LSAT 135 - Section 1 - Question 01

May 13, 2012

In a recent study of more than 400 North American men and women whose previous heart attack put them at risk for a second heart attack, about half were told to switch to a “Mediterranean-type diet”—one rich in fish, vegetables, olive oil, and grains—while the other half were advised to eat a more traditional “Western” diet but to limit their fat intake. Those following the Mediterranean diet were significantly less likely than those in the other group to have a second heart attack. But the Mediterranean diet includes a fair amount of fat from fish and olive oil, so the research suggests that a diet may not have to be extremely low in fat in order to protect the heart.

Summarize Argument
The author concludes that a diet doesn’t have to be extremely low in fat to protect the heart. She supports this with a study of over 400 people at risk for a second heart attack. Half followed a Mediterranean diet, while the other half followed a low-fat “Western” diet. Those on the Mediterranean diet, which contains a fair amount of fat, were less likely to have a second heart attack.

Notable Assumptions
The author assumes that a diet that is not low in fat can protect the heart. She also assumes that the study was well-conducted and that the participants actually followed the diets. Additionally, she assumes that there are no relevant differences between the groups other than diet, and that the diet itself, not other factors, reduced the risk of a second heart attack.

A
Research has shown that eliminating almost all fat from one’s diet can be effective in decreasing the likelihood of a second heart attack.
Irrelevant. The argument focuses on a diet that does not eliminate fat from one’s diet. (A) doesn’t help to establish that such a diet can indeed protect the heart.
B
Studies suggest that the kinds of oils in the fat included in the Mediterranean diet may protect the heart against potentially fatal disruptions of heart rhythms and other causes of heart attacks.
This strengthens the argument by suggesting that at least one diet that isn’t low in fat— the Mediterranean diet— may be able to protect the heart. This suggests that a fatty diet can protect the heart and that the Mediterranean diet may have caused the reduced risk in the study.
C
The patients who consumed the Mediterranean diet enjoyed the food and continued to follow the diet after the experiment was concluded.
Irrelevant. It doesn’t matter whether the patients enjoyed the diet or continued to follow it. It only matters whether the diet actually made them less likely to have a second heart attack during the study.
D
Many people who have had heart attacks are advised by their cardiologists to begin an exercise regimen in addition to changing their diet.
Irrelevant. The author is only addressing the effects of the Mediterranean diet vs. the low-fat Western diet on the heart attack risk of the 400 people studied. It doesn’t matter whether exercise also lowers heart attack risk.
E
Some cardiologists believe that the protection afforded by the Mediterranean diet might be enhanced by drugs that lower blood-cholesterol levels.
Irrelevant. It doesn’t matter whether the protection afforded by the Mediterranean diet can be enhanced by certain drugs. Instead, we need to know whether the Mediterranean diet actually can protect the heart in the first place.

5 comments

LSAT 135 - Section 1 - Question 02

May 13, 2012

Florist: Some people like to have green carnations on St. Patrick’s Day. But flowers that are naturally green are extremely rare. Thus, it is very difficult for plant breeders to produce green carnations. Before St. Patrick’s Day, then, it is wise for florists to stock up on white carnations, which are fairly inexpensive and quite easy to dye green.

Summarize Argument
Florists should stock up on white carnations before St. Patrick’s Day because green carnations are popular but rare, making them difficult for growers to produce in large quantities. Since white carnations are cheap and easy to dye, florists can use them to meet the demand for green carnations.

Identify Conclusion
The stimulus concludes that florists would be wise to purchase a large number of cheap, white carnations before St. Patrick’s Day.

A
It is a good idea for florists to stock up on white carnations before St. Patrick’s Day.
This paraphrases the stimulus’s main conclusion that florists should stock up on white carnations before St. Patrick’s Day. This is supported by the fact that green carnations are rare and therefore hard to get, while white carnations are cheap and easy to dye to meet the demand.
B
Flowers that are naturally green are very rare.
This is a minor premise in the florist’s argument. It supports the sub-conclusion that green carnations are difficult to produce by explaining that their rarity makes them hard for plant breeders to grow in large quantities.
C
There are some people who like to have green carnations on St. Patrick’s Day.
This references the stimulus’s context. This sentence explains the link between green carnations and St. Patrick’s Day, preparing us to understand why the author suggests that florists should stock up on white carnations, which are cheap and easy to dye green, before the holiday.
D
White carnations are fairly inexpensive and can easily be dyed green.
This is a major premise. It directly supports the main conclusion by explaining that white carnations are a good choice for meeting the demand for green carnations because they are easy to dye and relatively inexpensive, making it a wise decision for florists to stock up on them.
E
It is very difficult to breed green carnations.
Though "thus" suggests a conclusion, this sentence is a sub-conclusion of the argument, not the main conclusion. The claim that green carnations are hard to produce supports the main conclusion that florists should stock up on cheaper white carnations before St. Patrick’s Day.

4 comments

LSAT 135 - Section 1 - Question 03

May 13, 2012

Millions of homes are now using low-energy lighting, but millions more have still to make the switch, a fact that the government and the home lighting industry are eager to change. Although low-wattage bulbs cost more per bulb than normal bulbs, their advantages to the homeowner are enormous, and therefore everyone should use low-wattage bulbs.

Summarize Argument
The author concludes that everyone should be using low-wattage bulbs. This is because low-wattage bulbs have enormous advantages to homeowners.

Notable Assumptions
The author concludes that everyone should switch to low-wattage bulbs despite their expense. This means the author assumes that the advantages of low-wattage bulbs outweigh their cost.

A
the actual cost of burning low-wattage bulbs compared to that of burning normal bulbs
If low-wattage bulbs cost significantly more to use than normal bulbs, then that may outweigh the advantages of low-wattage bulbs and weaken the author’s argument. If prices are similar, then the advantages likely outweigh the price difference.
B
the profits the home lighting industry expects to make from sales of low-wattage bulbs
We don’t care how much the lighting industry will profit from these bulbs. We care about whether the advantages of low-wattage bulbs outweigh their cost.
C
the specific cost of a low-wattage bulb compared with that of a normal bulb
If low-wattage bulbs cost significantly more to buy than normal bulbs, then that may outweigh the advantages of low-wattage bulbs and weaken the author’s argument. If prices are similar, then the advantages likely outweigh the price difference.
D
the opinion of current users of low-wattage bulbs as to their effectiveness
If current users don’t actually find low-wattage bulbs as effective as normal bulbs, then it’s hard to know what “advantages” the author could be referring to. If they find them more effective, then those advantages are evident.
E
the average life of a low-wattage bulb compared with that of a normal bulb
If low-wattage bulbs last a significantly shorter time than normal bulbs, their other advantages are greatly mitigated by lifespan. If low-wattage bulbs last roughly the same amount of time as or longer than normal bulbs, their advantages aren’t mitigated by lifespan.

4 comments

LSAT 135 - Section 1 - Question 04

May 13, 2012

Swimming pools should be fenced to protect children from drowning, but teaching children to swim is even more important. And there is a principle involved here that applies to childrearing generally. Thus, while we should restrict children’s access to the soft drinks and candies advertised on television shows directed towards children, it is even more important to teach them _______.

Summary
The author draws an analogy between swimming pools and unhealthy food. Although we should fence pools to protect children, it’s more important to teach children to swim. Similarly, although we should restrict children’s access to certain unhealthy foods, it’s more important to teach children how to choose a healthy diet.

Strongly Supported Conclusions
It’s more important to teach children how to choose a healthy diet (just as it’s more important to teach children how to swim).

A
that television can be a good source of accurate information about many things
Unsupported. The source of learning material isn’t part of the pool analogy. So, a claim about what is a good source of information doesn’t fit in the blank.
B
that television advertisements are deceptive and misleading
Unsupported. The pool analogy didn’t involve any deceptive or misleading claims. So, a claim about advertisements being deceptive or misleading doesn’t fit in the blank.
C
how to make nutritional choices that are conducive to their well-being
Strongly supported. Just as it’s more important to teach children how to swim than to fence off swimming pools, it’s more important to teach children how to choose a healthy diet than to restrict them from bad foods.
D
the importance of physical activity to health and well-being
Unsupported. The pool analogy concerns teaching children skills to manage a risky situation (a pool). So, the argument should finish with something concerning teaching children how to manage choices of foods. The importance of exercise doesn’t relate to choices of foods.
E
how to creatively entertain themselves without watching television
Unsupported. The pool analogy didn’t involve having children forgo reading or learning about pools. So, a statement concerning having children forgo watching television doesn’t fit in the blank.

11 comments

LSAT 135 - Section 1 - Question 05

May 13, 2012

In its coverage of a controversy regarding a proposal to build a new freeway, a television news program showed interviews with several people who would be affected by the proposed freeway. Of the interviews shown, those conducted with people against the new freeway outnumbered those conducted with people for it two to one. The television program is therefore biased against the proposed freeway.

Summarize Argument: Phenomenon-Hypothesis
The conclusion is a hypothesis for why there were so many more anti-freeway interviews than pro-freeway interviews: the TV program is biased against the proposed freeway.

Notable Assumptions
The author assumes that the TV program cherry-picked which interviews to show in order to skew the numbers toward the anti-freeway opinions. This means the author must assume that, in the wider population, a larger percentage of people are actually pro-freeway than the TV program would have us believe. The author may assume that there is a more even split between the pro-freeway and anti-freeway crowds, or he may assume that the pro-freeway crowd outright outnumbers the anti-freeway crowd.

A
Most of the people who watched the program were aware of the freeway controversy beforehand.
What viewers were aware of is irrelevant to the question of whether the TV program was biased in what it chose to present to those viewers.
B
Most viewers of television news programs do not expect those programs to be completely free of bias.
Viewers’ expectations of bias do not help to answer the question of whether this TV program is, in actuality, biased. That most viewers expect some level of bias provides no reason to believe that, contrary to the conclusion, this TV program is actually unbiased.
C
In the interviews, the people against the new freeway expressed their opinions with more emotion than the people for the freeway did.
If anything, this strengthens the conclusion. Showing impassioned opposition to the freeway on one hand, and relatively mild support for the freeway on the other, could suggest that the TV program is indeed biased against the freeway.
D
Before the program aired, over twice as many people were against building the freeway than were in favor of it.
This means an even higher percentage of people are anti-freeway than what the TV program showed. This denies the author’s assumption that the TV program aired a misleadingly high percentage of anti-freeway opinions. In reality, the program underrepresented anti-freeway opinions.
E
The business interests of the television station that produced the program would be harmed by the construction of a new freeway.
The TV station’s business interests have no bearing on the argument. The argument is about whether the numbers of pro- and anti-freeway interviews shown should, or should not, lead us to believe that the TV program is biased.

5 comments

LSAT 135 - Section 1 - Question 06

May 13, 2012

12 comments

LSAT 135 - Section 1 - Question 07

May 13, 2012

Economist: Government intervention in the free market in pursuit of socially desirable goals can affect supply and demand, thereby distorting prices. The ethics of such intervention is comparable to that of administering medicines. Most medicines have harmful as well as beneficial effects, so the use of a type of medicine is ethically justified only when its nonuse would be significantly more harmful than its use. Similarly, government intervention in the free market is justified only when it _______.

Summary

The author draws an analogy between the ethics of administering medicine and the ethics of government intervention. Since most medicines have both harmful and beneficial effects, using a medicine is justified only when not using it would cause a lot more harm than using it. Similarly, since government intervention in the free market for the purpose of social engineering can distort prices, such intervention is justified only when failure to intervene causes a lot more harm than the intervention.

Strongly Supported Conclusions

We’re looking to fill in the concerning what is required in order for government intervention in the free market to be justified. Based on the analogy to medicine, we can conclude that government intervention is justified only when the failure to intervene is a lot more harmful than intervention.

A
would likely be approved of by the majority of the affected participants

Unsupported. The analogy doesn’t condition the ethical use of medicine on approval, so it doesn’t make sense to complete the analogy with a comment on approval.

B
has been shown to have few if any significantly harmful effects

Unsupported. The analogy conditions the ethical use of medicine on a comparison between using medicine vs. not using the medicine. So it doesn’t make sense to complete the analogy with a comment that doesn’t involve a comparison between intervention and not having intervention.

C
is believed unlikely to significantly exacerbate any existing problems

Unsupported. The analogy conditions the ethical use of medicine on a comparison between using medicine vs. not using the medicine. So it doesn’t make sense to complete the analogy with a comment that doesn’t involve a comparison between intervention and not having intervention.

D
would do less damage than would result from the government’s not intervening

Strongly supported. Use of medicine is ethical only when not using it is more harmful than using it. Similarly, intervention is ethical only when not intervening is more harmful than intervening.

E
provides a solution to some otherwise insoluble problem

Unsupported. The analogy does not condition the ethical use of medicine on the provision of a solution. The requirement involve comparing the harm of using medicine vs. not using it. So it doesn’t make sense to complete the analogy with a comment on solutions.


4 comments

LSAT 135 - Section 1 - Question 08

May 13, 2012

The proportion of fat calories in the diets of people who read the nutrition labels on food products is significantly lower than it is in the diets of people who do not read nutrition labels. This shows that reading these labels promotes healthful dietary behavior.

Summarize Argument: Phenomenon-Hypothesis
The author hypothesizes that reading nutrition labels causes healthier dietary behavior. This is based on a correlation. The proportion of fat calories in the diets of people who read nutrition labels is lower than it is in the diets of people who don’t read nutrition labels.

Identify and Describe Flaw
The author assumes that the correlation is explained by reading nutrition labels causing healthier dietary behavior. This overlooks alternate explanations. In particular, perhaps there’s a common cause that leads people to eat healthier and to read nutrition labels. Maybe the kind of person who’s into losing weight will read nutrition labels and be more careful about their diet.

A
illicitly infers a cause from a correlation
The author assumes a causal relationship based on the correlation between reading nutrition labels and having a lower proportion of fat in one’s diet.
B
relies on a sample that is unlikely to be representative of the group as a whole
The evidence isn’t a sample. We’re told about a statistic concerning people who read nutrition labels and people who don’t. There’s no indication that the statistic is based on just a part of the overall population.
C
confuses a condition that is necessary for a phenomenon to occur with a condition that is sufficient for that phenomenon to occur
The argument’s reasoning isn’t based on conditional logic, so there’s no confusion of sufficient and necessary conditions.
D
takes for granted that there are only two possible alternative explanations of a phenomenon
The author doesn’t assume “two” possible alternative explanations. The author assumes there’s only one — that reading nutrition labels causes healthier dietary behavior.
E
draws a conclusion about the intentions of a group of people based solely on data about the consequences of their behavior
The conclusion isn’t about intentions. It’s simply a causal claim about the effects of reading nutrition labels. The conclusion does not assert that people who read nutrition labels are doing so in order to improve their diets.

23 comments

LSAT 135 - Section 1 - Question 09

May 13, 2012

Some paleontologists have suggested that Apatosaurus, a huge dinosaur, was able to gallop. This, however, is unlikely, because galloping would probably have broken Apatosaurus’s legs. Experiments with modern bones show how much strain they can withstand before breaking. By taking into account the diameter and density of Apatosaurus leg bones, it is possible to calculate that those bones could not have withstood the strains of galloping.

Summarize Argument: Counter-Position

Paleontologists who believe that Apatosaurus could gallop are probably wrong. Experiments with modern bones show that Apatosaurus’s leg bones could not have withstood the strains of galloping. These experiments show that galloping would probably have broken Apatosaurus’s legs. Therefore, it is unlikely that Apatosaurus galloped.

Identify Conclusion

The conclusion is the author’s opinion that some paleontologists are likely wrong in their belief that Apatosaurus could gallop.

A
Galloping would probably have broken the legs of Apatosaurus.

This is a sub-conclusion of the argument, not the main conclusion. The claim that galloping would likely have broken Apatosaurus’s legs supports the main conclusion that the paleontologists are probably incorrect in hypothesizing that Apatosaurus could gallop.

B
It is possible to calculate that Apatosaurus leg bones could not have withstood the strain of galloping.

This is an unstated premise—an assumption—that supports the argument’s sub-conclusion. Modern bone experiments only support the claim that Apatosaurus’s legs would have broken from galloping if it’s possible to calculate whether Apatosaurus’s leg bones could withstand the strain.

C
The claim of paleontologists that Apatosaurus was able to gallop is likely to be incorrect.

This correctly captures the stimulus’s main conclusion. The stimulus concludes that the claim made by some paleontologists that Apatosaurus could gallop is “unlikely,” or as (C) states, “likely to be incorrect.”

D
If galloping would have broken the legs of Apatosaurus, then Apatosaurus was probably unable to gallop.

This is an unstated premise supporting the main conclusion. The author concludes that Apatosaurus probably couldn’t gallop because galloping would likely have broken its legs. This conclusion assumes that Apatosaurus wouldn’t have galloped if doing so would have broken its legs.

E
Modern bones are quite similar in structure and physical properties to the bones of Apatosaurus.

This is an unstated premise, which supports the stimulus’s sub-conclusion that galloping would likely have broken Apatosaurus’s legs. The experiments with modern bones support this sub-conclusion because the stimulus assumes that modern bones are similar to those of Apatosaurus.


6 comments

LSAT 135 - Section 1 - Question 10

May 13, 2012

A new process enables ordinary table salt to be fortified with iron. This advance could help reduce the high incidence of anemia in the world’s population due to a deficiency of iron in the diet. Salt is used as a preservative for food and a flavor enhancer all over the globe, and people consume salt in quantities that would provide iron in significant amounts.

Summarize Argument
The author concludes that fortifying salt with iron could help reduce the general incidence of anemia. People around the world consume enough salt that this advance would significantly increase their iron intake, thus remedying the iron deficiency that causes anemia.

Identify Argument Part
The referenced text supports the argument’s conclusion. Since people around the world eat enough salt for iron-fortified salt to make a health difference, iron-fortified salt could decrease the incidence of anemia brought on by iron deficiency.

A
It is the conclusion of the argument.
The author concludes that iron-fortified salt could help reduce the general instance of anemia. The reference text supports this conclusion.
B
It provides support for the conclusion of the argument.
The referenced text is a premise. It supports the conclusion by showing how salt is broadly-used and would therefore make a global difference.
C
It is a claim that the argument is directed against.
The referenced text supports the argument. Why would iron-fortified salt reduce anemia in the world’s population? Because people around the world use enough salt that the iron fortification would have an effect.
D
It qualifies the conclusion of the argument.
The conclusion is that iron-fortified salt would reduce the general incidence of anemia. The referenced text supports that claim rather than qualifying its scope.
E
It illustrates a principle that underlies the argument.
The referenced text isn’t a principle. It’s a fact used to support the conclusion about iron-fortified salt reducing anemia.

8 comments

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