Logical reasoning PrepTest 114 · Section 2 · Question 7

Incorrect. There's no discussion of an economy in decline—lower passenger volume might not coincide with a declining economy!47779,Correct. Argument or Facts:
Argument

Valid or Flawed:
Flawed

Question Type:
Strengthen

Stimulus Summary:
Current situation — There are fewer people flying and it'll be at least 5 years before it goes up again
Airport expansion warranted → Increase in air traffic volume
Airports — Expanding their passenger terminals today

Answer Anticipation:
This question is almost like a Paradox question in that it presents a situation where a group appears to be acting in a way that doesn't make sense. If an increase in air traffic volume is a requirement for airport expansion to be a good idea why are airports expanding now despite a decline in passenger volume that isn't expected to reverse for 5 years?

We're tasked with providing a reason for this expansion now which can be viewed as strengthening the actions of the airports but if you viewed this as needing to find an explanation for it nothing wrong with that!

So if air traffic volume needs to increase to warrant airport expansion why do so now despite the volume not increasing for another half decade? It seems as if the airport is anticipating the increase in volume and responding ahead of time to be ready for it. We imagine it'd take quite some time to expand an airport so let's look for an answer stating that the airports need to act ahead of the increase in order to have construction completed on time to accommodate it!

Answer Explanation:
This answer establishes that the right time to expand in anticipation of an uptick in passengers is ahead of that uptick so that it doesn't inconvenience the public. This answer doesn't exactly match our anticipation but it's in the same general area—the expectation of an increase is enough to justify the expansion and it should be done at a convenient time.

Key Takeaway:
Always pay attention to timelines on the LSAT! Here we were trying to justify current action based on future expectations and so the correct answer would need to explain that.

Incorrect. This answer doesn't really change anything—if all costs of transportation are going up, then there'd be no reason to switch from one to another.

Incorrect. If anything, this answer suggests that there doesn't need to be pre—planning for expansion, as the airlines can adapt in the short—term to the increased volume and then worry about expansion. This answer argues against the timing of the airports!

Incorrect. The stimulus and the actions of the airports are predicated on an expected increase in passenger volume, not a sustained decline.