LSAT 3 | Section 4 | Logical Reasoning: Q12

LR Question 12 Explanation

QUESTION TEXT: The more television children watch, the less competent…

QUESTION TYPE: Necessary Assumption

CONCLUSION: American children need to watch less TV if they are to do better in math.

REASONING: South Korean schoolchildren do better in math and they watch less TV.

ANALYSIS: This is a classic causation-correlation error. Maybe it is television that causes Americans to be worse at math. Or maybe all of the Kimchee that Koreans eat causes them to be very smart. Or maybe the Korean language is more mathematical. Or maybe Korean parents think it is very important that children learn math.

I could think up alternate explanations all day. Just because two things occur together does not mean one causes the other. Remember this and you’ll do much better on the LSAT.

Since this is a necessary assumption question, the correct answer will eliminate one of the many possible alternate explanations.

___________

1. It’s actually necessary that this isn’t true. The argument claims TV is the cause, not lack of motivation.
2. Same as A.
3. We don’t care what the children want. We care about whether they can get better in math.
4. It is only necessary that their abilities increase if they watch less than 5 hours per day (which is the amount American children watch.)
5. CORRECT. If American instruction is much, much worse than in Korea then it is possible American kids would do worse even if they weren’t so lazy and stopped watching TV.

Recap: The question begins with “The more television children watch, the less competent”. It is a Necessary Assumption question. Learn more about LSAT Necessary questions in our guide to LSAT Logical Reasoning question types.