LSAT 112 – Section 4 – Question 04

LSAT 112 - Section 4 - Question 04

December 2001

You need a full course to see this video. Enroll now and get started in less than a minute.

Ask a tutor

Target time: 0:55

This is question data from the 7Sage LSAT Scorer. You can score your LSATs, track your results, and analyze your performance with pretty charts and vital statistics - all with a Free Account ← sign up in less than 10 seconds

Question
QuickView		 Type Tags Answer
Choices		 Curve Question
Difficulty		 Psg/Game/S
Difficulty		 Explanation
PT112 S4 Q04
+LR
+Exp
Inference +Inf
Causal Reasoning +CausR
A
96%
166
B
1%
156
C
2%
156
D
0%
151
E
1%
161
123
133
143
 +Easiest 142.561 +SubsectionEasier

A certain gene can be stimulated by chemicals in cigarette smoke, causing lung cells to metabolize the chemicals in a way that makes the cells cancerous. Yet smokers in whom this gene is not stimulated have as high a risk of developing lung cancer from smoking as other smokers do.

Summary
A certain gene can be affected by chemicals in cigarette smoke.
When the gene is affected in this way, it causes lung cells to metabolize in a way that makes the cells cancerous.
Smokers in whom this gene is not stimulated have as high a risk of developing lung cancer from smoking as other smokers do.

Very Strongly Supported Conclusions
There’s no obvious conclusion to draw, but I’d observe that the facts seem to present a discrepancy. We’d expect that smokers in whom the gene is stimulated should be at a higher risk of lung cancer. The fact that they aren’t is strange. This suggests there might be something about the smokers in whom this gene is stimulated that might work to reduce the risk of lung cancer.

A
stimulation of the gene by chemicals in cigarette smoke is not the only factor affecting the risk for smokers of developing lung cancer
This is strongly supported, because if it weren’t true, then we’d expect the smokers in whom the gene is stimulated to have a higher risk of lung cancer. The fact that they don’t implies that there are other factors relevant to lung cancer that might work to reduce the smokers’ risk.
B
nonsmokers have as high a risk of developing lung cancer as do smokers in whom the gene has not been stimulated
The stimulus compares the risk of lung cancer in one kind of smoker compared to another kind of smoker. We don’t get a comparison between smokers and nonsmokers.
C
smokers in whom the gene has been stimulated are more likely to develop lung cancer than are other smokers
The stimulus provides evidence against (C). Smokers in whom the gene is stimulated have “as high a risk” of lung cancer from smoking as other smokers do. This suggests the risk of lung cancer, at least from smoking, is equivalent in the two kinds of smokers.
D
the gene is more likely to be stimulated by chemicals in cigarette smoke than by other chemicals
The stimulus doesn’t compare what is more likely to stimulate the gene.
E
smokers are less likely to develop lung cancer if they do not have the gene
If anything, the stimulus provides some evidence against (E). Smokers in whom the gene is stimulated have “as high a risk” of lung cancer from smoking as other smokers do. This suggests the risk of lung cancer, at least from smoking, is equivalent in the two kinds of smokers.

Take PrepTest

Review Results

LSAT PrepTest 112 Explanations

Section 1 - Logical Reasoning

Section 2 - Reading Comprehension

Section 3 - Logical Reasoning

Section 4 - Logical Reasoning

Get full LSAT course

Leave a Reply