Reading ComprehensionDifficulty: Easy

PT109 S2 P3 Q20 Explanation

Atmospheric CO2

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

TopicsInferenceScience

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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

Inference

Your task

Find what must be true based on what the passage or stimulus states.

Common trap

Answers that are plausible or likely but not actually guaranteed by the text.

Winning move

Keep only the choice the statements fully support — eliminate anything that requires an extra assumption.

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

The question
20.

The passage supports which one of the following statements about peat in

Answer choices

  1. Correct86% picked this

    More of it would decompose if temperatures rose four

    Why this is right

    Answer A is correct.

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

  2. Trap4% picked this

    It could help absorb CO2 from the atmosphere if temperatures rose

  3. Trap1% picked this

    It will not decompose unless temperatures rise four

  4. Trap8% picked this

    It decomposes more quickly than peat found in regions at

  5. Trap1% picked this

    More of it accumulates in regions at

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