According to the Newtonian theory of gravity

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

TopicsSufficient Assumption

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Stimulus

According to the Newtonian theory of gravity, the gravitational force between two bodies depends exclusively on their mass and the distance between them, but is independent of what the bodies are made of. Thus, according to the Newtonian theory, one does not need a theory and the planets in order to calculate their orbits.

What this question is testing

Sufficient Assumption

Your task

Find the assumption that, if added, guarantees the conclusion follows.

Common trap

Answers that only partly bridge the gap, leaving the conclusion unproven.

Winning move

Identify the new term in the conclusion and pick the choice that links it to the evidence.

Reading along? Open the full official question in LawHub — we show a fragment here and keep the reasoning in our own words.

The question

25.

The conclusion of the argument above follows logically if which one of the

Answer choices

Unrelated to Goal: not about orbits6% picked this
Mass is dependent on gravitational
Unrelated to Goal: not about orbits
6%
Correct69% picked this
According to the Newtonian theory, the calculation of planetary orbits requires considering only
Why this is right
Answer B is correct.
Skill tested: Sufficient Assumption · how this choice captures the argument's function is the move to repeat next time.
69%
Unrelated to Goal: not about orbits4% picked this
The Newtonian theory of gravity is mistaken about the data needed to
Unrelated to Goal: not about orbits
4%
Unrelated to Goal: not about orbits8% picked this
Knowing what an object is made of is sufficient for determining
Unrelated to Goal: not about orbits
8%
Unrelated to Goal: not about orbits13% picked this
The gravitational force between the Sun and a planet is a factor in determining the
Unrelated to Goal: not about orbits
13%

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