LSAT 116 | Section 2 | Logical Reasoning: Q16

LR Question 16 Explanation

QUESTION TEXT: Environmentalist: Many people prefer to live in regions of…

QUESTION TYPE: Necessary Assumption

CONCLUSION: Governmentally mandated environmental protections in regions of natural beauty can help local economies in those areas, even if older local industries are hurt.

REASONING: People are attracted to regions of natural beauty, and protecting such beauty can lead to an influx of new people. A growing population will encourage new business as well.

ANALYSIS: A “growing population encourages business,” but there could be other factors which discourage business. It is a necessary assumption that none of these other factors overwhelms the encouragement business gets from a growing population.

___________

1. This assumption actually hurts the argument. It says the new regulations will actually dull the beauty of the area.
2. The stimulus gives us reason to believe that regulations will boost economies, even if they are heavily based on older industries currently. New business will help the economy even in those regions currently based on older industries.
3. The argument doesn’t claim that the influx of new people is the only way the economy might improve, only that the influx is sufficient to improve it cases [its chances?].
4. The argument only claims that government protection can help; it doesn’t say how effective it is compared to voluntary protection.
5. CORRECT. Regulations would “encourage businesses to relocate.” Negating the assumption in E gets “A factor harmful to some older local industries will discourage other businesses from relocating to that region.” This cancels out the reasons supporting the conclusion.

Recap: The question begins with “Environmentalist: Many people prefer to live in regions of”. It is a Necessary Assumption question. Learn more about LSAT Necessary questions in our guide to LSAT Logical Reasoning question types.