Match each brief argument with the supplementary finding that most effectively strengthens… — LSAT

Match each brief argument with the supplementary finding that most effectively strengthens its reasoning by ruling out a competing alternative explanation.

Dendrochronologist: Subpolar larch tree rings from the mid-sixth century show sudden, severe growth deceleration, a pattern previously attributed to a solar minimum. However, sulfate spikes in synchronized polar ice cores indicate massive atmospheric sulfur aerosol loading from volcanic eruptions during the same decade. Therefore, volcanic atmospheric dimming, rather than decreased solar output, caused this growth deceleration.Beryllium-10 concentrations in synchronized ice layers from the mid-sixth century indicate that solar magnetic activity and total solar irradiance remained near baseline levels throughout the period of narrow tree rings.
Public Health Analyst: Following a municipal ban on industrial trans-fats in commercial food service in Riverdale, hospitalizations for acute coronary events dropped by 18 percent over four years. Because neighboring counties without such ordinances experienced no comparable decline in cardiac hospitalizations, Riverdale's trans-fat restriction was responsible for the decrease.Municipal health data show that Riverdale introduced no concurrent cardiovascular screening initiatives, and regional smoking and exercise rates remained parallel across both Riverdale and adjacent control counties.
Management Researcher: A software engineering firm transitioned its development teams to a hybrid remote schedule. Over the subsequent six months, weekly completed software deliverables and bug resolution rates increased by 22 percent. The firm's executives concluded that remote flexibility directly increased developer productivity.Audits of the firm's codebase showed that task complexity thresholds remained constant, and developers logged approximately the same total weekly working hours before and after adopting the hybrid schedule.

Answer

Argument 1 matches the finding on solar irradiance baseline (Beryllium-10 data); Argument 2 matches the finding controlling for confounding health initiatives and lifestyle rates; Argument 3 matches the finding controlling for task complexity and developer work hours.

Each correct pairing resolves a primary causal gap by ruling out key confounding factors: the solar irradiance measurement confirms solar activity did not drive the climatic cooling; the multi-county public health control confirms no separate cardiovascular programs or lifestyle shifts accounted for the decline; and the software metrics audit confirms gains were not the product of simpler tickets or extended work hours.

Step-by-Step Solution

Identify the primary causal claim and potential unstated vulnerabilities in each argument

Argument 1 compares two competing physical causes (volcano vs. solar); Argument 2 makes an epidemiological claim about a policy intervention vs. unmeasured confounding health factors; Argument 3 attributes an output increase to worker efficiency rather than task triviality or longer hours.

Strengthening causal arguments frequently requires eliminating plausible alternative explanations for the observed effect.

Evaluate which supplementary finding directly neutralizes the specific rival explanation for each argument

Finding on Beryllium-10 rules out the solar minimum hypothesis for tree rings; finding on concurrent campaigns rules out alternative health interventions for the coronary decline; finding on task complexity and total hours rules out work-hour inflation and easier tasks for the developer output gains.

Each supplementary statement must uniquely provide evidence that fortifies the precise premise-to-conclusion gap of its paired argument.

Verify one-to-one correspondence across all pairs

Each argument is uniquely supported by the finding addressing its domain and causal gap without cross-applicability.

Ensures complete logical alignment and unambiguous matching.

Key Concept

Strengthening Causal Arguments via Elimination of Alternative Explanations

Estimated Time:1m 30s

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