PrepTest 119, Section 4, Question 24
Biologist: We know the following things about plant(46 more words not shown)
From the biologist's statements, which(18 more words not shown)
- AIt has white(4 more words not shown)
- BIt has white(5 more words not shown)
- CIt has white(5 more words not shown)
- DIt has fuzzy(4 more words not shown)
- EIt lacks both(5 more words not shown)
Reading the argument
Start with the curled leaves. Those guarantee white flowers, so we already know one thing about the garden plant.
What does the long stem tell us? Less than it first appears. Fuzzy seeds always come with a long stem, but that doesn't make every long-stemmed plant fuzzy. The stem could fit several kinds of specimens. We can't start at the result and assume the fuzzy seeds must be there.
What we’re looking for
Now use the white flowers we established. Fuzzy-seeded specimens never have white flowers. This plant does have white flowers, so it cannot have fuzzy seeds. That's the combination I'd look for in a must-be-true answer: white flowers and no fuzzy seeds. Notice that we used the curled leaves to get there; the long stem didn't add a new conclusion.
Working the answers
- A
The white flowers are guaranteed, but the thorny seedpods aren't. We know thorny seedpods bring curled leaves. We don't know that every plant with curled leaves has thorny seedpods. The garden specimen could have the leaves without that kind of seedpod, so A's second claim goes beyond the facts.
- B
Again, white flowers are right. But we don't know that the plant lacks thorny seedpods either. Having thorny seedpods would fit its curled leaves and white flowers perfectly well. The rules neither require nor forbid thorny seedpods for this specimen. We cannot choose between A and B by guessing about them.
- CCorrect
Curled leaves guarantee white flowers. Fuzzy seeds would forbid white flowers, so this white-flowered plant cannot have fuzzy seeds. Both parts follow, and neither depends on guessing what else causes a long stem or whether the seedpods are thorny.
- D
The fuzzy seeds are impossible here: they would mean no white flowers, contrary to what the curled leaves guarantee. The thorny seedpods are merely possible, not established. This answer therefore includes one claim that conflicts with the facts and another that the facts don't settle.
- E
The plant does lack fuzzy seeds, but it cannot lack white flowers. The curled-leaf rule guarantees that it has them. An answer with one correct half and one incorrect half still fails a must-be-true question.
More Must Be True questions
Learn the LSAT our way
Our platform drills Must Be True questions at your level and adjusts as you improve.