LSAT 21 | Section 2 | Logical Reasoning: Q11

LR Question 11 Explanation

QUESTION TEXT: Government subsidies have been proposed in Cariana…

QUESTION TYPE: Necessary Assumption

ARGUMENTS: Alan thinks that agricultural production in Rochelle will go down unless there are subsidies for farmers. Current techniques cause erosion, and farmers need subsidies to afford new techniques.

Betty points out that erosion is also caused by floods. The floods will stop next year because of a dam, so we can keep agricultural production stable even without subsidies.

ANALYSIS: The conclusion of Betty’s argument is about agricultural output in Rochelle. Two of the wrong answers are about Carina, and two of the wrong answers are about the cost of subsidies rather than agricultural output.

___________

1. Other regions are irrelevant, since the argument is only about Rochelle.
2. Other regions of Carina are irrelevant. Betty is only talking about Rochelle.
3. CORRECT. If this isn’t true then the dam will cause agricultural production to decrease, even if erosion stops.
4. Cost doesn’t matter. The argument’s conclusion is only about agricultural output.
5. Same as D. Cost doesn’t matter; we’re only concerned with output.

Recap: The question begins with “Government subsidies have been proposed in Cariana”. It is a Necessary Assumption question. Learn how to master LSAT Necessary questions on the LSAT Logical Reasoning question types page.