LSAT 63, Logical Reasoning I, Q1, LSATHacks

LR Question 1 Explanation, by LSATHacks

QUESTION TEXT: Backyard gardeners who want to increase the yields of…

QUESTION TYPE: Complete The Argument

CONCLUSION: Backyard gardeners should grow stinging nettles beside their potato plants.

REASONING: Stinging nettles attract insects that eat the harmful pests that attack potatoes. It is true that stinging nettles also attract aphids (many species of which attack potatoes), but that’s fine because _______. (fill in the blank)

ANALYSIS: The only logical way to end this argument would be to show that the aphids either cause no or little harm. The correct answer shows that only some species of aphids attack potatoes and stinging nettles don’t attract those aphids.

___________

1. This doesn’t explain why aphids aren’t a problem.
2. That’s good for the stinging nettle plants. But the stimulus warned that the aphids could harm the potatoes.
3. CORRECT. Here we go. Some aphids harm potatoes. But the aphids attracted by stinging nettles don’t harm potatoes, so everything is fine.
4. This isn’t nearly as strong as C. Aphids could still potentially cause a lot of damage even if they cause less damage than other organisms.
5. The conclusion is only about gardeners who want to increase yields of potato plants. It doesn’t matter how other plants are affected.

Hi, I'm Graeme Blake

Founder of LSAThacks; I scored a 177 on the LSAT.

I created the LSAT Mastery Seminars, which are part of the Ultimate LSAT Prep Bundle

If you like the explanations you're reading I'm 100% confident you'll enjoy the courses. Satisfaction guaranteed.

---------
Updates:

For updates, sign up for my email list. I update whenever I have new posts.