LSAT 158 | Section 3 | Logical Reasoning: Q12

LR Question 12 Explanation

QUESTION TEXT: Professor Shanaz: People generally notice and are concerned…

QUESTION TYPE: Role in Argument

CONCLUSION: There is unlikely to be a widespread, grassroots effort for new, more restrictive air pollution controls at this time.

REASONING: There is definitive evidence of the harm caused by ozone. However, people are more aware of the danger of contaminated water, and people often only care about the most obvious public health concerns.

ANALYSIS: You should be able to identify the conclusion here from the word “hence”. From this, you can work backwards if you aren’t sure what role the claim plays.

It follows that if people only really care about one cause, and they’re more worried about water, then there won’t be a big push for air pollution controls. These two claims (people only care about one cause/people are more worried about water) are working together to lead to the conclusion.

Both of these, then, are premises in support of the conclusion.

___________

1. This claim doesn’t support the idea that contaminated water is more of an issue, and the author isn’t trying to use it that way.
2. CORRECT. See analysis above.
3. The claim doesn’t explain the awareness of contaminated water, and that’s not what the author is doing with it.
4. Indisputable evidence exists according to the stimulus, but this claim is not that evidence. It doesn’t show anything about ozone.
5. This claim is not the main conclusion – it is offered in support of the conclusion (which can be identified by “Hence,”).

Recap: The question begins with “Professor Shanaz: People generally notice and are concerned”. It is a Role in Argument question. Learn more about LSAT Role questions in our guide to LSAT Logical Reasoning question types.