LSAT 147 – Section 1 – Question 23

LSAT 147 - Section 1 - Question 23

September 2016

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Question QuickView	Type	Tags	Answer Choices	Curve	Question Difficulty	Psg/Game/S Difficulty	Explanation
PT147 S1 Q23	+LR	Strengthen +Streng Causal Reasoning +CausR Link Assumption +LinkA	A 1% 151 B 19% 160 C 4% 155 D 61% 164 E 15% 159	144 156 169	+Harder	147.09 +SubsectionMedium

Zoologist: Plants preferentially absorb heavy nitrogen from rainwater. Heavy nitrogen consequently becomes concentrated in the tissues of herbivores, and animals that eat meat in turn exhibit even higher concentrations of heavy nitrogen in their bodily tissues. We compared bone samples from European cave bears of the Ice Age with blood samples from present-day bears fed meat-enriched diets, and the levels of heavy nitrogen present in these samples were identical. Thus, the prehistoric European cave bears were not exclusively herbivores.

Summarize Argument: Phenomenon-Hypothesis

The zoologist hypothesizes that prehistoric European cave bears were not exclusively herbivores. This is supported by observations about bears’ heavy nitrogen levels, which are higher in meat-eating animals. Bone samples from cave bears contained heavy nitrogen levels as high as those in blood samples from modern, meat-eating bears.

Notable Assumptions

The zoologist assumes that heavy nitrogen levels in animals’ bones and blood are similar. The zoologist also assumes that heavy nitrogen levels did not change over time in the prehistoric bear samples, and that heavy nitrogen levels in the ecosystem back then were comparable to current levels.

Plants can also absorb heavy nitrogen from a variety of sources other than rainwater.

This is irrelevant. The argument has already established that plants absorb heavy nitrogen, so the exact source of the heavy nitrogen doesn’t matter.

The rate at which heavy nitrogen accumulated in the blood of Ice Age herbivores can be inferred from samples of their bones.

This is irrelevant, since the argument doesn’t make claims based on the rate of accumulation of heavy nitrogen in tissue, only the concentration of heavy nitrogen.

The same number of samples was taken from present-day bears as was taken from Ice Age cave bears.

This is irrelevant, because the exact number of samples doesn’t really make a difference. Either there were enough samples to be representative or there weren’t—either way, it would be equally possible to have the same number of samples.

Bone samples from present-day bears fed meat-enriched diets exhibit the same levels of heavy nitrogen as do their blood samples.

This strengthens by providing a closer comparison between cave bears and modern bears. If modern bears’ heavy nitrogen levels are identical between blood and bone, it’s more reasonable to draw conclusions by comparing cave bears’ bones and modern bears’ blood.

The level of heavy nitrogen in the bones of any bear fed a meat-enriched diet is the same as that in the bones of any other meat-eating bear.

This is irrelevant, since we can already be confident that the heavy nitrogen level in the modern bear samples is representative of a diet that includes meat.

LSAT 147 – Section 1 – Question 23

LSAT 147 - Section 1 - Question 23

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LSAT PrepTest 147 Explanations

Section 1 - Logical Reasoning

Section 2 - Reading Comprehension

Section 3 - Reading Comprehension

Section 4 - Logical Reasoning

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