LR: "many," "all," "some" Forum

[teacups]

I'm currently on Chapter 4 of the LR Bible, and I'm thoroughly confused by their definition of the words "many," "all," and "some."

On page 104, they have a question about the ozone layer and how the holes in the ozone layer filters through some wavelengths that cause eye damage to "many" animals. In the answer choice, I selected C ("Some species of animals..."). I got it wrong because the Bible states that the word "many" in the stimulus means "all."

But then on page 115, a different stimulus states that "many environmentalists claim that...," and the correct answer choice stated "some environmentalists appeal..." The Bible defended this answer choice by stating that "'many' automatically implies 'some.'"

I am thoroughly confused. They are contradicting themselves. What is going on?

(I'm not sure if I'm allowed to write out the entire stimulus/questions on here. But, I assume that most people on here have the LR Bible, so perhaps you can look back at those pages and help me out.)

[RZ5646]

All --> many --> some

[teacups]

That's even more confusing. Maybe it's because I just started LR...

[pittsburghpirates]

Post removed.

[teacups]

Here is what some and most mean on the LSAT:

- Some- Any amount greater than zero, up to and including all.
- Most- Any amount greater than 50%, up to and including all.

By definition, some can include most and all, and most can include all. Said differently, all automatically implies most and some, and most automatically implies some. Many does not allow us to make a determination as to an amount, all that it allows us to infer is some.

Thank you, this helps. A bit convoluted.

[eli2015]

Here is what some and most mean on the LSAT:

- Some- Any amount greater than zero, up to and including all.
- Most- Any amount greater than 50%, up to and including all.

By definition, some can include most and all, and most can include all. Said differently, all automatically implies most and some, and most automatically implies some. Many does not allow us to make a determination as to an amount, all that it allows us to infer is some.

Thank you, this helps. A bit convoluted.

also, some, most, and all statements produce different answers. For example, A some B ---> C. This statement produces a A some C inference. Furthermore, A most B ---> C. This statement produces a A most C. Moreover, A most B, and A most C produce an inference of B some C. So, If you see something in the stimulus that states "some blue dogs are viscous, and all viscous dogs are hungry, expect a "some statement" in the answer choices. If you did not recognize the argument forms I discussed, I would recommend reviewing them. Also, I am taking a 7sage starter course, and he covers all this, and makes it seems so easy, I would recommend taking it if you are having trouble.

[HarvardHopeful93]

As a good rule of thumb, many and some are USUALLY interchangeable

The reason for this is because let's think about what some means. SOME includes everything from 1-100 (as it is defined as "at least one"). Thus, by saying SOME, I could have anything from 1-100. BUT, if I say MANY, then because of the nature of the English language I'm implying that there are more than one…Hence, If I say Many, some is implied…but the reverse is not always true. Just take it question by question, but USUALLY you can interchange the two

[BlueprintJason]

I think the posters above got this, but here is a quick breakdown:


Group 1:
Some, many, several, few= words where there can't be zero, but not necessarily more than half. Literally these words mean "greater than 0," in terms of how you interpret them on the LSAT. That being said, many and several necessarily imply more than one (by definition), so those words literally mean "two or more." Only one question every has tested the difference between some (one or more) and many (two or more), this was in 1991 or something and hasn't happened since.

Group 2:
Most, usually, generally=words that imply that it happens more than 50% of the time. These words should be handled as "greater than 50%."

Group 3:
All, always, etc. 100%

HTH!