LSAT 133 – Section 1 – Question 01

LSAT 133 - Section 1 - Question 01

June 2011

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Question
QuickView		 Type Tags Answer
Choices		 Curve Question
Difficulty		 Psg/Game/S
Difficulty		 Explanation
PT133 S1 Q01
+LR
Strengthen +Streng
Fill in the blank +Fill
Causal Reasoning +CausR
A
0%
155
B
1%
151
C
97%
163
D
1%
153
E
0%
151
128
135
142
 +Easier 146.357 +SubsectionMedium

Backyard gardeners who want to increase the yields of their potato plants should try growing stinging nettles alongside the plants, since stinging nettles attract insects that kill a wide array of insect pests that damage potato plants. It is true that stinging nettles also attract aphids, and that many species of aphids are harmful to potato plants, but that fact in no way contradicts this recommendation, because _______.

Summarize Argument
We are asked to supply an additional premise to fill in the blank.

The author concludes that gardeners can boost potato yields by planting stinging nettles nearby. He explains that nettles attract insects that kill harmful pests. Although nettles also attract aphids, many of which can harm potatoes, the author says this doesn't contradict his recommendation because _______.

Notable Assumptions
The author assumes that the nettles don’t harm the potato plants. He also assumes that, just because the nettles attract insects that kill pests, this will directly boost potato yields.
To effectively fill in the blank, the correct answer must somehow show that the aphids that are attracted to stinging nettles either don’t harm potato plants or else don’t harm them enough to affect their potato production.

A
stinging nettles require little care and thus are easy to cultivate
Irrelevant— this fails to show that the aphids that are attracted to nettles do not harm potato yields. Also, whether nettles are easy or difficult to cultivate doesn’t impact the argument that planting them can increase potato yields.
B
some types of aphids are attracted to stinging nettle plants but do not damage them
Irrelevant— this addresses whether some of the aphids damage the nettles, but it fails to address whether the aphids damage the potato plants.
C
the types of aphids that stinging nettles attract do not damage potato plants
If the aphids that are attracted to the nettles do not damage potato plants, then the aphids don’t contradict the author’s recommendation to plant nettles nearby in order to boost potato yields.
D
insect pests typically cause less damage to potato plants than other harmful organisms do
Even if insect pests cause less damage than other organisms, they might still cause a lot of damage. (D) fails to address whether the aphids that are attracted to the nettles damage potato plants enough to reduce their potato yield.
E
most aphid species that are harmful to potato plants cause greater harm to other edible food plants
Irrelevant— it doesn't matter how much harm aphids cause to other plants. The argument is only about increasing the yield of potato plants, and (E) fails to show whether the aphids harm potato plants enough to reduce their yield.

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LSAT PrepTest 133 Explanations

Section 1 - Logical Reasoning

Section 2 - Logical Reasoning

Section 3 - Logical Reasoning

Section 4 - Reading Comprehension

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