LSAT 154 | Section 2 | Logical Reasoning: Q3

LR Question 3 Explanation

QUESTION TEXT: Horses, although descended from a forest-dwelling ancestor…

QUESTION TYPE: Role of Statement

Paradox: Horses thrive in grasslands, and in the past had population increases followed by declines. The most recent horse peak was during a cold period that preceded a warm period.

ANALYSIS: This isn’t our usual paradox question since there doesn’t seem to be an outright contradiction. To reconcile the facts in the stimulus, we could rephrase something like “the warmth caused a decline in the grasslands”. Remember to use the facts that are given to you in the stimulus.

___________

1. Why does size matter? It doesn’t! Eliminate.
2. This is too unnecessarily specific when the stimulus doesn’t mention what a “true wild horse” is.
3. This is irrelevant and like B, too specific.
4. CORRECT. This answer choice connects horses thriving in grasslands with the cold period. If when the temperature warms and grasslands turn into forests, then there would be less grasslands for horses to thrive in.
5. This shows that the cycles of horse populations coincided with the shifts from cold to warm, but it still doesn’t tell us why.

Recap: The question begins with “Horses, although descended from a forest-dwelling ancestor”. It is a Role of Statement question. Learn how to master LSAT Role in Argument questions on the LSAT Logical Reasoning question types page.