LSAT 152 | Section 1 | Logical Reasoning: Q1

LR Question 1 Explanation

QUESTION TEXT: Researcher: During the rainy season, bonobos (an ape species closely related to …

QUESTION TYPE: Strengthen

CONCLUSION: Bonobos ingest the leaves because of their medical effect.

REASONING: They swallow the leaves whole during rainy season, and ingestion of the leaves eliminates stomach worms.

ANALYSIS: This is a causal argument. The researcher thinks bonobos ingest the leaves because they eliminate stomach worms.

To strengthen this, we can either: (1) provide evidence that supports this link, or (2) eliminate alternative explanations for why they ingest the leaves.

___________

1. We don’t care what they do with other leaves. We want to know why they swallow these leaves.
2. What chimpanzees do does not help us determine anything about what bonobos do.
3. So these leaves are very available. This doesn’t tell us why they swallow them.
4. This might support that it’s easier to swallow the leaves in rainy season than other times of the year. But it still doesn’t tell us why they eat them in the first place.
5. CORRECT. This strengthens by doing the first option: supporting the link. The worm infections and leaf ingestion both happen during the rainy season, which supports that they ingest the leaves to eliminate worms.