LSAT 111 – Section 3 – Question 25

LSAT 111 - Section 3 - Question 25

October 2001

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Question
QuickView		 Type Tags Answer
Choices		 Curve Question
Difficulty		 Psg/Game/S
Difficulty		 Explanation
PT111 S3 Q25
+LR
+Exp
Flaw or descriptive weakening +Flaw
Causal Reasoning +CausR
A
17%
163
B
9%
159
C
4%
161
D
68%
169
E
3%
162
151
160
169
 +Hardest 147.206 +SubsectionMedium

Physician: Heart disease generally affects men at an earlier age than it does women, who tend to experience heart disease after menopause. Both sexes have the hormones estrogen and testosterone, but when they are relatively young, men have ten times as much testosterone as women, and women abruptly lose estrogen after menopause. We can conclude, then, that testosterone tends to promote, and estrogen tends to inhibit, heart disease.

Summarize Argument: Phenomenon-Hypothesis
The author concludes that testosterone tends to promote heart disease, and estrogen tends to inhibit heart disease. This is based on the following:

Heart disease generally affects men earlier than it does women. Women tend to experience heart disease after menopause.

When men and women are young, men have ten times more testosterone than women.

Women lose estrogen after menopause.

Identify and Describe Flaw
The author assumes that a correlation between higher testosterone and increased heart attacks is explained by testerone’s causing heart attacks. The author also assumes that women’s decreased risk of heart attack compared to men when young is expained by estrogen helping to prevent heart attacks.

A
Hormones are the primary factors that account for the differences in age-related heart disease risks between women and men.
The author doesn’t assume that hormones are the “primary” factors. He does assume that hormones are at least one factor, but that doesn’t mean he thinks they are the most important factor.
B
Estrogen and testosterone are the only hormones that promote or inhibit heart disease.
The author doesn’t assume these are the only hormones that affect heart disease risk. He does assume that these hormones affect the risk, but that doesn’t mean he thinks other hormones have no effect.
C
Men with high testosterone levels have a greater risk for heart disease than do postmenopausal women.
The author never compares the risk of heart disease between men with high testosterone levels and women after menopause.
D
Because hormone levels are correlated with heart disease they influence heart disease.
The author assumes that correlation between testerone levels and increased heart attacks, as well as between estrogen and decreased heart attacks, implies a causal relationship between those hormones and heart disease.
E
Hormone levels do not vary from person to person, especially among those of the same age and gender.
The author does not assume that every single person of the same age and gender has the exact same hormone levels. If there are variations from person to person, that doesn’t undermine the author’s reasoning, which is based on general correlations.

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LSAT PrepTest 111 Explanations

Section 1 - Logical Reasoning

Section 2 - Reading Comprehension

Section 3 - Logical Reasoning

Section 4 - Logical Reasoning

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