LSAT 128 | Section 2 | Logical Reasoning: Q1

LR Question 1 Explanation

QUESTION TEXT: Mysterious ancient tracks cut into limestone have …

QUESTION TYPE: Strengthen

CONCLUSION: The tracks were made by animal-drawn carts around 1000 B.C.

REASONING: The tracks’ physical appearance and surroundings indicate this.

ANALYSIS: Writing the reasoning for this argument was tricky. You might even have noticed that there wasn’t much solid evidence backing up the claim. And that’s exactly the issue.

As it stands, the argument doesn’t give us much reason to support the conclusion. Our job is to strengthen it, which means we need an answer choice that helps establish two things:

1. The tracks date back to 1000 B.C
2. They were made by animal-drawn carts

It doesn’t have to prove the conclusion beyond all doubt, but it should give us a strong reason to think it’s true.

___________

1. CORRECT. If areas near the tracks have animal feces from the same time (1000 B.C), that proves animals were present at this time. This strengthens the claim that animal-carts made these tracks.
2. This suggests the tracks had a purpose (for ex. connecting settlements to water sources), but it does not help us support the idea that they were made by animal-drawn carts.
3. Irrelevant. This does not tell us anything about what the tracks were made by.
4. We don’t know whether using animal-drawn carts would count as “innovative” in this context. So, at best, this doesn’t affect the argument at all. At worst, it may weaken the argument. If Malta didn’t have good transportation technology, it’s probably less likely that these tracks are from animal-drawn carts.
5. The abandonment of settlements suggests that people were moving around, which could explain the presence of tracks. But it doesn’t help us establish that they were specifically from animal-drawn carts.