Logical ReasoningDifficulty: Easy

PT112 S4 Q13 Explanation

Joseph’s statement that “this alleged

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

TopicsRole

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Stimulus

Joseph: My encyclopedia says that the mathematician Pierre de Fermat died in 1665 without leaving behind any written proof for a theorem that he claimed nonetheless to have proved. Probably this alleged theorem simply cannot be proved, since—as the article points out—no one else has been able to prove lying or else mistaken when he made his claim.

Laura: Your encyclopedia is out of date. Recently someone has in fact proved Fermat’s theorem. And since the theorem is provable, your or mistaken—clearly is wrong.

What this question is testing

Role

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
13.

Joseph’s statement that “this alleged theorem simply cannot be proved” plays which one of the following roles

Answer choices

  1. Trap7% picked this

    an assumption for which no support

  2. Correct86% picked this

    a subsidiary conclusion on which his argument’s main conclusion

    Why this is right

    Answer B is correct.

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

  3. Trap4% picked this

    a potential objection that his argument anticipates and attempts to answer before

  4. Trap3% picked this

    the principal claim that his argument is structured

  5. Trap1% picked this

    background information that neither supports nor undermines his

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