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#101547
Complete Question Explanation
Strengthen, Cause and Effect. The correct answer choice is (B).
This is a good example of how the last question in a section isn't automatically a difficult question.
The stimulus opens by providing the facts that prior to 2900 BC wheat was cultivated in large quantities but after 2900BC it began to decline as the production of barley rose. It might be easy to jump the conclusion that the rise in barley was the cause of the wheat decline, but you shouldn't do that and neither does the stimulus. Instead the author cites historians who believe there was a different set of related causes for the decline in wheat production: excessive irrigation, lack of drainage, and ultimately the accumulation of salt in soil. No further evidence or support is provided for their view, and thus it is no surprise when the question stem asks you to focus on this statement, and find an answer that supports it.
Answer choice (A): This answer certainly would provide some explanation for why barley production increased, but does it support the historians' explanation? No, there's no mention of the overirrigation/drainage/salt cycle they cited, and we can't assume this answer supports that explanation.
Answer choice (B): This is the correct answer choice. This answer helps support the idea that the cause cited would allow for the wheat decline and the barley increase. On a more abstract level, salt was the key to the historians' explanation, and you'd have to expect the correct answer would in some way support or address the salt issue.
Answer choice (C): This answer is in harmony with the idea that wheat was more widely produced prior to 2900 BC, but it does not address why that ratio suddenly flipped around 2900 BC. In other words, it doesn't address or support the historians' view.
Answer choice (D): This answer provides an explanation for why the wheat production dropped, but it does not explain why barley suddenly replaced wheat.
Answer choice (E): This addresses an expected effect of barley production increasing, but it does not address whether the historians' explanation of salt concentration is viable.
Strengthen, Cause and Effect. The correct answer choice is (B).
This is a good example of how the last question in a section isn't automatically a difficult question.
The stimulus opens by providing the facts that prior to 2900 BC wheat was cultivated in large quantities but after 2900BC it began to decline as the production of barley rose. It might be easy to jump the conclusion that the rise in barley was the cause of the wheat decline, but you shouldn't do that and neither does the stimulus. Instead the author cites historians who believe there was a different set of related causes for the decline in wheat production: excessive irrigation, lack of drainage, and ultimately the accumulation of salt in soil. No further evidence or support is provided for their view, and thus it is no surprise when the question stem asks you to focus on this statement, and find an answer that supports it.
Answer choice (A): This answer certainly would provide some explanation for why barley production increased, but does it support the historians' explanation? No, there's no mention of the overirrigation/drainage/salt cycle they cited, and we can't assume this answer supports that explanation.
Answer choice (B): This is the correct answer choice. This answer helps support the idea that the cause cited would allow for the wheat decline and the barley increase. On a more abstract level, salt was the key to the historians' explanation, and you'd have to expect the correct answer would in some way support or address the salt issue.
Answer choice (C): This answer is in harmony with the idea that wheat was more widely produced prior to 2900 BC, but it does not address why that ratio suddenly flipped around 2900 BC. In other words, it doesn't address or support the historians' view.
Answer choice (D): This answer provides an explanation for why the wheat production dropped, but it does not explain why barley suddenly replaced wheat.
Answer choice (E): This addresses an expected effect of barley production increasing, but it does not address whether the historians' explanation of salt concentration is viable.
Dave Killoran
PowerScore Test Preparation
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PowerScore Test Preparation
Follow me on X/Twitter at http://twitter.com/DaveKilloran
My LSAT Articles: http://blog.powerscore.com/lsat/author/dave-killoran
PowerScore Podcast: http://www.powerscore.com/lsat/podcast/
