LSAT 102 | Section 2 | Logical Reasoning: Q13

LR Question 13 Explanation

QUESTION TEXT: Numismatist: In medieval Spain, most gold coins were…

QUESTION TYPE: Most Strongly Supported

FACTS:

1. Medieval Spain made most of its gold coins from Senegalese gold.
2. That gold was 92% gold, it could be minted without being refined.
3. Spain could have refined the gold to make it purer, but they generally didn’t.

ANALYSIS: Senegalese gold was the purest known, and didn’t need refining. This implies that some other gold did need refining.

If no gold needed refining, why mention refining?

___________

1. Hard to say. Some coins might have been bigger than others.
2. CORRECT. If this wasn’t true, then why mention refining? It’s implied that Senegalese gold was special because it needed no refining.
3. The stimulus never mentions how coins were valued.
4. Who knows? Maybe some coins made from non-Senegalese gold were refined only to 90%.
5. All Senegalese gold was high quality, but that doesn’t mean only Senegalese gold was high quality. There might have been other sources of gold that were 90-91% pure, and good enough to be minted.

Recap: The question begins with “Numismatist: In medieval Spain, most gold coins were”. It is a Most Strongly Supported question. Learn how to master LSAT MSS questions on the LSAT Logical Reasoning question types page.