From a book review: The authors blithely claim that there are "three basic ways to store energy: as heat, as electric...
JShaharDecember 22, 2019
Why not answer choice (D)?
The reviewer says that the authors blithely claim that there are "three basic ways to store energy: as heat, as electricity, or as kinetic energy." And then goes on to claim that they cannot call to mind any effective ways to store energy as electricity. This implies that heat and kinetic energy are both 1) basic ways to store energy and 2) effective ways to store energy.
The reviewer continues that any capable student of physics could readily suggest a few more ways to store energy: chemical, gravitational, nuclear. This implies that chemical, gravitational, and nuclear energy are all basic and effective ways to store energy.
I understand the reasoning behind answer choice (B) but I cannot understand why (D) is incorrect.
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I don't think the author is implying what you mentioned. The fact that the author goes on to claim that they cannot call to mind any effective ways to store energy as electricity does not imply that heat and kinetic energy are both 1 and 2 from your question above. We're not given any information from which we can logically deduce facts about storing energy.
This is more of a characterization question. The stem "The reviewer makes which one of the following criticisms of a claim that appears in the book under review?" seeks and answer that will describe the author's point. We're not meant to dig into this like a must be true about what's effective/basic and what isn't.
For that reason, B is correct. First off, when the reviewer asserts that " the authors blithely claim" that's a hint. Remember, the test makers chose to use the word blithely there for a reason. On the LSAT, almost every word is intentional. Blithely means "in a way that shows casual or cheerful indifference considered to be callous or improper." The reviewer here is starting his criticism by pointing out the authors were getting careless.
Then, the reviewer continues by saying he can't call to mind any effective way to store energy. Note that this is not meant to establish a comparison between what's a basic and effective way to store energy. Rather, this is just meant to serve as part of the criticism, essentially saying that he feels it's possible electricity may not merit a spot on that list. Here is where you get the first part of B, "the list given of ways to store energy is possibly inaccurate." Lastly, he goes on to speak about capable physics students and through that statement, implies that the list may not even be complete, hence the second part of B, "and certainly not exhaustive."
For these reasons, D is not relevant. The reviewer is not talking about basic vs. effective, he's criticizing the accuracy and completeness of the authors' claim.
Hope this helps you understand this one better! Feel free to follow up with questions, if you have any more!
