Logical ReasoningDifficulty: Medium

PT7 S4 Q11 Explanation

Scientific research at a certain

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

TopicsFlaw

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Stimulus

Scientific research at a certain university was supported in part by an annual grant from a major foundation. When the university’s physics department embarked on weapons-related research, the foundation, which has a purely humanitarian mission, threatened to cancel its grant. The university then promised that none of the foundation’s money would be concluding that the weapons research would not benefit from the foundation’s grant.

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
11.

Which one of the following describes a flaw in the reasoning underlying

Answer choices

  1. Correct71% picked this

    It overlooks the possibility that the availability of the foundation’s money for humanitarian uses will allow the university to redirect other funds

    Why this is right

    Answer A is correct.

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

  2. Trap6% picked this

    It overlooks the possibility that the physics department’s weapons research is not the only one of the university’s research activities with

  3. Trap11% picked this

    It overlooks the possibility that the university made its promise specifically in order to induce the foundation

  4. Trap7% picked this

    It confuses the intention of not using a sum of money for a particular purpose with the intention of not using that

  5. Trap4% picked this

    It assumes that if the means to achieve an objective are humanitarian in character, then the objective is

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