LSAT 37, Logical Reasoning I, Q18

QUESTION TEXT: Some critics of space exploration programs claim…

QUESTION TYPE: Principle – Must be True

FACTS:

1. Some people say space exploration is too expensive.
2. It’s also very risky.
3. And cutting budgets increased the risk of space exploration.

ANALYSIS: About the only information we can get from the passage is that there are a couple of problems with space exploration and that if we cut costs we’ll make the safety problem worse. 

___________

1. CORRECT. By trying to solve the cost problem we increased the safety problem. 
2. Unfortunately, it’s not clear that we made any scientific progress. We just cut costs a bit.
3. Safety was sacrificed for cost, not speed. 
4. We have no clue if the mistakes were bureaucratic or instead were causes by defects in the manufacturing process. We only know that cost-cutting was the ultimate cause.
5. This isn’t clear. We haven’t been told of the benefits of space exploration. They might be large enough to justify the risk. 

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