LSAT 136 | Section 2 | Logical Reasoning: Q12

LR Question 12 Explanation

QUESTION TEXT: Because dried peat moss, which is derived from…

QUESTION TYPE: Principle – Strengthen

CONCLUSION: Using peat moss as a soil conditioner is not environmentally sound.

REASONING: Peat moss contributes a lot of oxygen to the atmosphere, and gardeners are using peat moss faster than it can be replaced.

ANALYSIS: The answers to principle questions often seem blindingly obvious.

Approach these as if you were a space alien. What is ‘environmentally sound’? The stimulus doesn’t say.

We need a principle that says whatever the gardeners are doing (depleting oxygen, etc.) is environmentally unsound.

___________

1. This just shows that it’s possible that using peat moss is environmentally unsound. It doesn’t show that it is unsound.
2. CORRECT. The gardeners will eventually significantly reduce the amount of oxygen entering the atmosphere if they deplete peat moss. This shows that doing so is environmentally unsound.
3. This tells us how to show something is environmentally sound. We want to show that using peat moss is not environmentally sound.
4. Same as C.
5. This tells us when to ban something. But it doesn’t tell us when something is ‘environmentally unsound’.