PrepTest 109, Section 2, Question 20
Experts anticipate that global atmospheric concentrations of carbon(445 more words not shown)
The passage supports which one(10 more words not shown)
- AMore of it(8 more words not shown)
- BIt could help(11 more words not shown)
- CIt will not(7 more words not shown)
- DIt decomposes more(9 more words not shown)
- EMore of it(6 more words not shown)
Reading the passage
Peat is accumulated dead plant material. In the warmed tundra, thawing permafrost allows more of it to decompose, releasing CO2. That's the chain we need. The question asks for something supported about this peat, not a new theory about where peat occurs.
Working the answers
- ACorrect
More peat decomposes in the warmer conditions. Billings estimates that a four-degree rise would make the tundra release “50 percent more CO2,” with increased decomposition explaining that release. This supports more decomposition, not an exact percentage increase in the amount of peat decomposed.
- B
Backward. The decomposing peat releases CO2. The growing vegetation is what absorbs it.
- C
Four degrees isn't a minimum before decomposition can happen. The estimate concerns more CO2 release than occurs currently. Increased decomposition under those conditions doesn't mean no decomposition without them.
- D
We aren't given a comparison of decomposition rates at different latitudes. Knowing the tundra may warm substantially doesn't establish how quickly its peat decomposes compared with peat elsewhere.
- E
We aren't told where more peat accumulates. The account studies what happens to peat in wet tundra grasslands; it doesn't compare the quantities at different latitudes.
More Detail questions
Learn the LSAT our way
Our platform drills Detail questions at your level and adjusts as you improve.