LSAT 154 | Section 3 | Reading Comprehension: Q18

RC Question 18 Explanation

DISCUSSION: The correct answer to a Most Strongly Supported question is the one where the passage provides the most evidence for. For these questions, make sure to understand the author’s main points and pay attention to words that indicate certainty (can, should, would, likely, must, etc.).

We can’t really anticipate an answer so read each answer choice and check it against what you know from the passage.

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1. CORRECT. Sea-surface temperatures at their seasonal peaks imply that there’s a change in temperature, which would awaken the dormant V. cholerae bacteria. We know that when the bacteria is awakens from its dormant state, it’s more likely to be detected by traditional culture methods.
2. This is correct up until it mentions “outbreaks”, which is too extreme. The last paragraph only says that salinity can cause V. cholerae bacteria to awaken and “spread among humans again”, but this could just be one or two cases; it doesn’t guarantee an outbreak.
3. What about shellfish? They can allow V. cholerae to spread along a seacoast.
4. We’re not given anything in the passage that would suggest the relative ease of detecting V. cholerae in samples from humans vs. others.
5. The passage only tells us that the new detection method can detect dormant bacteria by bonding to their membranes. We don’t know if it’s easier for bonding to happen if the bacteria is awake.