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Course: LSAT > Unit 1

Lesson 6: Logical Reasoning – Articles
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Logical Reasoning – Articles
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Explain or resolve | Learn more

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Explain or Resolve questions

These questions present a puzzling situation in the passage and ask you to identify which choice gives you information that sheds light on that situation. For example, there might be two pieces of information that seem to conflict with each other. Or, there could be results that are unexpected. The answer will add information that helps the originally surprising situation make a bit more sense.

How do we recognize Explain or Resolve questions?

Usually, these questions will be signaled when they ask you to “explain” or “resolve” or “account for” something. Some examples:
  • Which one of the following, if true, most helps to explain how XXXX could have happened?
  • Which one of the following, if true, most helps to resolve the apparent discrepancy in the information above?
  • Which one of the following, if true, most helps to account for the failure described above?
Let’s look at an Explain question together.

Example

Populations of a shrimp species at eleven different Indonesian coral reefs show substantial genetic differences from one reef to another. This is surprising because the area's strong ocean currents probably carry baby shrimp between the different reefs, which would allow the populations to interbreed and become genetically indistinguishable.
Which one of the following, if true, most helps to explain the substantial genetic differences among the shrimp populations?
(A) The genetic differences between the shrimp populations are much less significant than those between shrimp and any other marine species.
(B) The individual shrimp within a given population at any given Indonesian coral reef differ from one another genetically, even though there is widespread interbreeding within any such population.
(C) Before breeding, shrimp of the species examined migrate back to the coral reef at which they were hatched.
(D) Most shrimp hatched at a given Indonesian coral reef are no longer present at that coral reef upon becoming old enough to breed.
(E) Ocean currents probably carry many of the baby shrimp hatched at a given Indonesian coral reef out into the open ocean rather than to another coral reef.

How might we tackle this question?

✓ Identify the situation in your own words: Usually, there isn’t an argument in Explain or Resolve passages. Rather, you’ll find information that is either surprising or apparently contradictory in nature. If you can do a quick mental inventory of the facts you’re provided, it’s possible that the discrepancy or mystery will jump out at you right away.
In this question, we learn that
  • Populations of a shrimp species at eleven different Indonesian coral reefs show substantial genetic differences from one reef to another, [and]
  • This is surprising because the area's strong ocean currents probably carry baby shrimp between the different reefs, which would allow the populations to interbreed and become genetically indistinguishable.
To put this into our own words, we might phrase the situation like this:
  • Among a bunch of reefs, the shrimp are genetically different from reef to another, but that’s surprising because the baby shrimp are probably getting carried to all the reefs by ocean currents, and that would let the shrimp interbreed and be genetically similar.
Can you see why this situation is surprising, from our simpler phrasing of the passage?
✓ Look for a contrast keyword: If you don’t immediately see any conflict in the situation, it could help to look for a contrast keyword (however, yet, but, nonetheless, etc.)—if you find one, then the information before the contrast keyword should be what conflicts with the information after the contrast keyword.
In this passage, our signal is the phrase, “This is surprising” because it indicates to us that something unexpected has happened. Therefore, we can recognize that the genetic differences are surprising because of the way baby shrimp get swept around the high seas, and that would allow the shrimp to interbreed and become the opposite of genetically different.
✓ Phrase the situation as a question: Often, it can help to formulate the situation in the form of a question before you evaluate any of the choices. The correct option should be able to answer the question.
Our question might be:
“Why are the shrimp from different reefs so genetically different when it appears that ocean currents would move them around and allow them to interbreed?”
✓ Test each choice as a response to the question you formulated: Since there are too many possibilities to make a strong prediction, test each choice against your question and assess the impact. If a choice provides information that sheds light on how the situation could have occurred, that’s the answer!
Give it a try:
“Why are the shrimp from different reefs so genetically different when it appears that ocean currents would move them around and allow them to interbreed?”
Choose 1 answer:

Summary

✓ Identify the situation in your own words.
✓ Look for a contrast keyword.
✓ Phrase the situation as a question.
✓ Test each choice as a response to the question you formulated.

Common incorrect choices

  • Not relevant: Many wrong choices for Explain and Resolve questions will offer information that has no bearing on the situation at hand. If you catch yourself reading the choice and thinking, “who cares?”, there’s a good chance the choice’s information isn’t relevant.
  • Opposite effect: Some wrong choices will actually make the conflict worse, or make the situation more puzzling. Since these choices are relevant (but do the opposite of what you’re looking for), it’s a good idea to assess the impact of the choice to ensure you’re not choosing one with the opposite effect than the answer will have.

Your turn

The next question is a Resolve question, and you should be able to see how similar it is to an Explain question. Give it a shot – and don’t forget to use our above suggestions!
Resolve a conflict
A survey taken ten years ago of residents of area L showed that although living conditions were slightly below their country's average, most residents of L reported general satisfaction with their living conditions. However, this year the same survey found that while living conditions are now about the same as the national average, most residents of L report general dissatisfaction with their living conditions.
Which one of the following, if true, would most help to resolve the apparent conflict between the results of the surveys described above?
Choose 1 answer:

Takeaways

  • Some students like to think about Explain or Resolve questions as a sort of mystery that needs solving, and the situation you’re given is missing a key piece.
  • Don’t forget to formulate the conflict or situation as a question, and ask yourself when evaluating each choice whether that choice sheds light on the situation.
  • It’s not usually recommended to make a prediction for these question types, since there could be any number of explanations or resolutions that work.

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  • blobby green style avatar for user ayesha r
    Posted 6 years ago. Direct link to ayesha r's post “Why is this the correct c...”
    Why is this the correct choice: "Before breeding, shrimp of the species examined migrate back to the coral reef at which they were hatched." As far as I can tell, this choice would not preclude an "alien"/genetically different shrimp being present in a sample from a different reef, because they could be present at a different reef when not breeding. Therefore this option would not explain the situation - instead genetic similarities between the shrimp samples from different reefs would be observed. Am I hopelessly confusing the issue?
    (2 votes)
    Default Khan Academy avatar avatar for user
    • primosaur tree style avatar for user Scott Chrisman
      Posted 6 years ago. Direct link to Scott Chrisman's post “The passage is asking why...”
      The passage is asking why genetic similarities are NOT observed between the reefs. If shrimp were scattered by the currents, between the various reefs, and then stayed there and continued breeding, then you would expect to find (over sufficient time) that they are all genetically similar. But, they don't find that. They find that they are different. We are tasked with finding out which of the choices can explain the mystery. The correct choice (which you listed) explains it for us. The shrimp do get scattered between the reefs but, they don't stay there to breed, instead they travel back to their home reef for breeding. This would mean that all of A type would be generally be at one reef, and B type (my own markers here) would be at the next reef, C type would be with its own kind, and so on and so on. They go back home to breed, keeping the genetic information disparate, rather than allowing to blend if they had stayed.
      (9 votes)
  • blobby green style avatar for user bhagatmakhijani
    Posted 5 years ago. Direct link to bhagatmakhijani's post “Why is this choice correc...”
    Why is this choice correct: "Between the times that the two surveys were conducted, the average living conditions in L's country had substantially declined." The subsequent paragraph mentions the "national average" changing whereas the choice indicates that the "living conditions changed", that is living conditions declined to be precise. Aren't living conditions and national average two different things? Infact, if the living conditions declined then the dissatisfaction is justified. Correct my line of thought.
    (0 votes)
    Default Khan Academy avatar avatar for user