Logical ReasoningDifficulty: Hard

PT101 S2 Q19 Explanation

In Australia the population that

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

TopicsWeaken

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Stimulus

In Australia the population that is of driving age has grown larger over the last five years, but the annual number of traffic fatalities has declined. This leads to the conclusion that, overall, the driving-age skillful drivers now than five years ago.

What this question is testing

Weaken

Your task

Find the choice that makes the argument's conclusion less likely to be true.

Common trap

Answers that look negative but attack a claim the argument never relied on.

Winning move

Find the assumption the argument depends on, then pick the choice that undermines it.

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

The question
19.

Each of the statements below, if true, weakens the

Answer choices

  1. Weakens (alternate explanation)3% picked this

    Three years ago, a mandatory seat-belt law went into effect

    This suggests that the real reason fatalities are declining is that people are wearing seat belts more than before.

  2. Weakens (alternate explanation)8% picked this

    Five years ago, Australia began a major road

    This suggests that the real reason fatalities are declining is that fewer accidents are being caused by potholes and other adverse road conditions.

  3. Weakens (alternate explanation)5% picked this

    Because of increases in the price of fuel, Australians on average drive less each year than

    This suggests that the real reason fatalities are declining is that people are just driving less than before.

  4. Weakens (alternate explanation)35% picked this

    The number of hospital emergency facilities in Australia has doubled in the

    This suggests that the real reason fatalities are declining is that there are more people being saved from death by being shuttled to the nearest hospital emergency room.

  5. Correct49% picked this

    In response to an increase in traffic fatalities, Australia instituted a program of mandatory driver

    Why this is right

    This actually lends plausibility to the author's explanation of "more skillful drivers", since driver education would potentially lead to more skilled drivers. The correct answer doesn't need to strengthen, it just happens to. All it needs to do is not-weaken.

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

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