LSAT 148 | Section 4 | Logical Reasoning: Q1

LR Question 1 Explanation

QUESTION TEXT: Community organizer: Before last year’s community cleanup…

QUESTION TYPE: Flawed Reasoning

CONCLUSION: We can be sure our cleanup this year will be a success.

REASONING: Last year, we had 77 signups and 100 participants. We need over 100 participants. This year we have 85 signups.

ANALYSIS: The author has shown that last year, participants were greater than signups. But, that’s just one data point. Maybe this year participants will be smaller than signups.

___________

1. CORRECT. This matches. You normally want a larger sample size to draw conclusions. For example, if every cleanup for the past ten years had more participants than signups, then the organizer would be justified in their confidence.
2. It doesn’t matter if the same people participate. We only want the same number of people, or greater. I.e. universities feel good when their number of students go up, even though those students are new people.
3. This is a different error: mixing up sufficient and necessary. Having over 100 participants is actually a sufficient condition for success, so there was no error there.
    
   Example of flaw: We need plastic bags for our cleanup to be a success. We have plastic bags, so our cleanup will definitely be a success.
4. This is a bad answer. The term “overlooked” is something that would strengthen the argument, if true. It’s not a flaw to overlook a strengthening factor! E.g. Suppose you say “I have a 180 and a 4.0 GPA, so I’ll get into law school”. This answer would then say “You’re wrong! You overlooked the fact that you also have an excellent personal statement!”. It’s not a sensible criticism.
5. This is a different flaw. It’s actually the first time I’ve seen this flaw description on an LSAT. It would be an unusual flaw.
    
   Example of flaw: To get a good score, I’ll need to study. And if I don’t do that, I’ll have learned a good lesson. So I’m assured a good result.

Recap: The question begins with “Community organizer: Before last year’s community cleanup”. It is a Flawed Reasoning question. To practice more Flawed Reasoning questions, have a look at the LSAT Questions by Type page.