LSAT 65, Logical Reasoning II, Q1, LSATHacks

LR Question 1 Explanation, by LSATHacks

QUESTION TEXT: When a forest is subject to acid rain, the calcium…

QUESTION TYPE: Paradox

PARADOX: Acid rain lowers calcium levels in the soil. Sugar, fir and sugar maples all need calcium. But, sugar maples seem more affected by acid rain.

ANALYSIS: You need to find an answer that shows a difference between sugar maples and the other trees.

___________

1. This is a vague answer. We don’t know what these other changes are, or if they affect sugar maples differently.
2. This makes things more confusing. In the stimulus, sugar maples decline even more rapidly when acid rain depletes calcium. Yet this answer shows that they should be more resistant.
3. CORRECT. This shows that spruces and firs have a second source of calcium. Sugar maples don’t have this source, so they suffer when acid rain lowers calcium.
4. This doesn’t tell us anything about spruces and firs. Maybe the increased calcium requirement also applies to them. The stimulus also implied the decline would occur in any season.
5. This doesn’t matter. The stimulus was only talking about areas that did receive acid rain. Some spruces and firs do receive acid rain.

Hi, I'm Graeme Blake

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

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