peg_city
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Q1 - The graphical illustrations mathematics teachers

by peg_city Sat Apr 09, 2011 4:20 pm

I've read this a few times already and I still don't get why A is wrong.


I can't even attempt to guess at why it's wrong. What am I missing?

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bbirdwell
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Re: Q1 - The graphical illustrations mathematics teachers

by bbirdwell Thu Apr 14, 2011 8:17 pm

First, get the question straight: four choices will have some support, one won't.

Start with what we know.
1. the illustrations allow students to learn geo more easily by giving them intuitive understanding

2. this (intuitive understanding) makes it easier to acquire ability to manipulate symbols for calculation

3. illustrating algebra would be effective also

4. deepest math understanding is abstract, not imagistic

(A) is totally supported by the last sentence, #4 above. "Final" can be reasonably inferred to mean "deepest."

(B) is not supported. We do not know whether mathematical understanding is required for manipulating symbols. Perhaps there are people who are good at symbols and don't know any math -- this would not be contradicted by the facts presented here.

(C) is supported by #1 above. "Effective" can be reasonably attributed to students "more easily" grasping a topic.

(D) can be inferred from #2 above, the second half of the first sentence. Geometry is made easier by this method because the method makes it easier to manipulate symbols for calculation.

(E) is supported by the first and last sentences.

Hope that helps!
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Re: Q1 - The graphical illustrations

by geverett Wed Jun 22, 2011 10:58 am

I just wanted to add to Brian's explanation, because I had a hard time seeing why D was wrong for the longest time until it clicked this morning and then was further cemented by looking at Brian's explanation. Here are some things that helped it make sense for me, and I'll break it down similar to how Brian did.

Sentence #1: Graphical illustrations make learning geometry easier by giving students a better grasp of geometric concepts which in turn makes it easier to gain the skill of manipulating symbols for calculation.

In summation this sentence is saying "Illustrations makes learning geometry easier by providing students with a skill (intuitive understanding of geometric concepts) that in turn makes it easier to acquire another skill (ability to manipulate symbols) for calculation. This latter skill (ability to manipulate symbols for calculation) can be thought of as a necessary skill for learning geometry. The reason being is that the claim in the first sentence centers around a medium - graphical illustrations - being used to make an already existing process of learning geometry easier. Let me know if you need any further clarification on this point, and I'd be happy to provide it.

Sentence 2: Using graphical illustration in algebra would be an equally effective teaching method, in spite of the fact that the deepest mathematical understanding is abstract instead of imagistic.

This is a pretty self explanatory. The key to this sentence, however, is when it says "deepest mathematical understanding". It's not talking about all mathematical understanding. It's just referring to the deepest/most advanced/highest level of mathematical understanding. Let's go to the answer choices with this in mind.

Question: Get rid of every answer choice that has some support from the above stimulus, and select the answer choice that has no support.

(A) "final stage of mathematical understanding" The use of final stage is synonymous with deepest as a description for mathematical understanding. This is supported by the information above. Get rid of it.
(B) ". . . do not necessarily have any mathematical understanding . . ." Well we know that having a good understanding of graphical illustrations does not necessarily mean one has the deepest level of mathematical understanding, but it would be too much of an assumption to think this means they do not necessarily have any mathematical understanding. This answer choice is not supported so it is correct.
(C) This is supported from the first and the second sentence. Graphical illustrations makes it easier to teach algebra and geometry so that would qualify as saying that graphical illustrations are an effective teaching method. Get rid of it.
(D) This is a bit tricky. In the first sentence the author talks about how graphical illustrations enables students to learn geometry easier by providing a skill (intuitive understanding of geometric concepts) which in turn makes it easier to acquire the ability to manipulate symbols for the purpose of calculation. You can think of it this way: Graphical illustrations are the conduit through which one has an easier time learning a necessary skill of "manipulating skills for the purpose of calculation. It's tricky, and please let me know if I can provide any further clarification on this.
(E) This is also supported. One of those methods which can be employed in the teaching of algebra and geometry is the use of graphical illustrations as mentioned in the stimulus. Get rid of this.

Once again please let me know if anything I wrote needs some additional explanation or just plain sucks. haha
 
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Re: Q1 - The graphical illustrations

by jm.kahn Sun Oct 25, 2015 2:46 pm

geverett Wrote:I just wanted to add to Brian's explanation, because I had a hard time seeing why D was wrong for the longest time

Sentence #1: Graphical illustrations make learning geometry easier by giving students a better grasp of geometric concepts which in turn makes it easier to gain the skill of manipulating symbols for calculation.

In summation this sentence is saying "Illustrations makes learning geometry easier by providing students with a skill (intuitive understanding of geometric concepts) that in turn makes it easier to acquire another skill (ability to manipulate symbols) for calculation. This latter skill (ability to manipulate symbols for calculation) can be thought of as a necessary skill for learning geometry. The reason being is that the claim in the first sentence centers around a medium - graphical illustrations - being used to make an already existing process of learning geometry easier. Let me know if you need any further clarification on this point, and I'd be happy to provide it.

(D) This is a bit tricky. In the first sentence the author talks about how graphical illustrations enables students to learn geometry easier by providing a skill (intuitive understanding of geometric concepts) which in turn makes it easier to acquire the ability to manipulate symbols for the purpose of calculation. You can think of it this way: Graphical illustrations are the conduit through which one has an easier time learning a necessary skill of "manipulating skills for the purpose of calculation. It's tricky, and please let me know if I can provide any further clarification on this.

Once again please let me know if anything I wrote needs some additional explanation or just plain sucks. haha


I ran into the same issue with D. The sentence-1 is written so that a grammatically purist understanding of it can mean that "ability to manipulate symbols for calculation" has nothing to do with learning geometry. This is because the phrase appears in the "which" clause: "which makes it easier to acquire...". It's simply describing what understanding of geometric concepts does. Based on the comma before the which clause, only the learning geometry is limited to "intuitive understanding of geometric concepts".

This is why I picked D. I don't see how LSAT can ignore an important grammatical issue with the comma and relative clause that begins with "which."

There will probably be very few LSAT experts who can see or understand a potential grammatical issue with the phrasing. I'd be interested if someone can understand this issue and answer.
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Re: Q1 - The graphical illustrations mathematics teachers

by LolaC289 Sun Apr 15, 2018 1:53 am

The question asks to find the answer choice for which the stimulus "provided some support except...", so the correct answer choice is about which the argument provided absolutely no support.

D is not true in every case(at least we can't get it from this paragraph), but there are some support to it. Acquiring the ability to manipulate symbol may not be a part in every process of leaning geometry, but it is a part in geometry learning process that has used the graphical illustration method.

Imagine if I say: Ocean High Students adore Kim Kardashian, because all girls in Ocean High adore her. Is my conclusion absolutely right? We don't know this until we get ahold of the opinions from the boys. However, did I provide some support to my case? Yes. At least it is the case with the female students, which precluded my argument from falling apart automatically from the beginning.

On the other hand, B, is provided no support based on this argument. Manipulating symbols is mentioned in the latter part of the first sentence, but, mind you, the subject of answer choice B is about people who are very good at manipulating... who our argument have no words about. Therefore, B is the one which no support is given and thus the correct answer choice.

Hope this helps!