LSAT 104 – Section 4 – Question 25

LSAT 104 - Section 4 - Question 25

December 1998

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Question
QuickView		 Type Tags Answer
Choices		 Curve Question
Difficulty		 Psg/Game/S
Difficulty		 Explanation
PT104 S4 Q25
+LR
Flaw or descriptive weakening +Flaw
Conditional Reasoning +CondR
A
19%
167
B
10%
165
C
11%
164
D
7%
163
E
53%
171
157
168
178
 +Hardest 147.438 +SubsectionMedium

J.Y.’s explanation

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All any reporter knows about the accident is what the press agent has said. Therefore, if the press agent told every reporter everything about the accident, then no reporter knows any more about it than any other reporter. If no reporter knows any more about the accident than any other reporter, then no reporter can scoop all of the other reporters. However, the press agent did not tell every reporter everything about the accident. It follows that some reporter can scoop all of the other reporters.

Summarize Argument
The author concludes that some reporter can scoop all of the other reporters. This is based on the following:

All that any reporter knows about the accident is what the press agent said.

If the agent told every reporter everything, then each reporter knows the same amount as every other reporter.

If each reporter knows the same amount as every other reporter, a scoop is not possible.

But, the press agent did not tell every reporter everything.

Identify and Describe Flaw
The author assumes that if the agent did not tell every reporter everything, that at least one reporter knows more than every other reporter. This assumption is faulty because it’s possible each reporter still knows the same amount as every other reporter, even if the agent withheld some information.

A
The press agent did not tell everything about the accident to any reporter.
This possibility doesn’t show why the reasoning is flawed. One reporter can still know more than all others, even if nobody knows everything. So this doesn’t show why a reporter might not be able to scoop the others.
B
Even if some reporter knows more about the accident than all of the other reporters, that reporter need not scoop any other reporter.
Whether a reporter “needs” to or will scoop others is irrelevant. The argument concerns whether at least one reporter “can,” meaning has the ability to, scoop other reporters. A reporter might have the ability to scoop others, even if they don’t actually scoop the others.
C
Some reporter may have been told something about the accident that the reporter tells all of the other reporters.
This possibility does not show why the argument is flawed. If one reporter shares something they were told to all other reporters, it’s still possible for one reporter to know more than all the others. So (C) doesn’t show why scooping might not be possible.
D
The press agent may not know any more about the accident than the most knowledgeable reporter.
This possibility does not show why the argument is flawed. One reporter can still know more than all others, even if that reporter doesn’t know more than the press agent. So (D) doesn’t show why scooping might not be possible.
E
No reporter knows any more about the accident than any other reporter.
If this possibility were true, then it’s impossible for one reporter to scoop another, because each reporter would know the same amount as every other reporter. The agent might not have told everything, but the reporters can still end up knowing the same information.

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LSAT PrepTest 104 Explanations

Section 1 - Logical Reasoning

Section 2 - Reading Comprehension

Section 3 - Reading Comprehension

Section 4 - Logical Reasoning

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