PT152 S2 Q10 ExplanationGodinez: In the past

Answer choices, explained

1. A

   Never Stated: easier to measure1% picked this

   It is now easier to measure a piece of land in terms of acres than in

   We don't want to pick an answer on Main Conclusion that wasn't actually said (unless it's a weird question stem like Main Point or Implied Conclusion). This doesn't match the last sentence at all, since the last sentence doesn't discuss whether new measures were easier or harder than the old one.

   1%
2. B

   Unstated Inference7% picked this

   For modern purposes, newer methods provide a more accurate measure of land than

   The last sentence does not say anything about more accurate, so we can eliminate this. This type of trap answer tries to appeal to a different part of an LSAT student's brain. This idea sounds true, because it seems like we could infer this, but we're not trying to do anything deep or insightful. The conclusion is the last sentence and we just want an answer that repeats what was said in the last sentence.

   7%
3. C

   Intermediate Conclusion1% picked this

   Some plots of land that would have been considered unequal by plowing-time measurements are of

   This isn't really an intermediate conclusion, in the sense that the author's eventual conclusion isn't using this idea at all. But this answer is trying to mimic what was said in the second sentence which was a conclusion / implication derived from the logic of the old measurement method. We could say this claim is supported/implied by the first sentence, but we can't say this is the main conclusion, since the paragraph goes on to Pivot with "however" and then end with a main conclusion, signaled by "Therefore".

   1%
4. D

   Weak Match19% picked this

   Modern measures of land were adopted when people realized that plowing time was an inadequate measure

   This seems pretty close to regurgitating the last sentence. However, the last sentence doesn't mention modern measures. And the last sentence says that new measurements were adopted when land uses diversified. This answer says new measurements were adopted when people realized plow time was inadequate for some land uses. Those are pretty close, but (D) doesn't convey the same idea the conclusion does, that people were actually beginning to use land in different ways. Instead, we could read (D) as saying, people looked around at the ways they were already using land and decided that "plow time" was inadequate for some of them. Ultimately, we'd probably be okay picking this answer and living with its slight differences if we didn't have a tighter lock for the last sentence available.

   19%
5. E

   Correct72% picked this

   The advent of diversified land uses made new measures of

   Why this is right

   This matches the meaning of the last sentence. "The advent" = "the beginning / the start" When land uses diversified (the advent of diversified land) it became necessary to adopt new measure of land (new measures of land were necessary)

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

   72%