Exam LSAT Section 1 Logical Reasoning topic 1 question 288 discussion

Actual exam question from Test Prep's LSAT Section 1 Logical Reasoning

Question #: 288
Topic #: 1

[All LSAT Section 1 Logical Reasoning Questions]

Science journalist: Brown dwarfs are celestial objects with more mass than planets but less mass than stars. They are identified by their mass and whether or not lithium is present in their atmospheres. Stars at least as massive as the Sun have lithium remaining in their atmospheres because the mixing of elements in their internal nuclear furnaces is incomplete. Stars with less mass than the Sun have no lithium because the element has been fully mixed into their nuclear furnaces and consumed. A brown dwarf does not have a fully functional nuclear furnace and so its lithium cannot be consumed.
Which one of the following is most strongly supported by the science journalist's statements?

A. Any celestial object without lithium in its atmosphere is a star with less mass than the Sun.
B. Any celestial object with lithium in its atmosphere has a nuclear furnace that has incompletely mixed the object's elements.
C. No celestial object that has no lithium in its atmosphere is a brown dwarf.
D. No celestial object with lithium in its atmosphere has less mass than the Sun.
E. No celestial object less massive than a brown dwarf has lithium in its atmosphere.

Show Suggested Answer

Suggested Answer: C 🗳️
For Inference questions, we recommend that you focus on the most concrete statements because theyre the ones that are most likely to lead to deductions or even directly to the right answer. Happily, thats the case here. We get a definition of brown dwarfs, followed by lots of information on stars. The star info might have thrown you off a bit, considering that brown dwarf shave less mass than stars and therefore cannot be stars themselves. But if you hang in there, the journalist gets back to brown dwarfs, and the most definitive statement comes at the end: A brown dwarfs lithium cannot be consumed. Well, at least thats pretty simple — it means that brown dwarfs have lithium. C., after a bit of translation, says that "any celestial object that has no lithium in its atmosphere is not a brown dwarf."Well, if brown dwarfs do have lithium, then C. must be correct.

by [deleted] at March 9, 2025, 1:39 p.m.

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Exam LSAT Section 1 Logical Reasoning topic 1 question 288 discussion

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