LSAT 148 – Section 3 – Question 23

LSAT 148 - Section 3 - Question 23

December 2016

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Question
QuickView		 Type Tags Answer
Choices		 Curve Question
Difficulty		 Psg/Game/S
Difficulty		 Explanation
PT148 S3 Q23
+LR
+Exp
Strengthen +Streng
Causal Reasoning +CausR
A
47%
167
B
11%
159
C
10%
161
D
23%
158
E
8%
161
157
164
171
 +Hardest 149.233 +SubsectionMedium

Scientist: Some colonies of bacteria produce antibiotic molecules called phenazines, which they use to fend off other bacteria. We hypothesize that phenazines also serve as molecular pipelines that give interior bacteria access to essential nutrients in the environment surrounding the colony.

Summarize Argument: Phenomenon-Hypothesis
The author hypothesizes that one of the functions of phenazines is to serve as molecular pipelines that give interior bacteria access to essential nutrients in the environment surrounding the colony.

Notable Assumptions
The author assumes that it’s possible for phenazines to have more than one function. The author also assumes that phenazines are able to provide nutrients to interior bacteria.

A
Bacteria colonies that do not produce phenazines form wrinkled surfaces, thus increasing the number of bacteria that are in direct contact with the surrounding environment.
This provides evidence that corroborates the author’s hypothesis. Without phenazines, more bacteria must contact the surrounding environment, possibly to get access to nutrients. This makes the theory that phenazines give interior bacteria access to nutrients more plausible.
B
The rate at which a bacteria colony produces phenazines is determined by the number of foreign bacteria in the environment immediately surrounding the colony.
This connects production of phenazines to foreign bacteria. But this has no clear impact. We want an answer that connects phenazines to the need to access nutrients.
C
When bacteria colonies that do not produce phenazines are buried in nutrient-rich soil, they grow as quickly as colonies that do produce phenazines.
We still have no reason to think phenazines provide nutrients to interior bacteria. If anything, this is in the direction of a weakener, since we might think non-phenazine bacteria shouldn’t grow as quickly when buried in the soil.
D
Bacteria colonies that produce phenazines are better able to fend off other bacteria than are bacteria colonies that do not produce phenazines.
This connects phenazines to ability to fend off other bacteria. But this has no clear connection to the provision of nutrients to interior bacteria.
E
Within bacteria colonies that produce phenazines, interior bacteria are more likely to die than are bacteria along the edges.
It doesn’t help the author’s hypothesis to learn that interior bacteria die more quickly. We would still have no reason to believe phenazines provide nutrients to interior bacteria.

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LSAT PrepTest 148 Explanations

Section 1 - Logical Reasoning

Section 2 - Reading Comprehension

Section 3 - Logical Reasoning

Section 4 - Logical Reasoning

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