LSAT 143 | Section 1 | Logical Reasoning: Q4

LR Question 4 Explanation

QUESTION TEXT: Scientist: In testing whether a baby’s babbling is a…

QUESTION TYPE: Method of Reasoning

CONCLUSION: Babbling is linguistic.

REASONING: Babies open their mouths wider on the right when they babble. Earlier studies have shown that people open their mouths wider on the left when they’re making non-linguistic sounds.

ANALYSIS: The scientist asks whether baby babbling is linguistic or not. Then they present two points of evidence to show that babbling is linguistic.

Simple as that. I had trouble with this question because I was overthinking it. E describes a very standard argument: ask a question and prove one side. Not every argument has to be complex.

There’s no way to “explain” why the wrong answers are wrong. They just don’t match. So I’m providing an example of what that type of argument looks like.

___________

1. There’s no counterargument. The author only argues their point directly.
   Example of method: It may seem that babies have meaning when they babble, because they are expressive. But actually studies have shown expression can occur without any meaning.
2. This is totally different.
   Example of method: Some say we should live in central areas. But if everyone did that, central areas fill up. We should live in areas with low rents.
3. This is different.
   Example of method: Do babies have meaning when they babble? We could test this by using the experimental Dapler method. In fact this method is necessary since all other methods have failed to produce results.
4. This is a completely different argument.
   Example of method: How did the car get on the roof? Maybe people lifted it up using a crane. But no one saw a crane. However, there are some crane tracks nearby, so it likely was the crane.
5. CORRECT. This matches exactly. The two interpretations are: babbling is linguistic, or babbling is not linguistic. The studies provide evidence that babbling is linguistic.