Logical ReasoningDifficulty: Easy

PT14 S4 Q5 Explanation

Only some strains of the tobacco

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

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Stimulus

Only some strains of the tobacco plant are naturally resistant to tobacco mosaic virus, never becoming diseased even when infected. When resistant strains were experimentally infected with the virus, levels of naturally occurring salicylic acid in these plants increased fivefold; no such increase occurred in the nonresistant plants. In a second experiment, plants showed signs of infection; however, the other 25 plants succumbed to the disease.

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
5.

Which one of the following conclusions is most strongly supported by the results

Answer choices

  1. Trap7% picked this

    Tobacco plants that have become diseased by infection with tobacco mosaic virus can be cured by injecting

  2. Correct84% picked this

    Producing salicylic acid is at least part of the mechanism by which some tobacco plants naturally resist the disease

    Why this is right

    Answer B is correct.

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

  3. Trap6% picked this

    Salicylic acid is not produced in strains of tobacco plants that are not resistant to

  4. Trap0% picked this

    It is possible to test an uninfected tobacco plant for resistance to tobacco mosaic virus by measuring the level

  5. Trap3% picked this

    The production of salicylic acid in certain strains of tobacco plants can be increased and thus the strains made

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