hard · LSAT Logical Reasoning
Planetary scientist: Repeated spectra of the exoplanet Nera show that atmospheric methane rises sharply during its illuminated season and falls during darkness. Seasonal heating could increase volcanic release, but measured sulfur dioxide—a gas expected from Nera's modeled volcanic chemistry—does not rise with methane. The methane cycle is therefore more likely generated by a light-dependent biological process than by seasonal volcanism.
Which one of the following, if true, most strengthens the argument?
- Under Nera-like air, microbes produce methane without sulfur dioxide; plausible hot-rock sources produce both.
- The telescope that recorded Nera’s spectra was separately calibrated for changes in visible brightness, using the observatory’s standard reference lamps before each atmospheric observation.
- Nera's illuminated season is slightly longer than its dark season.
- A different exoplanet with active volcanoes has both methane and sulfur dioxide in its atmosphere.
- Methane can persist in some planetary atmospheres for thousands of years.
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More LSAT Logical Reasoning practice
- Which one of the following is an assumption required by the argument?
- Which one of the following can be properly inferred from these statements?
- The question type just described is best identified as which one of the following?
- The reasoning in the argument is flawed in that the argument
- The reasoning in the argument is flawed because the argument
- Which one of the following most accurately describes the relationship the statement establ
- Which one of the following can be validly inferred from the two conditionals above?
- Which one of the following must be true given the statement above?