Reading ComprehensionDifficulty: Easy

PT109 S2 P3 Q18 Explanation

Atmospheric CO2

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

TopicsNon-Author OpinionScience

Keep going in LSAT Lab

  • 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

Full official LSAT questions are available through LawHub. This page provides LSAT Lab's explanation, strategy, and review tools without republishing the full official question.

Passage

Experts anticipate that global atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide (CO2) will have doubled by the end of the twenty-first century. It is known that CO2 can contribute to global warming by trapping solar energy that is being reradiated as heat from the Earth’s surface. However, some research has suggested that elevated CO2 The level of CO2 would thus increase at a lower rate than many experts have predicted.

However, while a number of recent studies confirm that plant growth would be generally enhanced in an atmosphere rich in CO2, they also suggest that increased CO2 would differentially increase the growth rate of different species of plants, which could eventually result in decreased agricultural yields. Certain important crops such as corn potential increase may lead to greater numbers of and more severe wildfires in future rangeland communities.

It is clear that the CO2 fertilization effect does not guarantee the lush world of agricultural abundance that once seemed likely, but what about the potential for the increased uptake of CO2 to decrease the rate of global warming? Some studies suggest that the changes accompanying global warming will not improve the important because high-latitude habitats such as the tundra are expected to experience the greatest temperature increase.

What this question is testing

Non-Author Opinion

Your task

Pin down exactly what the question asks about the passage — a detail, the author's view, the structure, or the main point — before looking at the choices.

Common trap

Answers that restate a true detail from the passage but don't answer the specific question being asked.

Winning move

Anticipate the answer in your own words from the passage, then find the choice that matches that prediction.

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

The question
18.

The passage suggests that Patterson and Flint would be most likely to agree with which one of the following statements about increased levels of

Answer choices

  1. Trap1% picked this

    They will not increase the growth rates of most species

  2. Trap9% picked this

    They will inhibit the growth of most crops, thus causing substantial decreases

  3. Trap2% picked this

    They are unlikely to increase the growth rates of plants with

  4. Correct87% picked this

    They will increase the growth rates of certain species of plants more than the growth rates of

    Why this is right

    Answer D is correct.

    Skill tested: Non-Author Opinion · how this choice captures the passage's function is the move to repeat next time.

  5. Trap1% picked this

    They will not affect the photosynthetic rates of plants that currently have the

Continue the review in LSAT Lab

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

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