Reading Comprehension

PT108 · S1 · P4 · Q24 What is Language

A free, expert breakdown of this official LSAT Reading Comprehension question.

Save & drill this skill — build targeted practice sets from questions like this one
Video walkthroughs — watch every question solved step by step
81 official LSATs — as questions, timed sections & full-length tests

Start practicing free

What it means to “explain” something in science often comes down to the application of mathematics.

Passage Summary

Passage Summary Helper

Topic

The relationship between mathematical language and scientific explanation; how language shapes scientific knowledge.

Framework

Present Debate (with some Highlight Noteworthy)

Main Point

The way science “explains” the world through mathematics depends on ongoing debates about whether language (including math) truly reflects reality or is simply a matter of convention, and though many in science accept useful mathematical statements as true, it's unclear what function these statements really serve if they don't inherently correspond to the world. ( - Paragraph 2. Also see final lines of P4.)

P1: Introducing Math as Scientific Explanation

Some people think that mathematics, like language, is just a tool with internal rules, and when science "explains" something, it’s about finding accurate mathematical descriptions.

P2: The Language vs. Reality Debate

There's a big debate among linguists: does language (and by extension math in science) truly match up with real things, making knowledge solid? Or is it merely a set of conventions, making knowledge uncertain?

24.

According to the passage, mathematics can be considered a language because it

conveys meaning in the same
Too Strong: same
In the 3rd paragraph, it does talk about some people thinking of mathematical statements as basically an analogy or metaphor. However, 1) this is not mentioned as a reason to consider math a language 2) the idea of saying it's basically an analogy or metaphor is not nearly as strong as saying that math conveys meaning in the same way that metaphors do
7% picked this
Correct
constitutes a systematic collection of
Why this is right
This is the best match for our Support Window: Some thinkers hold that mathematics is a kind of language -- a systematic contrivance of signs
Skill tested: Locate Detail · how this choice captures the passage's function is the move to repeat next time.
65% picked this
corresponds exactly to aspects of
Too Strong: exactly
Nowhere in the passage are we going as far as saying that mathematics corresponds exactly to aspects of physical phenomena. In fact the 3rd paragraph is even saying "there is nothing inherent in mathematical language that guarantees [a correspondence between what it says and the phenomenon it describes]."
7% picked this
confers explanatory power on scientific
Unrelated to Goal
It's true that math can confer explanatory and predictive power on theories, but that's not cited as a reason why math is considered a language. We're told in the second sentence that math is considered a language because it's a systematic contrivance of signs with coherence, elegance, and depth.
12% picked this
relies on previously agreed-upon conventions
Unrelated to Goal
The more popular theory of what language refers to holds that it's purely a matter of agreed-upon conventions. But that's not cited as a reason why math is considered a language. We're told in the second sentence that math is considered a language because it's a systematic contrivance of signs with coherence, elegance, and depth.
8% picked this

Continue the review in LSAT Lab

Save this question, watch the video walkthrough, and drill similar questions in your LSAT Lab account.

Save and practice this skill

LSAT Lab

Turn this review into a targeted study plan.

Save this question, drill more like it, watch the video walkthrough, and track your progress in your LSAT Lab account.

Start practicing free