LSAT 154 | Section 4 | Logical Reasoning: Q12

LR Question 12 Explanation

QUESTION TEXT: A lichen is made up of a photosynthetic organism and…

QUESTION TYPE: Most Strongly Supported

FACTS:

1. Lichen is made up of a photosynthetic organism and a fungus growing symbiotically on a surface.
2. Lichens absorb minerals from air, rainwater, and surface.
3. Lichen can’t excrete the elements they absorb.
4. Some lichen are vulnerable to toxic compounds in polluted air.

ANALYSIS: We can infer from these facts that if lichen absorbs harmful compounds from the air, then they can’t excrete it. The toxic compounds will stay int he lichen and damage both the organism and the fungus.

It’s difficult to draw specific predictions for this question but from these facts we’ve combined together, we can see that a lichen that lives in a place with a lot of air pollution would incur a lot of damage.

___________

1. This introduces a new if-then relationship between vulnerability and excreting elements. It could be that lichen are still vulnerable to toxic compounds even if they could excrete it.
2. This is too extreme. We only know that air pollution can hurt lichen. We can’t infer from this that if we have lichen, that means there’s no air pollution/better air quality.
3. There can be other reasons why there aren’t lichen in a region other than air pollution. For example, there could be predators who eat lichen.
4. The stimulus doesn’t give anything to support this.
5. CORRECT. If lichen absorbs (harmful) air pollution and can’t excrete it, then this would be problematic.

Recap: The question begins with “A lichen is made up of a photosynthetic organism and”. It is a Most Strongly Supported question. Learn more about LSAT MSS questions in our guide to LSAT Logical Reasoning question types.