PrepTest 158

[lcid:3728] Prep Test 158 LSAT — Reading Comp — S1 Reading comp

Passage

 A major problem facing industrial societies is their exponentially increasing production of toxic waste. Environmental regulations and expenses for landfills Remaining source text redacted.
Passage walkthrough
Passage Summary Topic:
Science

Paragraph 1
  • Paragraph note
    • Background to Problem: Deep-well injection of waste
  • Views, minor Meta-Structures, and the author's attitude
    • Background info on deep-well injection: Drill hole into rock layer already filled with salt water, inject waste into salt water, typically between 300 and 1800 meters underground (fourth through seventh sentences)
    • Author's attitude: "major problem" (first sentence), "serious problems" (last sentence)
Paragraph 2
  • Paragraph note
    • Two problems with injection: leaks and human errors
  • Views, minor Meta-Structures, and the author's attitude
    • List of potential issues, item 1: leak due to mechanical failure (second sentence)
    • List of potential issues, item 2: leak due to human error (third sentence)
    • Example of leak due to human error: a gap in a 500-meter deep well (fourth and fifth sentences)
    • Author's attitude: "best conditions" (first sentence), "significant amount of noxious chemicals" (second sentence), "dangerous levels of water materials for long periods of time before the problem is even discovered" (last sentence)
Paragraph 3
  • Paragraph note
    • Third problem with injection: unpredictable water flow
  • Views, minor Meta-Structures, and the author's attitude
    • List of potential issues, item 3: unpredictable water flow (first sentence)
    • Comparison: surface water vs. underground water (second sentence)
      • Surface water's flow only affected by gravity, underground water's flow is influenced by other factors, like pressure gradients
    • Author's attitude: "nearly impossible" (first sentence)
Paragraph 4
  • Paragraph note
    • Author's conclusion
  • Views, minor Meta-Structures, and the author's attitude
    • Author's conclusion: "The significant uncertainty about where injected wastes will flow, along with the possibilities of mechanical failure and human error, makes deep-well injection a risky means of managing hazardous wastes" (first sentence)
    • Author's attitude: "significant uncertainty" (first sentence), "possibilities of mechanical failure and human error" (first sentence), "risky means of managing hazardous wastes" (first sentence), "Unfortunately" (second sentence)


Main Point:
The increasing use of deep-well injection of hazardous waste presents a risk of severe water contamination due to mechanical failure, human error, and significant uncertainty about where the injected waste will flow.

Key Lines?
Paragraph 1, Sentence 3 (P1, S3) - Problem introduced
P1, S4-6: How deep-well drilling works
P1, S8 - Controversy surrounding problem described
P4, S1 - Author's conclusion

Meta-Structure?
Problem/Solution: The author identifies a problem in the first paragraph, suggesting that this passage utilizes a Problem/Solution Meta-Structure. In the first paragraph, the author defines the problem: industries increasingly use deep-well injection to dispose of hazardous waste (P1, S3). The author also describes the ensuing controversy: people reliant on underground water sources aren't cool with toxic waste being pumped near their drinking water (P1, S8). However, the author doesn't really provide any solutions in this passage. The author uses the second and third paragraphs to describe why deep-well injection is a worrisome problem. The author then recaps their position in the final paragraph. So, this is less a Problem/Solution passage than just a Problem passage. As such, the main point will be the author's opinion on the problem, which is conveniently summarized by the final paragraph. That paragraph asserts that the increasing use of deep-well injection of hazardous waste presents a risk of severe water contamination due to mechanical failure, human error, and significant uncertainty about where the injected waste will flow.

List: This passage is also organized around a list. Lists are sometimes hard to identify in Reading Comp. However, claims like "there are three serious problems with this method of waste disposal" (P1, S9) provide a strong hint that we're about to get a list of three items. The first two items are enumerated in the second paragraph — the wells may leak due to mechanical failure (P2, S2) or human error (P2, S3-S4). The third item is described in the third paragraph: water flows unpredictably underground, which increases the risk of extensive but unknown contamination (P3, S1-3). When the author organizes part of the passage around items on a list, we'll probably get at least one question about the list. Therefore, it's a good idea to note, remember, or highlight where each item was discussed in each paragraph.

Last Thoughts?
This is a tremendously detail-oriented passage. The first paragraph — the longest — describes deep-well injection in a manner that is ... excuse the pun ... very in-depth. The following two paragraphs enumerate, in detail, three reasons why the author thinks deep-well injection is problematic. Even the author's main point — offered in the last paragraph — just reiterates each item in that list. This passage drills us with details, so we should expect a higher-than-normal amount of Minor Point questions.

Question prompt

Based on the passage, Remaining source text redacted.
Why the credited answer is right

Credited answer: C

The notes below walk through why it fits the stem and how to eliminate the rest.

Question Type

Science

Answer choices

  1. A
    It serves as a Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice A is not credited
    We're looking for an answer choice that says the purpose of deep-well injection is to dispose of hazardous waste in rock strata saturated in salt water. Does this say that? Nope. Don't even worry if the passage mentioned whether this is a "short-term" solution or whether the toxicity will ever be "neutralized." On questions for which we can form precise anticipations that are directly supported by the passage, we can eliminate anything that doesn't match our anticipation.

    If we did check the passage to assess (A), we'd realize that the passage never said that injection of waste in deep wells was only a short-term solution, or that there would be any attempts made to "neutralize" the waste's toxicity. In fact, the author takes issue with this method of waste disposal because the waste stays toxic and can spread far and wide due to human or mechanical error (P4, S1). There's no need to review the passage to see if this is wrong on test day, but such a review will reveal this choice is unsupported. 
  2. B
    It makes aboveground hazardous-waste Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice B is not credited
    We're looking for an answer choice that says the purpose of deep-well injection is to dispose of hazardous waste in rock strata saturated in salt water. Does this say that? Not in the slightest. So don't worry about checking the passage to see whether it said that "aboveground" waste disposal will be obsolete. We can eliminate anything that doesn't match our anticipation on questions that allow us to formulate precise anticipations.

    If we checked the passage, we wouldn't find evidence that aboveground waste disposal is becoming obsolete. The passage just says that environmental regulations and expenses for such disposal have increased, leading industries to "increase" the use of deep-well injection (P1, S2-3). So, the purpose of deep-well injection isn't to completely replace aboveground disposal — just to provide a cheaper alternative. There's no need to review the passage to determine why this is wrong on test day, but such a review will show that this choice is incorrect.
  3. C
    It contains hazardous wastes Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice C matches the stem
    Question Type:
    Minor Point/Must Be True

    Strategy Overview:
    Refer to notes or what you highlighted/underlined to locate where the passage discusses the purpose of deep-well injection, and refer to the relevant part of the passage as needed to find that answer choice that must be true

    Answer Anticipation:
    For these questions that ask us to identify a specific piece of information, quickly finding that piece of information is paramount. This is why we make brief notes describing the role of each paragraph and highlight or underline the minor Meta-Structures — doing so helps us find the salient information efficiently and reliably.

    This question asks us about the purpose of deep-well injection. So, this question asks a fundamental, general question about the subject of this passage. If we do not recall the answer to this question, the answer can likely be found in the first paragraph, which, according to our notes, provides some background information deep-well injection. In the fourth and fifth sentences, the author explains that "wells are drilled into "rock strata that are already saturated with salt water" and then liquid waste is "injected into the rock strata" (P1, S4-5). So, the correct answer will likely say that the purpose of deep-well injection is to dispose of hazardous waste in rock strata saturated in salt water. Let's look for that — exactly that — in the answers.

    Answer Choice Explanation:
    We're looking for an answer choice that says the purpose of deep-well injection is to dispose of hazardous waste in rock strata saturated in salt water. Does this say that? Almost verbatim. The first paragraph explicitly supports this statement, so this answer choice is correct. In fact, (C) conforms so closely to our anticipation that we'd be justified in selecting it and moving on to the next question without reading or considering (D) or (E). 

    Key Takeaway:
    On some Minor Point/Must Be True questions — particularly those that ask us about a particular part of the passage — we can check the passage and form exact and reliable anticipations. In these cases, we don't need to debate the merits of each answer choice as we work our way through them; we can simply check whether the answer choice matches our anticipation and eliminate any answer choice that does not.
  4. D
    It creates underground pools Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice D is not credited
    We're looking for an answer choice that says the purpose of deep-well injection is to dispose of hazardous waste in rock strata saturated in salt water. Does this say that? Not quite. Deep-well injection creates "underground pools of waste," but there's no suggestion that these pools can be continuously or reliably monitored. In fact, this chafes against part of the author's main point — that the unpredictable movement of underground water makes it difficult to know where these pools may flow (P4, S1). Assuming they didn't already select (C) and move on, efficient test-takers would eliminate this because it conflicts with the author's main point.
  5. E
    It recycles certain low-toxicity Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice E is not credited
    We're looking for an answer choice that says the purpose of deep-well injection is to dispose of hazardous waste in rock strata saturated in salt water. Does this say that? Not at all. So don't worry about checking the passage to see whether it said that "recycles" waste that is "low-toxic." We can eliminate answer choices as soon as we recognize that they don't match our anticipation on questions that allow us to make precise anticipations.

    If we checked the passage, we wouldn't find any references to "low-toxicity waste" or recycling. The passage doesn't mention these topics, so this cannot be the purpose of deep-well injection. We don't need to review the passage to determine why an answer choice like this is wrong on test day, but such a review confirms that it is incorrect.

What this tests

Discussion

View all discussions Start a discussion