LSAT 135 – Section 4 – Question 07

LSAT 135 - Section 4 - Question 07

December 2011

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Question
QuickView		 Type Tags Answer
Choices		 Curve Question
Difficulty		 Psg/Game/S
Difficulty		 Explanation
PT135 S4 Q07
+LR
Evaluate +Eval
Link Assumption +LinkA
A
93%
165
B
2%
154
C
0%
153
D
4%
160
E
1%
152
125
136
147
 +Easier 147.853 +SubsectionMedium

The ruins of the prehistoric Bolivian city of Tiwanaku feature green andacite stones weighing up to 40 tons. These stones were quarried at Copacabana, which is across a lake and about 90 kilometers away. Archaeologists hypothesize that the stones were brought to Tiwanaku on reed boats. To show this was possible, experimenters transported a 9-ton stone from Copacabana to Tiwanaku using a reed boat built with locally available materials and techniques traditional to the area.

Summarize Argument
Archaeologists hypothesize that ancient andacite stones were brought to Tiwanaku on reed boats. As evidence, they point to an experiment where a 9-ton stone was transported from Copacabana to Tiwanaku using a reed boat built with traditional techniques and materials.

Notable Assumptions
The archaeologists assume that the same reed boats that transported a 9-ton stone could’ve also transported a 40-ton stone. The archaeologists also assume that the traditional techniques in question were being used at the time these stones were quarried and transported to Tiwanaku.

A
whether the traditional techniques for building reed boats were in use at the time Tiwanaku was inhabited
If the answer here is yes, then the archaeologists’ argument seems to work: traditional techniques were capable of transporting the stones. If the answer is no, then the archaeologists would need different evidence to show the inhabitants could’ve transported the stones.
B
whether green andacite stones quarried at the time Tiwanaku was inhabited were used at any sites near Copacabana
We don’t care if they were used at nearby sites. Even if they were, they still could’ve been used at Tiwanaku.
C
whether reed boats are commonly used today on the lake
We don’t care about reed boats today. We care about read boats back when the andacite stones were quarried and transported to Tiwanaku.
D
whether the green andacite stones at Tiwanaku are the largest stones at the site
There could be heavier stones that simply weren’t quarried at Copacabana. We don’t care about stones that weren’t quarried at Copacabana.
E
whether the reed boat built for the experimenters is durable enough to remain usable for several years
The inhabitants could’ve kept building new reed boats. We have no reason to think those boats would have to last for several years for the archaeologists’ argument to work.

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LSAT PrepTest 135 Explanations

Section 1 - Logical Reasoning

Section 2 - Logical Reasoning

Section 3 - Reading Comprehension

Section 4 - Logical Reasoning

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