LSAT 6 | Section 3 | Logical Reasoning: Q3

LR Question 3 Explanation

QUESTION TEXT: Fire ants from Brazil now infest the southern United States…

QUESTION TYPE: Necessary Assumption – Exception

CONCLUSION: Importing fire ants’ predators would benefit the United States by stopping the growth of the fire ant populations.

REASONING: In Brazil fire ants’ populations are limited by predators. The two-queened nests in the United States are more aggressive and destroy all insects in the nest area.

ANALYSIS: There are tons of possible necessary assumptions. It’s best to approach this type of question using the following technique:

Clearly identifying the conclusion (predators would stop the increase and benefit the US)

Examine each answer choice and ask: is this assumption absolutely necessary to the conclusion?

___________

1. If the imported predators are more damaging then its hardly a good idea to import them.
2. If the predators can’t survive in the US then the plan will fail.
3. If the predators will be destroyed by the ants then the plan will fail.
4. CORRECT. It wouldn’t be a problem if the predators stopped the increase after the ants moved farther north. They would still have stopped the increase.
5. If the kill rate does not exceed the rate of the increase, then the predators can hardly stop the increase in ants.

Recap: The question begins with “Fire ants from Brazil now infest the southern United States”. It is a Necessary Assumption question. Learn how to master LSAT Necessary questions on the LSAT Logical Reasoning question types page.