LSAT 103 | Section 2 | Logical Reasoning: Q9

LR Question 9 Explanation

QUESTION TEXT: Early pencil leads were made of solid graphite mined in Cumberland…

QUESTION TYPE: Most Strongly Supported

FACTS:

1. Originally, pencil graphite came from Cumberland, England.
2. France invented pencils made from powdered graphite in the 1790s, when France was at war with Britain.

ANALYSIS: It seems likely that France had no other source of solid graphite, apart from Britain. When war began, they had to invent a way to use powdered graphite.

___________

1. Now that we can make pencils from powdered graphite, we probably mine pencil graphite all around the world.
    
   There may also be solid graphite deposits suitable for pencil manufacture that exist now but that were unknown in the 1790s.
2. CORRECT. This is almost surely true. It’s implied that France researched powdered graphite because the war cut them off from their supply.
3. Loss of graphic was much more likely a consequence of the war, rather than a cause. Who goes to war over pencils?
4. We know that government sponsored research helped society once, in the 1790s. But we have no evidence whether government research has produced anything other than powdered pencil leads.
5. This is unlikely to be true. Now that we have powdered graphite, we don’t need the solid graphite from Cumberland.

Recap: The question begins with “Early pencil leads were made of solid graphite mined in Cumberland”. It is a Most Strongly Supported question. Learn how to master LSAT MSS questions on the LSAT Logical Reasoning question types page.