LSAT Explanation PT 44, S4, Q3: Beginning in the 1950s, popular music

LSAT Question Stem

Which one of the following is most strongly supported by the statements above, if those statements are true? 

Logical Reasoning Question Type

This is a Most Strongly supported question. 

Correct Answer

The correct answer to this question is D. 

LSAT Question Complete Explanation

This LSAT problem discusses the impact of electrification of musical instruments on the number of musicians per band and the overall number of professional musicians who play popular music.

To simplify the passage, let's consider an example. Imagine a small town where there are 10 bands, each with 5 musicians. After electrification, each band only needs 3 musicians because they can play louder. However, now there are more professional musicians in the town. How is that possible? It's because there must be more bands in the town now.

The question type is Most Strongly Supported (MSS), which means we need to find an answer choice that is most strongly supported by the statements in the passage.

Now let's analyze each answer choice:

a) The number of amateur musicians who play popular music has decreased.

- The passage doesn't provide any information about amateur musicians, so this answer choice is not necessarily true.

b) Most professional musicians are able to play both electric and nonelectric instruments.

- The passage doesn't provide any information about the abilities of professional musicians to play different types of instruments. So, this answer choice is not supported by the passage.

c) The number of professional musicians in some bands has increased.

- This answer choice is not necessarily true. The passage only states that the average number of musicians per band has decreased. It doesn't mean that the number of musicians in some bands has increased.

d) The total number of professional bands has increased as a result of electrification.

- This answer choice resolves the paradox presented in the passage. If the total number of professional bands has increased due to electrification, then it makes sense that the number of professional musicians has increased despite a lower number of musicians per band. This is the correct answer.

e) Many professional musicians play in more than one band.

- If many professionals each play in more than one band, it becomes more difficult to explain an increase in the number of professional musicians. This answer choice doesn't help to resolve the paradox, so it's not the correct answer.