Logical ReasoningDifficulty: Easy

PT103 S3 Q1 Explanation

From the tenth century

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

TopicsParadox

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Stimulus

From the tenth century until around the year 1500, there were Norse settlers living in Greenland. During that time, average yearly temperatures fell slightly worldwide, and some people claim that this temperature drop wiped out the Norse settlements by rendering Greenland too cold for human habitation. But this explanation cannot be correct, time the Norse settlers were there, continued to thrive long after 1500.

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
1.

Which one of the following if true, most helps explain why the Norse settlements in Greenland disappeared while

Answer choices

  1. No Distinction2% picked this

    The drop in average yearly temperature was smaller in Greenland than it was in the

    This doesn't offer us any difference between Norse and Inuit settlers, so it won't give us a way to show why one of them disappeared from Greenland while the other stuck around.

  2. Correct96% picked this

    The Norse settlers’ diet, unlike that of the Inuit, was based primarily on livestock and crops that were unable

    Why this is right

    This offers us a difference between Norse and Inuit settlers. Does that difference help explain why the Norse disappeared from Greenland while the Inuit stuck around? Sure, the food that the Norse people primarily ate was unable to survive the temperature drop. Meanwhile, the Inuit's diet was not primarily based on food that was unable to survive the temperature drop. If the Norse's food supply was unable to survive the colder temperatures, then the Norse would need to leave the area. But that wasn't true about the Inuit, so they might have been able to stick around in Greenland.

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

  3. No Distinction2% picked this

    There were settlements in North America during the fifteenth century that were most likely founded by Norse settlers

    This doesn't offer us any difference between Norse and Inuit settlers, so it won't give us a way to show why one of them disappeared from Greenland while the other stuck around.

  4. No Distinction0% picked this

    The Inuit and the Norse settlements were typically established in

    This doesn't offer us any difference between Norse and Inuit settlers, so it won't give us a way to show why one of them disappeared from Greenland while the other stuck around.

  5. No Impact0% picked this

    The Norse community in Norway continued to thrive long

    This doesn't offer us any difference between Norse and Inuit settlers, so it won't give us a way to show why one of them disappeared from Greenland while the other stuck around.

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