LSAT 128 | Section 2 | Logical Reasoning: Q24

LR Question 24 Explanation

QUESTION TEXT: Clarissa: The natural sciences would not have made such …

QUESTION TYPE: Point At Issue

ARGUMENTS: Clarissa says science owes its progress to math, because observations are only valuable if they are stated precisely in quantitative terms.

Myungsook disagrees and says that math is the last step that can only be done when the observations have been explored thoroughly.

ANALYSIS: They disagree on the role of quantitative precision in scientific progress. Clarissa argues only precise, numerical observations matter, while Myungsook suggests that qualitative exploration must come first before quantification can happen.

The correct answer should capture this difference in emphasis (i.e. whether observations must be immediately quantitative or if they have value before being converted into numbers).

___________

1. Clarissa would definitely agree with this, and we have no reason to believe Myungsook would disagree. She recognizes that converting observations into numbers is a hard task and the last step, so she’d likely agree (at least to some extent) that maths has played a role in advancing science.
2. Myungsook says it’s difficult, but Clarissa never says it’s easy. So we don’t know what Clarissa thinks on this.
3. Neither of them comment on this.
4. CORRECT. Clarissa believes only quantitative observations deserve serious attention, while Myungsook argues observations must be explored first before being converted into numbers. This captures their disagreement: whether other observations (i.e. qualitative) are essential to science before being made quantitative.
5. Clarissa emphasizes the role of maths in progress, but Myungsook does not challenge that. Their disagreement is about when quantification is necessary, not whether it is always required for useful theories.