(Operation) LSAT wrong answer

QT: Crux

Stimulus: In a study, pairs of trained dogs were placed side by side and given a command such as “sit.” After both obeyed the command, one dog was given a treat while its partner was given no reward at all. Over time, the dogs who went unrewarded began to disobey the command. This shows that dogs have an aversion to being treated unfairly.

Prompt: Which one of the following would be most useful to know in order to evaluate the argument?

A. Were dogs who were accustomed to receiving regular rewards prior to the study mroe inclined to obey the command?

B. Is there a decline in obedience if rewards are withheld from both dogs in the pair?

C. Were dogs who received treats in one trial ever used as dogs that did not receive treats in other trials?

D. Were there any cases in which the dog who was given a reward became more inclined to obey the command?

E. How many repetitions were required before the unrewarded dogs began to disobey the command?

B. Is there a decline in obedience if rewards are withheld from both dogs in the pair?

-whether or not being “treated unfairly” causes one of the dog’s disobedience is what is being evaluated

-correct answers to crux questions strengthen the argument if answered one way, and weaken the argument if answered the other way

• If there ISN’T a decline in obedience if rewards are withheld from both dogs, then this strengthens the argument that the dog previously disobeyed because it was jealous of its unfair treatment

• If there IS a decline in obedience if rewards are withheld from both dogs, this suggests an alternate cause, weakening the argument that “unfair treatment” is the cause

QT: Strengthen

Stimulus: The mathematics of the scientific theory known as “complexity” describes those phenomena that are not quite stable and not quite chaotic. For example, the mathematics of complexity can be used to describe sand dunes: although sand dunes generally retain their shape, the addition of a tiny amount of sand can cause a sandslide. Certain scientists have concluded that there is good evidence that complexity is correct. After entering complexity-based mathematical models of real-world phenomena in computers, they found that the computerized mathematical models evolve much like the real-world phenomena actually evolve.

Prompt: Which one of the following principles, if valid, most justifies the scientists’ conclusion?

A. If computerized models based on a theory behave like their real-world counterparts behave, then that theory is probably correct

B. If a scientific theory is correct, then computerized mathematical models based on that theory behave like their real-world counterparts

C. If actual phenomena can be pictured as computerized models, computers themselves will eventually discover the mathematics of the correct theory explaining those phenomena

D. If they evolve exactly like real-world phenomena, computer models are neither purely stable nor purely chaotic, which is what complexity predicts

E. If computers verify that there are mathematical errors in the calculations of scientists, then the theories of those scientists are probably incorrect

A. If computerized models based on a theory behave like their real-world counterparts behave, then that theory is probably correct

-in order to justify the conclusion, the answer choice needs to go from the premises to the conclusion

QT: weaken

Stimulus: To keep one’s hands warm during the winter, one never needs gloves or mittens. One can always keep one’s hands warm simply by putting on an extra layer of clothing, such as a thermal undershirt or a sweater. After all, keeping one’s vital organs warm can keep one’s hands warm as well.

Prompt: Which one of the following, if true, most weakens the argument?

A. Maintaining the temperature of your hands is far less important, physiologically, than maintaining the temperature of your torso

B. Several layers of light garments will keep one’s vital organs warmer than will one or two heavy garments

C. Wearing an extra layer of clothing will not keep one’s hands warm at temperatures low enough to cause frostbite

D. Keeping one’s hands warm by putting on an extra layer of clothing is less effective than turning up the heat

E. The physical effort required to put on an extra layer of clothing does not stimulate circulation enough to warm your hands

C. Wearing an extra layer of clothing will not keep one’s hands warm at temperatures low enough to cause frostbite

-the conclusion is that we never need gloves to keep our hands warm

-to weaken the argument, show examples of when we WOULD need gloves or mittens and/or when the additional clothing isn’t enough to keep our hands warm

QT: explain

Stimulus: Owing to global economic forces since 1945, our country’s economy is increasingly a service economy, in which manufacturing employs an ever smaller fraction of the workforce. Hence, we have engaged in less and less international trade.

Prompt: Which one of the following, if true, would most help to explain the decreasing engagement in international trade by the economist’s country?

A. International trade agreements have usually covered both trade in manufactured goods and trade in services

B. Employment in the service sectore tends to require as many specialized skills as does employment in manufacturing

C. Because services are usually delivered in person, markets for services tend to be local

D. Many manufacturing jobs have been rendered obsolete by advances in factory automation

E. Some services can be procured less expensively from providers in other countries than from providers in the economist’s country

C. Because services are usually delivered in person, markets for services tend to be local

-the answer needs to explain why an economy that’s more about services and less about manufacturing will result in less international trading

-avoid the trap of explaining why there are less manufacturing jobs in this economy instead of explaining why there’s less international trade

QT: weaken

Stimulus: Local antitobacco activists are calling for expanded antismoking education programs paid for by revenue from heavily increased taxes on cigarettes sold in the city. Although the effectiveness of such education programs is debatable, there is strong evidence that the taxes themselves would produce the sought-after reduction in smoking. Surveys show that cigarette sales drop substantially in cities that impose stiff tax increases on cigarettes.

Prompt: Which one of the following, if true, most undermines the reasoning in the argument above?

A. A city-imposed tax on cigarettes will substantially reduce the amount of smoking in the city if the tax is burdensome to the average cigarette consumer

B. Consumers are more likely to continue buying a product if its price increases due to higher taxes than if its price increases for some other reason

C. Usually, cigarette sales will increase substantially in the areas surrounding a city after that city imposes stiff taxes on cigarettes

D. People who are well informed about the effects of long-term tobacco use are significantly less likely to smoke than are people who are not informed

E. Antismoking education programs that are funded by taxes on cigarettes will tend to lose their funding if they are successful

C. Usually, cigarette sales will increase substantially in the areas surrounding a city after that city imposes stiff taxes on cigarettes

-the argument equivocates a drop in cigarette sales in a given city and a drop in smoking

QT: strengthen

Stimulus:

Principle: People should not feed wild animals because it makes them dependent on humans and less likely to survive on their own.

Situation: Bird lovers commonly feed wild birds to attract them to their yards.

Prompt: Which one of the following, if assumed, would most help to justify treating the human feeding of wild birds as an exception to the principle above?

A. Congregating around human bird feeders makes wild birds more vulnerable to predators and diseases

B. Some species of wild birds benefit humans by consuming large numbers of mosquitoes and other insect pests

C. Wild birds are much more likely to congregate in yards where they are fed than in yards where they are not fed

D. Most bird lovers are very active in efforts to preserve the habitats of threatened species of wild birds and other animals

E. Human settlement is so pervasive in the habitat of most wild birds that they must depend in part on human sources of food for survival

E. Human settlement is so pervasive in the habitat of most wild birds that they must depend in part on human sources of food for survival

-the goal of this question is to strengthen the argument that it’s ok for bird lovers to feed wild birds despite this principle

-the answer must be that there’s some reason to think the principle doesn’t apply to them (ex: maybe feeding wild birds does NOT make it less likely that they’ll survive on their own?)

QT: necessary

Stimulus: XYZ, a construction company, purchased 20 new trucks 3 years ago, and there is no record of any of those trucks being sold last year. Records indicate, however, that XYZ sold off all of its diesel powered trucks last year. We can thus conclude that none of the 20 trucks purchased 3 years ago were diesel powered.

Prompt: Which one of the following is an assumption required by the reasoning?

A. All of the trucks that XYZ sold last year were diesel powered

B. XYZ did not purchase any used trucks 3 years ago

C. XYZ did not purchase any new trucks since it purchased the 20 trucks 3 years ago

D. None of the 20 trucks was sold before last year

E. XYZ no longer owns any trucks that it purchased more than 3 years ago

D. None of the 20 trucks was sold before last year

-the evidence supporting the claim that the trucks bought 3 years ago aren’t diesel is all based on last year’s stats

-the trucks could have been sold in a different year, providing no basis for the claim that they aren’t diesel because all diesel trucks were sold last year

QT: necessary

Stimulus: Every domesticated large mammal species now in existence was domesticated thousands of years ago. Since those days, people undoubtedly tried inumerable times to domesticate each of the wild large mammal species that seemed worth domesticating. Clearly, therefore, most wild large mammal species in existence today would be difficult to domesticate or would not be worth domesticating.

Prompt: The argument requires the assumption that…

A. in spite of the difficulties encountered, at one time or another people have tried to domesticate each wild large mammal species

B. it is not much easier today to domesticate wild large mammal species that it was in the past

C. not all of the large mammal species that were domesticated in the past are still in existence

D. the easier it is to domesticate a wild large mammal species, the more worthwhile it is to do so

E. of all the domesticated large mammal species in existence today, the very first to be domesticated were the easiest to domesticate

B. it is not much easier today to domesticate wild large mammal species that it was in the past

-assumes that animals that were difficult to domesticate in the past would be hard to domesticate today

-assumes that animals that did not seem worth domesticating in the past are in fact not worth domesticating now

QT: sufficient

Stimulus: Cecile’s association requires public disclosure of an officer’s investments in two cases only: when an officer is authorized to disburse association funds, and when an officer sits on the board of a petrochemical company. Cecile, an officer who is not authorized to disburse funds, sits on the board of just one company, a small timber business. Therefore, there is no reason for Cecile to publicly disclose her investments at this time.

Prompt: The conclusion of the argument follows logically if which one of the following is assumed?

A. Cecile will not be appointed to a position in the association that authorizes her to disburse funds

B. Cecile’s office and her position on the timber business’s board create no conflicts of interest

C. The association’s requirements provide the only reasons there might be for Cecile to disclose her investments

D. The timber business on whose board Cecile sits is owned by a petrochemical company

E. Cecile owns no investments in the petrochemical industry

C. The association’s requirements provide the only reasons there might be for Cecile to disclose her investments

-the premises talk about when an officer is REQUIRED to disclose whereas the conclusion says that there is no REASON for Cecile to disclose

-even if she’s not required to disclose, she could want to for some other reason

QT: weaken

Stimulus: In a study in which secondary school students were asked to identify the teachers they liked the best, the teachers most often identified possessed a personality type that constitutes 20% of the general public but only 5% of teachers. Thus something must discourage the people who would be the best-liked teachers from entering this profession.

Prompt: Which one of the following, if true, most weakens the argument?

A. People with the personality type constitute 5% of the medical profession

B. People with the personality type constitute 5% of college students pursuing a degree in education

C. Students of teachers with the personality type are intensely recruited for noneducational professions

D. Students with the personality type are more likely to be liked by teachers than those with other personality types

E. Teachers with the personality type more likley to quit teaching than those with other personality types

E. Teachers with the personality type more likley to quit teaching than those with other personality types

-the main flaw in the argument is that there is a causal conclusion for explaining the correlation described in the support (discouragement causes small %)

-to weaken the argument, present a potential alternate cause

-in E, the teachers are not discouraged from entering the profession, they enter it but then leave which is an alternate explaination for the low proportion of a certain personality type in teaching