October 2012 LSAT Section 1 Question 11

Scientists examined diamonds that were formed on Earth about 2.9 billion years ago. These diamonds had a higher–than–...

gfellus on September 9, 2020

Can someone explain why C is correct?

The answer says "very little, if any" oxygen was present 2.9 billion years ago. The premise makes it clear that if there was even a trace of oxygen, then the chemical reaction could not have taken place. But it did, so there had to be at least a trace of oxygen. Doesn't the answer leave open the possibility that there was actually no oxygen at all present 2.9 billion years ago?

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Emil-Kunkin on November 3, 2023

It's not an issue if an answer seems to do too little on a must be true. The passage proves there could not have been more than a trace amount of oxygen in the atmosphere in the time in question. That is, there must have either been zero or a minimal amount. This is entirely consistent with c.