LSAT Explanation PT 22, S4, Q2: Faced with a financial crisis, Upland
LSAT Question Stem
The conclusion of the argument is properly drawn if which one of the following is assumed?
Logical Reasoning Question Type
This is a Sufficient Assumption question.
Correct Answer
The correct answer to this question is C.
LSAT Question Complete Explanation
The question type for this problem is Sufficient Assumption, which means we need to find an answer choice that, if assumed, would guarantee the conclusion to be true.
Let's first analyze the argument in the passage and identify its structure. We have:
Premise 1: The board of trustees reduced the budget for the computer center to $1.5 million.
Premise 2: The computer center cannot operate on less than $2.5 million.
Premise 3: The board cannot divert funds from other programs to the computer center.
Conclusion: There is no way that the center can be kept operating for the coming year.
To make this argument more accessible, let's use a simple example. Imagine a pizza restaurant that needs at least 10 pizzas to stay open for the day. The owner decides to provide only 5 pizzas, and no one else is allowed to give the restaurant more pizzas. In this case, the restaurant cannot stay open for the day.
An "Evaluate" question for this argument would be: "Does the computer center have any other sources of funding besides the board of trustees?"
Now let's discuss the answer choices:
a) The computer center did not use all of the $4 million that was budgeted to it last year.
- This answer choice would not justify the author's conclusion; in fact, it would weaken it, providing a possible alternative source of funds for the center.
b) The budgets of other programs at the university were also reduced.
- Other programs have nothing to do with the author's conclusion, so this answer choice is incorrect.
c) The computer center has no source of funds other than those budgeted to it for the coming year by the university's board of trustees.
- This is the correct answer choice. If the center has no other source of funds, then it is valid to conclude, based on the budget reduction, that there is no way the center can stay open during the coming year.
d) No funds from any program at the university can be diverted to other programs.
- The author has already established that funds cannot be diverted to the computer center, so the question of whether they can be diverted to other programs is completely irrelevant, providing no support whatsoever for the author's conclusion.
e) The board of trustees at the university value other programs at the university more highly than they do the computer center.
- The perspectives among the Board, or their motives for reducing the computer center budget, play no role in the argument. The trustees have already set their budget for next year, so the question that remains is whether the center must close as a result of the new reduced budget.