Anthropologist : The culture responsible for the

Question

Anthropologist : The culture responsible for the inscriptions at the site must have used fire to fashion iron implements. Of the Xa, Ye, Zi, the three cultures known to have inhabited this area surrounding this site, the Xa could obtain iron but could not use fire to fashion implements and the Ye had no access to iron. Therefore the Zi is the only culture known to be from the surrounding area that could have made these inscriptions.

The reasoning in which one of the following arguments most closely parallels the reasoning used in the argument :

A) Whoever committed the burglary wore size nine shoes. Of the three suspects in custody, Jensen, Kapp and Lomax, neither Jensen nor Lomax could have worn size nine shoes. Of the three suspects in custody, therefore, nobody but Kapp could be the burglar.

B) Anyone wishing to file a claim must first send a check and then visit the bureau. Of Quinn, Robins, and Su, Robins and Su each sent a check and visited the bureau, so Robins and Su can each file a claim.

C) The person who designed the Ultra 180 must have been a very patient person. Of three well known designers, Morris, Nieves, and Ott, who worked for the Ultra's when the Ultra 180 was designed, Morris and Ott were both impatient people. Therefore, Nieves is the only person who could have designed the Ultra 180.

D) Anyone aspiring to public office must have a quick wit and a ready smile. Of my friends Gail, Harry, and Ida, only Harry and Ida are aspiring to the public office, so only Harry and Ida could have both a quick wit and a ready smile.

E) Whoever wrote this letter to me signed it "Tony". Since I do not know anyone who signs letters with that name, the writer of this letter could only have been someone whom I do not know.

carlson2010 · Accepted Answer

I say A.

To rephrase the original question:

A, B, and C are all from one area. A and B could not have done "it", so C is the only one from that area that could have done "it".

This leaves logical room for a group that is not from the area that A, B, and C are from to do it.

A leaves room for someone else that is not a suspect, saying that of the suspects, only Kapp could have been the burglar. It could have been someone that was not even considered a suspect.

C is close, but it does not allow the possibility of someone outside of the Ultra company designing the shoe. If it was not one of the 3 designers, then it had to be someone from the company. To relate it to the original statement, someone from the same company is still in the same "area", therefore the logic is not quite the same.

walker · Answer

Between A and C. C looks better for me

Nihit · Answer

I think its C .

Iron and fire used to inscribe Vs Shoes( choice A ) Vs Patience ( choice C )

Shoes is just one finding associated with the burglary not essential for burglary while paitience was required to design the car.

bkk145 · Answer

C. In my opinion, two premises do not quite relate to each other, and C fits that.

gmat blows · Answer

Anthropologist : The culture responsible for the inscriptions at the site must have used fire to fashion iron implements. Of the Xa, Ye, Zi, the three cultures known to have inhabited this area surrounding this site, the Xa could obtain iron but could not use fire to fashion implements and the Ye had no access to iron. Therefore the Zi is the only culture known to be from the surrounding area that could have made these inscriptions.

The reasoning in which one of the following arguments most closely parallels the reasoning used in the argument :

A) Whoever committed the burglary wore size nine shoes. Of the three suspects in custody, Jensen, Kapp and Lomax, neither Jensen nor Lomax could have worn size nine shoes. Of the three suspects in custody, therefore, nobody but Kapp could be the burglar.

C) The person who designed the Ultra 180 must have been a very patient person. Of three well known designers, Morris, Nieves, and Ott, who worked for the Ultra's when the Ultra 180 was designed, Morris and Ott were both impatient people. Therefore, Nieves is the only person who could have designed the Ultra 180.

I was also stuck between A and C - chose C only because of the similar language used 'must have used fire to fashion iron implements' // 'must first send a check and then visit the bureau'

bsd_lover · Answer

Some excellent attempts here. I have the OA and OE handy, but I'll wait for more people before I put them out.

kyatin · Answer

bsd_lover,

this one is good. I have seen it before so wont put answer here.

dushver · Answer

Wow there we go again. I love this climax ending for all CR questions. I went for answer option A (but somehow the 6th sense made me suspicious)! Will wait for the explanation.

bsd_lover · Answer

Good discussion guys - OA is actually A. OE to follow...

bsd_lover · Answer

The OE goes to great lengths to describe why its not C :
"The reasoning in C is superficially very close to the reasoning in the anthropologists argument, but the one giveaway is the conclusion. The conclusion is not qualified the way it would have to be in order to be parallel to the conclusion in the anthropologists argument. The conclusion of C does not say, as it would have to , that  out of the three designers being considered , the only one who could have designed the product is the third. Also note that C differs from the anthropologist's argument in that it doesn't rule out the possibility that the manufacturer may have employed other designers besides the three."

Source - LSAT Superprep - Difficulty level 4/5 (yup LSAT actually rates its CRs).

+1 to carlson for hitting the nail on the head.

walker · Answer

Excellent OE !
+1 and +1 to carlson

suyashjhawar · Answer

Good one Bsd_lover.Lsat have all kinds of questions,whether be parallel reasoning or infer questions.That too 26 questions in short span of time...indeed tough...

domfrancondumas · Answer

I am still confused between A and C. Could someone please explain?

Juz2play · Answer

Hi domfrancondumas! I hope this helps.

(C) The person who designed the Ultra 180 must have been a very patient person. Of three well known designers, Morris, Nieves, and Ott, who worked for the Ultra's when the Ultra 180 was designed, Morris and Ott were both impatient people. Therefore, Nieves is the only person who could have designed the Ultra 180. This choice is incorrect because the choice DOES NOT say there are only three designers who could design the Ultra 180. The choice just says that "Of three  well known  designers"; this implies that there can be other designers. Therefore, choice (C) is incorrect.

A) Whoever committed the burglary wore size nine shoes. Of the three suspects in custody, Jensen, Kapp and Lomax, neither Jensen nor Lomax could have worn size nine shoes. Of the three suspects in custody, therefore, nobody but Kapp could be the burglar. For choice (A), there are only three suspects that could be the burglar. This is similar reasoning to the argument in the question stem which states that there are only three possibilities. Thus, choice (A) is the correct answer.

domfrancondumas · Answer

Hi Juz2play.. Thanks for the quick reply.. nice explanation... :-D

Madhavi1990 · Answer

Nice post! A for me - it mirrors the evidence cycle of the argument above. C was close, but here the outcome was one design done by all three - and not figuring who did it out of the three; which brought me back to A (it mirrors which civilization was able to do the iron work via elimination - also they 'surrounded' the site, not actively been a part of it like in C)

bidskamikaze · Answer

Good Question.
I struggled with A and C for a long time, but chose A because of the following:

C) The person who designed the Ultra 180 must have been a very patient person. Of three   well known designers  , Morris, Nieves, and Ott, who worked for the Ultra's when the Ultra 180 was designed, Morris and Ott were both impatient people. Therefore, Nieves is the only person who could have designed the Ultra 180.

This option leaves some doubt in our minds. Notice the  RED  portion in the choice. It is possible that there are other not so well known designers who could have designed the car.

Option A is better and closer to the problem statement.

VerbalBot · Answer

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Anthropologist : The culture responsible for the

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