LSAT 23 | Section 3 | Logical Reasoning: Q6

LR Question 6 Explanation

QUESTION TEXT: A purse containing 32 ancient gold coins that had been…

QUESTION TYPE: Most Strongly Supported

FACTS:

1. A purse of Moroccan coins was found far away, in Jordan.
2. The ancient Jordanian city was on a trade route.
3. The city was also on a pilgrimage route.
4. If the purse had belonged to a trader, it would have held more than just Moroccan coins.

ANALYSIS: There were two likely types of travelers through the city: pilgrims and traders. The final sentence shows the purse probably didn’t belong to a trader. Therefore, it probably belonged to a pilgrim.

Since this is a “most strongly supported” question, our inference doesn’t have to be 100% certain.

___________

1. We’re not told which coins were valuable.
2. We only know about the coins in one purse. We have no idea how many coins in the entire city were from Morocco.
3. CORRECT. This seems likely. Only traders or pilgrims would likely have carried coins all the way from Morocco to Jordan. But we’re told the purse probably didn’t belong to a trader.
4. We’re not told anything about what was used for money in the city. Maybe sheep and copper coins were used too.
5. Who knows? Pilgrims might not have traded coins with traders, but there are other ways of interacting.

Recap: The question begins with “A purse containing 32 ancient gold coins that had been”. It is a Most Strongly Supported question. Learn more about LSAT MSS questions in our guide to LSAT Logical Reasoning question types.