension

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