LSAT 70, Logical Reasoning II, Q22, LSATHacks

LR Question 22 Explanation, by LSATHacks

QUESTION TEXT: If the budget does not allow for more dairy inspectors…

QUESTION TYPE: Sufficient Assumption

CONCLUSION: Most of the drinking water will become polluted.

REASONING:

1. No budget for inspectors ➞ Federal standards not met in most dairies
2. We don’t have a budget for inspectors

ANALYSIS: The evidence lets us prove that most large dairies won’t meet federal standards. But that doesn’t prove that water will become polluted. We need to connect the evidence to the conclusion.

As with all sufficient assumption questions, just look at what you already know, and look where you want to go. Then add a new statement that connects what you know to where you need to go:

No budget ➞ standards not met ➞ water polluted

___________

1. We’re trying to conclude that the water will become polluted. This answer shows us a way that water won’t become polluted.
   Note that this statement can’t tell us what would happen if dairies don’t meet standards: negating the sufficient never tells you anything.
2. This is very tempting. But this answer only says that without inspectors we can’t keep all drinking water clean. Maybe we can still keep 99.9% of it clean without more inspectors. The conclusion was that most water would be polluted.
3. This is close, but it gives us a necessary condition for water becoming polluted. Necessary conditions never prove that something will happen. We need a sufficient condition for water becoming polluted.
4. CORRECT. We already know that most large dairies won’t meet federal standards, because we don’t have the budget for new inspectors. This answer uses that information to let us prove that therefore most water will be polluted.
5. Close, but not quite. We know that inspectors won’t be hired, and therefore most large dairies won’t meet federal standards. But we don’t know if all large dairies will fail to meet standards.

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