LSAT 140 | Section 4 | Reading Comprehension: Q22

RC Question 22 Explanation

DISCUSSION: The second sentence of paragraph 3 mentions mental constructs. That sentence starts with “It seems natural because….mental constructs”.

To answer this question, you need to read the previous line, to see what “it seems natural because” refers to. “It” is a pronoun. Whenever you see one, you must refer to earlier lines so that you know what “it” is. The LSAT uses this pronoun trick time and again.

The previous sentence says that the front-to-back explanation appeals strongly to people. This is because we deal with mental constructs of objects.

So mental constructs help us to understand and accept the front-to-back explanation of mirrors. By the way, “mental construct” just means images you make in your head. Like when you imagine your dog – it’s not a real dog, it’s just your imagination. But usually it bears some resemblance to your dog.

This question is extraordinarily confusing, and highlights the importance of going back to the passage. If you understand the second sentence of paragraph 3, then this question is easy. If you don’t, then you’ll waste time bouncing between nonsensical answers. None of the wrong answers make any sense. All of them refer to things that were never mentioned in the passage.

___________

1. There is no top-to-bottom explanation. This answer is total nonsense designed to confuse you.
2. CORRECT. Read the second sentence paragraph 3 in full and you’ll see that mental constructs help us understand the front-to-back explanation.
3. This is a nonsense answer. “Complex perceptual observations” does not appear in the passage.
4. I don’t even know what this means. I’m assuming you only picked this because you had no idea what any of the answers meant.
   The passage didn’t talk about rejecting associations between constructs and perceptions. In fact, the passage says that mirrors are confusing because we assume our mental constructs and objects/perceptions are the same.
5. The passage doesn’t talk about overemphasizing senses. This is another nonsense answer.