Logical Reasoning

PT135 · S2 · Q25 Some people mistakenly believe

A free, expert breakdown of this official LSAT Logical Reasoning 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

Some people mistakenly believe that since we do not have direct access to the distant past we cannot learn much about it.

Given

Contemporary historians and archaeologists find current g geography, geology, and climate to be rich in clues about a given region’s distant history.

However, the more distant the period we are studying is, the less useful the study of the present becomes.

Evaluate

The relationship illustrated in the passage is that one can learn about the past by studying the present, but the further back in time one wants to look the less useful the study of the present becomes.

25.

Of the following, which one most closely conforms to the principle that the passage illustrates?

  1. Correct

    Astronomers often draw inferences about

    Why this is right

    The astronomers are looking at the past by looking at recently collected data and the further in the past they look the less useful is their recently collected data.

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

    61% picked this

  2. Much can be learned about

    Wrong Relationship

    While this answer does have a relative comparison in the second part, this relationship doesn’t show a change based on how far back in time the investigators look, but rather a change based on how long the investigators have been looking.

    9% picked this

  3. To understand a literary text

    Wrong Relationship

    While this answer does have a relative comparison in the second part, the first relationship is a requirement of understanding a literary text. It should have contained a relationship about learning about the past from the present.

    27% picked this

  4. We often extrapolate from ordinary

    Wrong Relationship

    This passage does not contain a diminishing relative relationship (e.g., the more of X the less of Y).

    1% picked this

  5. One crucial clue to the

    Wrong Relationship

    This passage does not contain a diminishing relative relationship (e.g., the more of X the less of Y).

    2% 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