LSAT Question Explanation
PT 121, Section 4, Question 5
Identify the RoleArgument structure
Mozart's fractured skull is the best explanation for his death.
The fractured skull could have led to a brain bleed, which often leads to death. Also, the skull fracture shows signs of partial healing.
Explanation
It seems like we don't know for sure what caused Mozart's death, but the author of the stimulus is arguing that the fracture found on Mozart's skull is the best explanation. The evidence given explains why the fracture could very likely be the explanation for Mozart's death.
The last sentence is tricky though . . . why would it matter if the skull shows signs of partial healing?
Consider this: because the skull shows signs of healing, the fracture must have occurred before Mozart died. If Mozart suffered a heart attack, for example, and fell over dead and his skull broke, it wouldn't show signs of healing.
The last sentence indicates that the fracture happened before Mozart died, which supports that it could have led to his death. Again, if there was no sign of healing then the fracture could have happened after he died, so it couldn't have been his cause of death. So the claim in the question stem supports the conclusion, that the fracture led to his death.
Answer choices
There's no indication about whether or not Mozart's death could have been avoided.
The last sentence does indicate this, which supports that the fracture could have led to Mozart's death.
The claim in the question stem doesn't talk about this.
If the author's explanation is correct, then Mozart probably did not die suddenly. The fracture had started to heal, which would take at least a little bit of time.
The claim in the question stem doesn't support whether or not Mozart's death was accidental.