LSAT Explanation PT 27, S1, Q12: Clothes made from natural fibers such

LSAT Question Stem

Which one of the following is most strongly supported by the information above? 

Logical Reasoning Question Type

This is a Most Strongly supported question. 

Correct Answer

The correct answer to this question is E. 

LSAT Question Complete Explanation

First, let's analyze the passage and summarize the information. The passage discusses the differences between natural fibers (e.g., cotton) and artificial fibers (e.g., polyester) when it comes to the shrinkage of clothes made from these fibers. The main points are:

1) Clothes made from natural fibers shrink when washed at high temperatures.

2) Natural fibers are tightly curled in their original state.

3) To make cloth, natural fibers are artificially straightened.

4) High temperatures cause all fibers in cloth to return to their original states.

Now, let's look at the question type and what it's asking us to do. This is a "most strongly supported" (MSS) question, which means we need to find the answer choice that is most strongly supported by the information in the passage.

Let's analyze each answer choice:

a) Washing clothes made from natural fibers at low temperatures causes the fibers to straighten slightly.

- The passage doesn't mention anything about low temperatures and their effect on fibers, so we can't conclude this from the information given.

b) High temperatures have no effect on the straightness of fibers in clothes made from a blend of natural and artificial fibers.

- The passage doesn't discuss blends of fibers, so we can't make this conclusion based on the information provided.

c) Clothes made from natural fibers stretch more easily than do clothes made from artificial fibers.

- The passage doesn't mention anything about the stretching properties of fibers, so this conclusion isn't supported by the information.

d) If natural fibers that have been straightened and used for cloth are curled up again by high temperatures, they cannot be straightened again.

- The passage doesn't provide any information about whether fibers can be straightened again after being curled up by high temperatures, so we can't make this conclusion.

e) Artificial fibers are straight in their original state.

- This answer choice is most strongly supported by the information in the passage. We know that natural fibers are curled in their original state and that they shrink when washed at high temperatures. We also know that high temperatures cause all fibers to return to their original states. Since artificial fibers don't shrink at high temperatures, we can infer that their original state must be different from that of natural fibers, which are curled. The most likely difference is that artificial fibers are straight in their original state.

Based on our analysis, the correct answer is (E).