LSAT 142 | Section 2 | Logical Reasoning: Q3

LR Question 3 Explanation

QUESTION TEXT: Commentator: If a political administration is both…

QUESTION TYPE: Must be True

FACTS:

1. Liberties AND Economic Success ➞ Overall Success
2. Environment is not a necessary or sufficient factor.
3. The administration has protected liberties.

ANALYSIS: First, environmental protection is totally irrelevant. It’s not a necessary or sufficient condition for anything. In fact the second sentence says you can succeed even without environmental protection. So it’s irrelevant, and the fact that the administration has protected the environment tells us nothing.

The only relevant factors are protection of liberties and economic success. Both of these factors together are sufficient conditions for overall success. We know that the administration has protected liberties. We’re missing info about economic success.

All can say is that if the administration has been economically successful, then the administration has been an overall success.

___________

1. We don’t know this. The argument didn’t give a sufficient condition for concluding economic success.
2. We can’t ever say this. The argument didn’t give us sufficient conditions for concluding lack of overall success.
3. CORRECT. This is true. The stimulus told us that liberties + economic success = overall success. We already know the administration has protected liberties. So adding economic success will lead to overall success. 
4. Environmental protection is irrelevant. The stimulus didn’t say it’s a necessary or a sufficient condition for anything.
5. Not true. The argument didn’t say that environmental protection is necessary or sufficient for anything.