Logical ReasoningDifficulty: Medium

PT105 S4 Q9 Explanation

To allay public concern about

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

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Stimulus

To allay public concern about chemicals that are leaking into a river from a chemical company's long ­established dump, a company representative said, "Federal law requires that every new chemical be tested for safety before it is put onto the market. mandating testing of every pharmaceutical substance for safety."

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
9.

Which one of the following, if true, most seriously weakens the representative's implied argument that the public need not be

Answer choices

  1. Trap12% picked this

    When pharmaceutical substances are tested for safety pursuant to federal requirements, a delay is imposed on the entry of potentially

  2. Trap3% picked this

    Leakage from the dump has occurred in noticeable amounts only in the

  3. Correct78% picked this

    Before the federal law requiring testing of nonpharmaceutical chemicals went into effect recently, there were 40,000 such chemicals being

    Why this is right

    Answer C is correct.

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

  4. Trap4% picked this

    The concentration of chemicals leaking into the river is diluted, first by rainwater and then by the

  5. Trap2% picked this

    The water in the river is murky because of the runoff of silt from a number

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