LSAT 43, Logical Reasoning II, Q7, LSATHacks

LR Question 7 Explanation, by LSATHacks

QUESTION TEXT: Very little is known about prehistoric hominid cave dwellers…

QUESTION TYPE: Strengthen

CONCLUSION: Cave Dwellers chased and tackled animals, much like rodeo riders.

REASONING: The skeletal fracture in early hominid cave dwellers are similar to fractures that rodeo riders get.

ANALYSIS: This is a plausible argument, but not conclusive. We know what caused the rodeo riders’ injuries, and similar injuries were observed in cave dwellers’ skeletons. This is the sole piece of evidence offered, and it does not directly prove anything. Maybe they got the injuries doing something else. We need evidence to connect the proposed cause (animal tackling) to the observed effect (skeletal injuries).

___________

1. This tells us that our current, limited source of evidence is also our primary source of evidence. It doesn’t add anything that helps us to reach a conclusion.
2. This would show the importance of resolving this question, but it does not help us solve it.
3. This tells us how to collect evidence, but it doesn’t help us solve the riddle. We don’t have any direct evidence.
4. CORRECT. This helps. The rodeo riders and cave dwellers both suffer from the same effects (skeletal injuries). This answer choice helps us conclude that the cause (tackling and chasing animals) is the same as well.
5. We’re trying to find out whether cave dwellers engaged in the activity at all. Frequency is irrelevant until we figure out whether they did in fact chase and tackle animals.

Recap: The question begins with “Very little is known about prehistoric hominid cave dwellers”. It is a Strengthen question. Learn how to master LSAT Strengthen questions on the LSAT Logical Reasoning question types page.

Hi, I'm Graeme Blake

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