LSAT 138 | Section 3 | Logical Reasoning: Q13

LR Question 13 Explanation

QUESTION TEXT: The size of northern fur seals provides a reliable…

QUESTION TYPE: Most Strongly Supported

FACTS:

1. The bigger the seal population, the smaller the individual seals.
2. Seal size did not vary over an 800 year period when Natives hunted the seals.

ANALYSIS: By combining the two facts, you can say it’s likely that the seal population was stable for those 800 years. Otherwise the seals would have varied in size.

___________

1. We know nothing about the Native peoples, apart from the fact that they hunted seals. We can’t say anything about how they hunted.
2. Nothing in the stimulus mentions the health of the seals. We have no idea whether a larger seal is healthier or not.
3. We’re not told anything about what the seals were like prior to the 800 year period.
4. We’re not told anything Native hunting practices. Maybe they limited their hunt, or maybe there were enough seals that they didn’t have to.
5. CORRECT. This is true. If the seal population had been reduced, then the seals’ bodies would have been larger.