Kaplan LSAT Practice Question of the Day

LSAT Question for December 25th

Archaeologist: Neanderthals, a human-like species living 60,000 years ago, probably preserved meat by smoking it. Burnt lichen and grass have been found in many Neanderthal fireplaces. A fire of lichen and grass produces a lot of smoke but does not produce nearly as much heat or light as a wood fire.

Which one of the following, if true, would most weaken the archaeologist's argument?

A) In close proximity to the fireplaces with lichen and grass are other fireplaces that, evidence suggests, burned material that produced more heat than smoke.

B) In the region containing the Neanderthal fireplaces in which lichen and grass were burnt, no plants that could be burned more effectively to produce heat or light were available 60,000 years ago.

C) Some of the fireplaces containing burnt lichen are in regions in which lichen is not believed to have been plentiful and so would have had to have been brought in from some distance.

D) There is clear evidence that at least some groups of Neanderthals living more recently than 60,000 years ago developed methods of preserving meat other than smoking it.

E) The ability to preserve meat through smoking would have made the Neanderthal humans less vulnerable to poor periods of hunting.

The correct answer is (B).

(B) Weaken

Step 1: Identify the Question Type

The question directly asks for something that will weaken the argument.

Step 2: Untangle the Stimulus

The archaeologist concludes that Neanderthals probably preserved meat by smoking it. The evidence is the presence of burnt lichen and grass, which produce a lot of smoke but not as much heat or light as wood.

Step 3: Make a Prediction

The archaeologist is making two assumptions. First, the archaeologist assumes that the smoke created by the lichen and grass was used for smoking meat, and for no other reason. Second, the archaeologist assumes that the light and heat produced by lichen and grass was not good enough for Neanderthals, i.e., they would have used wood (or something similar) if they really wanted light and heat. The correct answer will contradict one, if not both, of these assumptions by suggesting that the lichen and grass was used for another reason or that it provided enough heat and light.

Step 4: Evaluate the Answer Choices

(B) is correct. Wood might make for a warmer, brighter fire if it's available, but if it wasn't, and nothing in the area was better than lichen and grass, then it's possible the lichen and grass were used for heat and light and not for smoking meats.

(A) is a 180. If there were other fireplaces that were used to produce more heat, then the fireplaces with the lichen and grass were probably used to produce smoke, which would only strengthen the archaeologist's view.

(C) is a 180, indicating that Neanderthals went to great lengths to procure lichens. This suggests it was important to have a smoke-producing substance, thus strengthening the archaeologist's view.

(D) is Out of Scope. The archaeologist is not claiming that all Neanderthals preserved all of their meat by smoking it. Even if there were some later Neanderthals that developed an alternative method for some of their meat, the archaeologist's argument still stands.

(E) is a 180. This offers a reason why smoking meat would be beneficial, thus adding support to the archaeologist's claim.

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LSAT Question for December 25th

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LSAT Question for December 25th

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