LSAT 108 – Section 3 – Question 21

LSAT 108 - Section 3 - Question 21

February 2000

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Question
QuickView		 Type Tags Answer
Choices		 Curve Question
Difficulty		 Psg/Game/S
Difficulty		 Explanation
PT108 S3 Q21
+LR
Weaken +Weak
A
8%
162
B
85%
167
C
5%
161
D
2%
156
E
1%
145
138
148
159
 +Medium 147.273 +SubsectionMedium

Advertisement for a lactase supplement: Lactase, an enzyme produced by the body, aids in the digestion of lactose, a natural sugar found in dairy foods. Many subjects in an experiment who drank a liter of milk on an empty stomach showed signs of lactose intolerance—difficulty in digesting dairy products because of insufficient lactase. Thus, extrapolating from the number of subjects adversely affected, at least 50 million people in North America alone should take lactase supplements.

Summarize Argument
The advertisement claims that at least 50 million North Americans should take lactase supplements to help them digest dairy. How do we know? Well, in one study where participants drank a liter of milk on an empty stomach, a significant proportion had digestion troubles. By applying that proportion to the North American population, we get to 50 million.

Notable Assumptions
The advertisement assumes that drinking a liter of milk on an empty stomach accurately reflects people’s everyday dairy digestion needs. If people can generally handle smaller amounts of dairy just fine, then the study could be misleading.
The author also assumes that the sample group is equivalent to the general North American population—meaning that the participants weren’t unusually likely to be lactose intolerant.

A
Eating solid food when drinking milk can decrease the amount of lactase produced by the body.
This does not weaken the argument, We don’t know whether people normally drink milk while by itself or while eating food. If the former, then that makes no difference, because the participants weren’t eating. If the latter, then maybe even more people need lactase!
B
Most people who consume dairy products consume less lactose at each meal than the amount found in a liter of milk.
This weakens the argument by casting doubt on whether the study cited represents people’s normal dairy digestive needs. Maybe most people produce enough lactase for their usual dietary habits, even if a whole liter of milk at once would cause some problems.
C
The production of lactase by the human body increases with age.
This does not weaken the argument because we don’t know anything about the age of the study participants, nor how that corresponds to the general population. If the participants were younger than average, that might be a problem, but we have no idea.
D
Lactose intolerance can interfere with proper nutrition.
This does not weaken the argument, because it doesn’t tell us anything about how representative the study was of the general population. Sure, lactose intolerant people should take lactase—but we still don’t know if that means 50 million people.
E
Some dairy foods, such as cheese, contain a form of lactose more difficult to digest than that found in milk.
This does not weaken the argument, firstly because we don’t know what kind of dairy people usually consume, and secondly because if anything it indicates a greater need for lactase than the study does. Either way, this doesn’t undermine the “at least 50 million people” claim.

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LSAT PrepTest 108 Explanations

Section 1 - Reading Comprehension

Section 2 - Logical Reasoning

Section 3 - Logical Reasoning

Section 4 - Reading Comprehension

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