Logical ReasoningDifficulty: Medium

PT156 S2 Q14 ExplanationWhen polar ice caps grow

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

TopicsMost Supported

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Stimulus

When polar ice caps grow (during ice ages, for example), lighter forms of oxygen from water vapor and seawater accumulate in the frozen ice caps, leaving greater concentrations of one heavy form of oxygen behind in the sea, where it is absorbed by marine organisms. When and as the ice caps shrink, in sea shellfish increased for about 20,000 years, then decreased for 10,000 years.

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
14.

The information given most strongly supports which one of the following hypotheses about the

Answer choices, explained

  1. Too Specific1% picked this

    Average global temperatures 10,000 years after the beginning of the period approximately equaled average global

    Too Specific: average global temperatures 10,000 years after the beginnning of the period

  2. Trap16% picked this

    Polar ice caps at the beginning of the period were larger than they were at the

    Unsupported Comparison: size of ice caps at the beginning vs. the end of the period

  3. Trap6% picked this

    The beginning of the period coincided with the onset of an ice age that lasted

    Thin Ice: (pun intended) Don't call it an ice age! Just because the ice caps grew for 20,000 years doesn't mean it was an ice age.

  4. Correct75% picked this

    The polar ice caps grew for about 20,000 years after the period began, then

    Why this is right

    Answer D is correct.

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

  5. Trap3% picked this

    An ice age was drawing to an end during the first 20,000 years

    Thin Ice: (pun intended) Don't call it an ice age! Just because the ice caps grew for 20,000 years then started to shrink doesn't mean it was an ice age drawing to an end.

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