LSAT 144 – Section 2 – Question 20

LSAT 144 - Section 2 - Question 20

October 2015

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Question
QuickView		 Type Tags Answer
Choices		 Curve Question
Difficulty		 Psg/Game/S
Difficulty		 Explanation
PT144 S2 Q20
+LR
Resolve reconcile or explain +RRE
Causal Reasoning +CausR
Math +Math
A
7%
161
B
12%
160
C
28%
162
D
6%
159
E
47%
167
155
166
176
 +Hardest 148.975 +SubsectionMedium

Professor: The number of new university students who enter as chemistry majors has not changed in the last ten years, and job prospects for graduates with chemistry degrees are better than ever. Despite this, there has been a significant decline over the past decade in the number of people earning chemistry degrees.

"Surprising" Phenomenon

Why has there been a significant decline over the past decade in the number of people earning chemistry degrees, even though during that period the number of new university students who enter as chemistry majors hasn’t changed, and job prospects for graduates with chemistry degrees have improved?

Objective

The correct answer should tell us about something that has changed over the past decade that could cause an increase in the number of students who graduate with a chemistry degree after starting university as a chemistry major.

A
Many students enter universities without the academic background that is necessary for majoring in chemistry.

This doesn’t tell us about something that changed over the past decade, so it can’t help explain a decline in chemistry graduates over that period. (A) might be a reason chemistry majors might change majors, but it doesn’t explain why there’s been an increase in that number.

B
There has been a significant decline in the number of undergraduate degrees earned in the natural sciences as a whole.

The stimulus gives us specific reasons to think that the number of chemistry graduates wouldn’t go down. What’s happened generally with natural sciences degrees doesn’t explain what happened to chemistry degrees.

C
Many students are very unsure of their choice when they pick a major upon entering universities.

This doesn’t tell us about something that changed over the past decade, so it can’t help explain a decline in chemistry graduates over that period. (C) suggests students would change majors, but doesn’t explain an increase in the number who change majors.

D
Job prospects for graduates with chemistry degrees are no better than prospects for graduates with certain other science degrees.

This doesn’t tell us about something that changed over the past decade, so it can’t help explain a decline in chemistry graduates over that period. Also, we still know job prospects for chem graduates has improved, so we’d still expect chem graduates not to decline.

E
Over the years, first-year chemistry has come to be taught in a more routinely methodical fashion, which dampens its intellectual appeal.

This describes a change over time that could explain why the number of students who switch away from a chemistry major has increased. This is the only answer that involves a change over time that provides a potential theory that could lead to fewer chemistry graduates.

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Review Results

LSAT PrepTest 144 Explanations

Section 1 - Reading Comprehension

Section 2 - Logical Reasoning

Section 3 - Logical Reasoning

Section 4 - Logical Reasoning

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