LSAT 140 – Section 2 – Question 24

LSAT 140 - Section 2 - Question 24

December 2013

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Question
QuickView		 Type Tags Answer
Choices		 Curve Question
Difficulty		 Psg/Game/S
Difficulty		 Explanation
PT140 S2 Q24
+LR
+Exp
Argument part +AP
A
4%
160
B
20%
161
C
64%
166
D
9%
159
E
3%
158
147
158
169
 +Harder 149.441 +SubsectionMedium

Biologist: Scientists have discovered fossilized bacteria in rocks 3.5 billion years old. The fossils indicate that these bacteria were quite complex and so must have already had a long evolutionary history when fossilized 3.5 billion years ago. However, Earth is only 4.6 billion years old, so the first life on Earth must have appeared soon after the planet’s formation, when conditions were extremely harsh. This suggests that life may be able to arise under many difficult conditions throughout the universe.

Summarize Argument
The author concludes that life may be able to arise under difficult conditions throughout the universe. This is based on the finding of fossilized bacteria in 3.5 billion-year-old rocks. Since these bacteria were already complex, the author draws a subsidiary conclusion that the bacteria had a long evolutionary history by the time they were fossilized. Since Earth is only 4.6 billion years old, the author believes the bacteria must have appeared shortly after the Earth was formed, when conditions were difficult. This is why the author believes live might be able to arise under difficult conditions.

Identify Argument Part
The referenced text is a subsidiary conclusion.

A
It is a claim for which no support is provided in the argument, and that is used to illustrate the conclusion of the argument as a whole.
The referenced text has support from the claim that the bacteria were quite complex.
B
It is a claim for which no support is provided in the argument, and that is used to support a claim that in turn lends support to the conclusion of the argument as a whole.
The referenced text has support from the claim that the bacteria were quite complex.
C
It is a claim for which some support is provided in the argument, and that itself is used to support another claim that in turn lends support to the conclusion of the argument as a whole.
This accurately describes the role of the referenced text. It’s a subsidiary conclusion.
D
It is a claim for which some support is provided in the argument, and that itself is not used to support any other claim in the argument.
The referenced text is used to support the claim that the first life on Earth must have appeared soon after the planet’s formation.
E
It is a claim for which some support is provided in the argument, and that itself is used to support two distinct conclusions, neither of which is intended to provide support for the other.
The referenced text does not support two distinct, unrelated conclusions. It supports the claim that the first life on Earth must have appeared soon after the planet’s formation. This claim in turn supports the last sentence. But these conclusion are not unrelated.

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LSAT PrepTest 140 Explanations

Section 1 - Logical Reasoning

Section 2 - Logical Reasoning

Section 3 - Logical Reasoning

Section 4 - Reading Comprehension

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