Logical ReasoningDifficulty: Easy

PT109 S3 Q1 Explanation

North American eastern white cedars

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

TopicsParadox

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Stimulus

North American eastern white cedars grow both on cliff faces and in forests. Cedars growing on exposed cliff faces receive very few nutrients, and rarely grow bigger than one-tenth the height of cedars growing in forests, where they benefit from moisture and good soil. Yet few eastern white cedars found in forests on cliff faces are more than five hundred years old.

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 to explain the difference in the ages of the cedars on cliff faces

Answer choices

  1. Trap1% picked this

    The conditions on cliff faces are similar to those in most other places where there

  2. Correct93% picked this

    In areas where eastern white cedars grow, forest fires are relatively frequent, but fires cannot

    Why this is right

    Answer B is correct.

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

  3. Trap1% picked this

    Trees that are older than a few hundred years start to lose the protective outer

  4. Trap5% picked this

    The roots of cedars on cliff faces lodge in cracks in the cliff, and once the roots are so large that they fill a

  5. Trap1% picked this

    Eastern white cedar wood is too soft to be used for firewood or modern buildings, but it is

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