Logical ReasoningDifficulty: Hard

PT137 S4 Q15 Explanation

Any good garden compost

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

TopicsMost Supported

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Stimulus

Any good garden compost may appropriately be used for soil drainage and fertility. The best compost is 40 to 60 percent organic matter and is dark brown in color. However, compost that emits a strong ammonia smell should not be used for that the organic matter has not sufficiently decomposed.

What this question is testing

Most Supported

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
15.

Which one of the following is most strongly supported by the

Answer choices

  1. Unsupported Relationship2% picked this

    Compost that is 80 percent organic matter has probably not

    The statements do not indicate that there is a relationship between the percent of organic material and the level of decomposition.

  2. Too Strong3% picked this

    If compost is less than 40 percent organic matter and is not dark brown in color, then it will make soil less

    While compost that is less than 40 percent organic matters is not the best compost, that does not imply that it will make soil less fertile and will worsen soil damage.

  3. Reversal20% picked this

    If compost is 50 percent organic matter and that organic matter is sufficiently decomposed, then

    This reverses the SDF ? GGC first statement.

  4. Too Strong5% picked this

    In the best garden compost, the organic matter is

    The statements do not indicate that organic matter is completely decomposed.

  5. Correct70% picked this

    Compost that is dark brown in color and emits a strong ammonia smell is not

    Why this is right

    This follows from the first SA ? ~SDF and third statements. ~SDF ? ~GGC ? SA ? ~GGC

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

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