Logical ReasoningDifficulty: Easy

PT102 S2 Q5 Explanation

Advances in photocopying technology allow criminals

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

TopicsWeaken

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Stimulus

Advances in photocopying technology allow criminals with no printing expertise to counterfeit paper currency. One standard anticounterfeiting technique, microprinting, prints paper currency with tiny designs that cannot be photocopied distinctly. Although counterfeits of microprinted currency can be detected easily by experts, such counterfeits often circulate widely before being detected. An alternative, though to detect photocopied counterfeit currency easily, it should be adopted instead of microprinting, despite the expense.

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
5.

Which one of the following, if true, most seriously undermines

Answer choices

  1. Strengthens3% picked this

    The longer the interval between the time a counterfeit bill passes into circulation and the time the counterfeit is detected, the more difficult it

    This strengthens, by making it seem like the bad part about microprinting (circulates for a while before being discovered) is really bad.

  2. Correct82% picked this

    Sophisticated counterfeiters could produce currency printed with the special ink but cannot duplicate

    Why this is right

    This is a bad thing about the ink plan (it's possible for sophisticated counterfeiters to get around this) and a good thing about the microprinting plan (it's not possible for them to get around this).

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

  3. Strengthens11% picked this

    Further advances in photocopying technology will dramatically increase the level of detail that

    This strengthens, by making it seem like the good part about microprinting (regular photocopiers can't print this level of detail) will soon disappear.

  4. No Distinction No Impact2% picked this

    The largest quantities of counterfeit currency now entering circulation are produced by ordinary criminals who engage

    Since the idea of "only briefly dabbling in counterfeiting" doesn't have any different effect, whether we went with microprinting or ink, this has no impact.

  5. Unclear Impact2% picked this

    It is very difficult to make accurate estimates of what the costs to society would be if large amounts of

    This is just saying, "we don't know how costly it is to society [to continue using the microprinting method]". If it's very costly, that would strengthen. If it's not costly, that would weaken. So this really has no impact.

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