LSAT 151 – Section 4 – Question 24

LSAT 151 - Section 4 - Question 24

September 2018

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Question
QuickView		 Type Tags Answer
Choices		 Curve Question
Difficulty		 Psg/Game/S
Difficulty		 Explanation
PT151 S4 Q24
+LR
+Exp
Most strongly supported +MSS
Conditional Reasoning +CondR
Causal Reasoning +CausR
Eliminating Options +ElimOpt
A
6%
158
B
58%
164
C
6%
158
D
22%
160
E
8%
161
148
159
170
 +Harder 145.196 +SubsectionEasier

After a nuclear power plant accident, researchers found radioactive isotopes of iodine, tellurium, and cesium—but no heavy isotopes—in the atmosphere downwind. This material came either from spent fuel rods or from the plant’s core. Spent fuel rods never contain significant quantities of tellurium isotopes. Radioactive material ejected into the atmosphere directly from the core would include heavy isotopes. After the accident, steam, which may have been in contact with the core, was released from the plant. The core contains iodine, tellurium, and cesium isotopes, which are easily dissolved by steam.

Summary
After a nuclear power plant accident, radioactive isotopes of iodine, tellurium, and cesium were found in the atmosphere downwind. No heavy isotopes were found. The material either came from spent fuel rods or the plant’s core. Spent fuel rods never contain significant quantities of tellurium, and radioactive material ejected directly from the core would include heavy isotopes. However, steam which may have been in contact with the core was released from the plant. The core contains iodine, tellurium, and cesium, which are easily dissolved by steam.

Strongly Supported Conclusions
The radioactive material found in the atmosphere was carried by the steam released from the plant.

A
Radioactive material ejected into the environment directly from a nuclear power plant’s core would not include tellurium isotopes.
This answer is unsupported. We don’t know from the stimulus whether material ejected directly from the core would not include tellurium. We only know that material ejected directly from the core would definitely include heavy isotopes.
B
The radioactive material detected by the researchers was carried into the atmosphere by the steam that was released from the plant.
This answer is strongly supported. If all three radioactive isotopes found are easily dissolved by steam, and all three are found in the plant’s core, then it’s likely that the found material was carried into the atmosphere by the steam.
C
The nuclear power plant’s spent fuel rods were not damaged.
This answer is unsupported. We don’t know from the stimulus whether the spent fuel rods were damaged or not. We only know information about what isotopes spent fuel rods contain.
D
The researchers found some radioactive material from spent fuel rods as well as some material that was ejected into the atmosphere directly from the plant’s core.
This answer is anti-supported. We know from the stimulus that material ejected directly from the core would include heavy isotopes, yet the researchers did not find any heavy isotopes.
E
Spent fuel rods do not contain heavy isotopes in significant quantities.
This answer is unsupported. We don’t know from the stimulus whether spent fuel rods do not contain heavy isotopes. We only know that spent fuel rods do not contain significant amounts of tellurium.

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LSAT PrepTest 151 Explanations

Section 1 - Reading Comprehension

Section 2 - Logical Reasoning

Section 3 - Logical Reasoning

Section 4 - Logical Reasoning

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