Logical ReasoningDifficulty: Hard

PT1 S3 Q18 Explanation

In the United States proven oil reserves

A free, expert breakdown of this official LSAT Logical Reasoning question.

TopicsParadox

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Stimulus

In the United States proven oil reserves—the amount of oil considered extractable from known fields—are at the same level as they were ten years ago. Yet over this same period no new oil fields of any annual consumption of domestically produced oil has increased.

What this question is testing

Paradox

Your task

Break the argument into its conclusion and evidence, then do exactly what the question stem asks with that structure.

Common trap

Answers that sound relevant to the topic but don't connect to the argument's actual reasoning.

Winning move

Predict what a right answer must do, then test each choice against the conclusion-evidence gap.

Reading along? Open the full official question in LawHub — we show a fragment here and keep the reasoning in our own words.

The question
18.

Which one of the following, if true, best reconciles the discrepancy

Answer choices

  1. Trap21% picked this

    Over the past decade the annual consumption of imported oil has increased more rapidly than that of domestic

  2. Trap2% picked this

    Conservation measures have lowered the rate of growth of domestic oil consumption from what it

  3. Trap3% picked this

    Oil exploration in the United States has slowed due to increased concern over the environmental

  4. Trap6% picked this

    The price of domestically produced oil has fallen substantially over the

  5. Correct67% picked this

    Due to technological advances over the last decade, much oil previously considered unextractable is

    Why this is right

    Answer E is correct.

    Skill tested: Paradox · how this choice captures the argument's function is the move to repeat next time.

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