Logical ReasoningDifficulty: Medium

PT3 S4 Q11 Explanation

Nature constantly adjusts the atmospheric

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

TopicsWeaken

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Stimulus

Nature constantly adjusts the atmospheric carbon level. An increase in the level causes the atmosphere to hold more heat, which causes more water to evaporate from the oceans, which causes increased rain. Rain washes some carbon from the air into the oceans, where it eventually becomes part of the seabed. A decrease increase would threaten human life. But the environmentalists should relax—nature will continually adjust the carbon level.

What this question is testing

Weaken

Your task

Find the choice that makes the argument's conclusion less likely to be true.

Common trap

Answers that look negative but attack a claim the argument never relied on.

Winning move

Find the assumption the argument depends on, then pick the choice that undermines it.

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

The question
11.

Which one of the following, if true, would most weaken the argument

Answer choices

  1. Trap3% picked this

    Plant life cannot survive without atmospheric

  2. Trap9% picked this

    It is not clear that breathing excess carbon in the atmosphere will have a negative

  3. Trap5% picked this

    Carbon is part of the chemical “blanket” that keeps the Earth warm enough to

  4. Trap8% picked this

    Breathing by animals releases almost 30 times as much carbon as does the burning

  5. Correct76% picked this

    The natural adjustment process, which occurs over millions of years, allows wide fluctuations in the carbon level

    Why this is right

    Answer E is correct.

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

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