LSAT 125 – Section 4 – Question 10

LSAT 125 - Section 4 - Question 10

June 2008

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Question
QuickView		 Type Tags Answer
Choices		 Curve Question
Difficulty		 Psg/Game/S
Difficulty		 Explanation
PT125 S4 Q10
+LR
Weaken +Weak
Causal Reasoning +CausR
A
0%
153
B
6%
156
C
8%
158
D
67%
165
E
19%
159
144
155
165
 +Harder 145.982 +SubsectionMedium

Albert: The government has proposed new automobile emissions regulations designed to decrease the amount of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) released into the atmosphere by automobile exhaust. I don’t see the need for such regulations; although PAHs are suspected of causing cancer, a causal link has never been proven.

Erin: Scientists also blame PAHs for 10,000 premature deaths in this country each year from lung and heart disease. So the proposed regulations would save thousands of lives.

Summarize Argument
Erin concludes that the proposed regulation decreasing PAH emissions from automobile exhaust would save thousands of lives. This is because scientists blame PAHs for many premature deaths from lung and heart disease.

Notable Assumptions
Erin assumes that the same problem Albert notes in his argument—that no causal link between PAHs and cancer have been proven—isn’t relevant to the diseases she mentions. This means she either thinks that there is a causal link between PAHs and lung and heart disease, or that it’s unimportant to establish such a link when scientists blame several major health problems on PAHs.

A
Most automobile manufacturers are strongly opposed to additional automobile emissions regulations.
We can imagine automobile manufacturers don’t like regulations. But we’re not interested in what they like or don’t like. We need to know about the link between PAHs from automobile emissions and various diseases.
B
It is not known whether PAHs are a causal factor in any diseases other than heart and lung disease and cancer.
We don’t know if PAHs are a causal factor in heart and lung disease and cancer. This just tells us that other diseases fall into the same “unknown” category.
C
Even if no new automobile emissions regulations are enacted, the amount of PAHs released into the atmosphere will decrease if automobile usage declines.
There would still be a benefit to regulating PAHs further, given their link to diseases. Thus, this doesn’t weaken the notion that PAHs should be regulated.
D
Most of the PAHs released into the atmosphere are the result of wear and tear on automobile tires.
Even if PAHs from automobile exhaust were banned, the majority of current PAH production would continue through wear and tear on automobile tires. Thus, the regulation wouldn’t in fact save “thousands of lives.”
E
PAHs are one of several components of automobile exhaust that scientists suspect of causing cancer.
This doesn’t tell us that PAHs constitute only a small or insignificant fraction of the carcinogenic effects of automobile exhaust, so we can’t assume Erin would be wrong about the regulation. Banning PAHs may still save thousands of lives.

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LSAT PrepTest 125 Explanations

Section 1 - Reading Comprehension

Section 2 - Logical Reasoning

Section 3 - Reading Comprehension

Section 4 - Logical Reasoning

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