LSAT 104 | Section 1 | Logical Reasoning: Q3

LR Question 3 Explanation

QUESTION TEXT: In Yasukawa’s month-long study of blackbirds, the…

QUESTION TYPE: Must be True

FACTS:

1. Over one month, a larger percentage of small blackbirds survived than did large blackbirds.
2. It’s probably not true that size has anything to do with survival.
3. Smaller blackbirds are younger.

ANALYSIS: There’s one thing you can conclude: older birds likely die faster, and that’s why larger birds die more often.

___________

1. We’re not told what characteristics the surviving birds had. All we know is that larger birds are more likely to survive.
    
   (This doesn’t mean that surviving birds are more likely to be large. There might be 100x more small birds than large birds.)
2. The study didn’t support this: larger blackbirds were more likely to die.
3. The statements support the opposite: it was implied that larger blackbirds died more often because they were older.
4. CORRECT. The first part of the second sentence supports this. It’s probably not true that size has anything to do with survival.
5. The statements suggest that larger birds will die sooner, because they are older.

Recap: The question begins with “In Yasukawa’s month-long study of blackbirds, the”. It is a Must be True question. Learn how to master LSAT MBT questions on the LSAT Logical Reasoning question types page.