LSAT 137 – Section 4 – Question 15

LSAT 137 - Section 4 - Question 15

October 2012

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Question
QuickView		 Type Tags Answer
Choices		 Curve Question
Difficulty		 Psg/Game/S
Difficulty		 Explanation
PT137 S4 Q15
+LR
Most strongly supported +MSS
Conditional Reasoning +CondR
A
2%
159
B
2%
154
C
20%
159
D
5%
158
E
70%
165
146
155
164
 +Harder 146.883 +SubsectionMedium

Any good garden compost may appropriately be used for soil drainage and fertility. The best compost is 40 to 60 percent organic matter and is dark brown in color. However, compost that emits a strong ammonia smell should not be used for drainage and fertility, for that smell means that the organic matter has not sufficiently decomposed.

Summary

The best compost is dark brown and is made of 40-60% organic matter, but any good compost can be used for soil drainage and fertility. However, if it smells strongly of ammonia, that means that the organic matter in the compost hasn’t sufficiently decomposed and the compost should not be used for drainage and fertility.

Strongly Supported Conclusions

The decomposition of a compost’s organic material is an important factor in that compost’s usefulness.

If compost cannot be used for soil drainage or fertility, it is not good compost.

If compost smells strongly of ammonia, it is not good compost.

A
Compost that is 80 percent organic matter has probably not decomposed sufficiently.

Unsupported. The stimulus does not draw any connection between the percentage of the compost’s organic matter and its rate of decomposition. It only tells us that a compost that smells like ammonia has not sufficiently decomposed.

B
If compost is less than 40 percent organic matter and is not dark brown in color, then it will make soil less fertile and will worsen soil drainage.

Unsupported. We know that the compost described in this answer choice is not the best compost. However, we do not know that compost that is not the best will actually worsen or harm the soil.

C
If compost is 50 percent organic matter and that organic matter is sufficiently decomposed, then the compost is good.

Unsupported. Neither characteristic is sufficient for good compost. The stimulus doesn't suggest that 50% organic matter is sufficient to be the best compost, and being sufficiently decomposed is a necessary condition for good compost—not a sufficient condition.

D
In the best garden compost, the organic matter is completely decomposed.

Unsupported. The stimulus suggests nothing about completely decomposed organic matter. In any good compost, and therefore in the best compost, any organic matter must be merely sufficiently decomposed.

E
Compost that is dark brown in color and emits a strong ammonia smell is not good garden compost.

Strongly supported. If compost emits a strong ammonia smell, it should not be used for soil drainage or fertility. If compost should not be used for soil drainage or fertility, it is not good compost. So if compost emits a strong ammonia smell, it is not good compost.

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LSAT PrepTest 137 Explanations

Section 1 - Reading Comprehension

Section 2 - Logical Reasoning

Section 3 - Logical Reasoning

Section 4 - Logical Reasoning

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