Logical ReasoningDifficulty: Easy

PT21 S2 Q5 Explanation

Irrigation runoff from neighboring

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

TopicsFlaw

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Stimulus

Irrigation runoff from neighboring farms may well have increased the concentration of phosphorus in the local swamp above previous levels, but the claim that the increase in phosphorus is harming the swamp’s native aquatic wildlife is false; the phosphorus concentration in the swamp is of bottled water that some people drink every day.

What this question is testing

Flaw

Your task

Describe the reasoning error the argument actually commits.

Common trap

Answers that name a real logical flaw the argument doesn't actually make.

Winning move

Articulate the gap in the reasoning yourself, then match it to the choice that describes that 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.

The argument is vulnerable to criticism on the ground

Answer choices

  1. Trap3% picked this

    makes exaggerations in formulating the claim against which

  2. Trap4% picked this

    bases its conclusion on two contradictory

  3. Correct85% picked this

    relies on evidence the relevance of which has not

    Why this is right

    Answer C is correct.

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

  4. Trap3% picked this

    concedes the very point that it

  5. Trap5% picked this

    makes a generalization that is unwarranted because the sources of the data on which it is based

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