LSAT 141 – Section 4 – Question 10

LSAT 141 - Section 4 - Question 10

September 2014

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Question
QuickView		 Type Tags Answer
Choices		 Curve Question
Difficulty		 Psg/Game/S
Difficulty		 Explanation
PT141 S4 Q10
+LR
Flaw or descriptive weakening +Flaw
Causal Reasoning +CausR
A
1%
153
B
2%
158
C
0%
150
D
20%
159
E
77%
164
128
144
159
 +Medium 147.542 +SubsectionMedium

Vacuum cleaner salesperson: To prove that this Super XL vacuum cleaner is better than your old vacuum cleaner, I ran your old vacuum once over this dirty carpet. Then I ran the Super XL over the same area. All that dirt that the Super XL picked up is dirt your old vacuum left behind, proving the Super XL is the better vacuum.

Summarize Argument

The salesperson concludes that the Super XL is the better vacuum because it picked up dirt that the old vacuum missed after both were used on the same area of carpet. The Super XL was used second.

Identify and Describe Flaw

The salesperson's argument is vulnerable to criticism because the vacuums weren't tested under the same conditions. Just because the Super XL picked up some dirt that the old vacuum missed doesn't necessarily suggest that the Super XL is better. In fact, the Super XL might have missed just as much dirt if it had been used first. The salesperson should have tested both vacuums individually to compare how much dirt they each collected on their first pass over equally dirty areas of carpet.

A
ignores the possibility that dirt remained in the carpet even after the Super XL had been used in the test

The salesperson never assumes that the Super XL picked up all the dirt in the carpet. Presumably at least a little bit of dirt remained in the carpet after the Super XL was used, but this doesn't change the fact that it picked up dirt that the old vacuum left behind.

B
takes for granted that the Super XL will still perform better than the old vacuum cleaner when it is the same age as the old vacuum cleaner

The salesperson argues that the Super XL is the better vacuum right now. He never assumes that it will still perform better in 10 years.

C
takes for granted that because the Super XL outperforms one vacuum cleaner it is the best vacuum cleaner available

The salesperson never claimed that the Super XL is the best vacuum cleaner available, just that it’s better than the old vacuum.

D
ignores the possibility that the amount of dirt removed in the test by the old vacuum cleaner is greater than the amount of dirt removed by the Super XL

The salesperson’s argument isn’t about which vacuum picked up the greater amount of dirt. He never actually assumes that the Super XL picked up more dirt. Instead, he argues that the Super XL is better because it picked up dirt that the old vacuum left behind.

E
ignores the possibility that if the Super XL had been used first it would have left behind just as much dirt as did the old vacuum cleaner

The salesperson didn’t test the vacuums under the same conditions. He argues that the Super XL is better because it picked up dirt that the old vacuum missed on its first pass. But it’s possible that the Super XL might’ve left behind just as much dirt if it had been tested first.

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LSAT PrepTest 141 Explanations

Section 1 - Reading Comprehension

Section 2 - Logical Reasoning

Section 3 - Reading Comprehension

Section 4 - Logical Reasoning

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