Logical ReasoningDifficulty: Medium

PT143 S3 Q9 Explanation

We know that if life ever existed

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

TopicsParallel

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Full official LSAT questions are available through LawHub. This page provides LSAT Lab's explanation, strategy, and review tools without republishing the full official question.

Stimulus

We know that if life ever existed on the Moon, there would be signs of life there. But numerous excursions to the Moon have failed to provide us with any sign been life on the Moon.

What this question is testing

Parallel

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
9.

The pattern of reasoning in the argument above is most similar to that in which one

Answer choices

  1. Trap6% picked this

    We know that the spy is a traitor. We do not know that the general is a traitor. So the

  2. Trap7% picked this

    If we have any mayonnaise, it would be in the refrigerator. But the refrigerator is almost empty. So it is

  3. Trap1% picked this

    Hendricks will win the election only if voters are concerned primarily with fighting crime. Hendricks is in favor of tougher criminal penalties. So

  4. Trap14% picked this

    If rodents are responsible for the lost grain from last year's harvest, we would find signs of rodents in the warehouses. And we have

  5. Correct73% picked this

    If their army is planning an attack, there would either be troop movements along the border or a transfer of weapons. But intelligence reports

    Why this is right

    Answer E is correct.

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

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