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Is there anyone planning to take the LSAT this November? I have just recently started my studying journey and was wondering if anyone would like to start a study group via Zoom/Skype/Email?
PT Questions
cortez259
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- Apr 2025
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cortez259
Saturday, Jan 30 2021
P1: some patients with mental disorders can be effectively treated with psychotherapy
P2: but now we know that mental disorders in some patients result from chemical imbalances in the brain
C: these patients can be treated effectively ONLY with medication that reduces or correct the imbalance
A) no psychotherapy treatment can effectively reduce or correct the chemical imbalances. Perfect! This is true, if none of the available psychotherapy treatment can effectively fix the imbalances, then ONLY medication can.
negated: some psychotherapy treatment can effectively reduce or correct chemical imbalances that cause mental disorders. (if this was true, then the conclusion that ONLY medication can effectively reduce/correct imbalances is no longer true. The conclusion is wrecked.)
B) speed is irrelevant. We are really only concerned about whether or not the medication works, not if it's faster or slower.
C) cool fact. But we are only talking about the mental disorders that ARE the result of chemical imbalances. This is super irrelevant.
D) always more effective? This is not necessarily true. We know that some mental disorders can be effectively treated with psychotherapy, and we also know that patients with mental disorders that result from chemical imbalances can be effectively treated with medication that reduces/corrects it, but we don’t know if medication is always more effective in treating patients than psychotherapy.
negated: medication is only sometimes more effective than psychotherapy in treating patients with mental disorders. (if this was true, the conclusion still stands.)
E) but we already know that patients with mental disorders can be effectively treated with psychotherapy. Now you’re telling me it has no effect other than the reduction of symptoms? We need to assume that the premises are true.
negated: psychotherapy has some effects other than the reduction of symptoms. (if this is true, the conclusion still stands. If psychotherapy is only somewhat effective, then only medication that can reduce/correct imbalances is effective.)
cortez259
Thursday, May 07 2020
#help Does anybody have any tips on understanding double negatives such as E)? I get overwhelmed trying to decipher what the statement is trying to say to me and I get confused by them very easily. Thanks!
cortez259
Wednesday, Feb 03 2021
P: ratios of trace elements in the artifacts were similar to each other and unlike the ratios from any other known mine
C: therefore, the gold in the artifacts were probably from the ancient mine.
Mission: find an AC that suggests that the gold probably isn’t from the ancient mine based on what we know about the ratios (premise).
A) well if the ancient mine was actually connected to a large underground deposit that ALSO supplies other nearby riverbeds with gold, then how can we say that the gold in the artifacts was from the ancient mine?? The relationship between the premise and conclusion is now weakened based on this new information.
B) to me, this kind of strengthens the argument. If the same people who created the artifacts also at one time operated the same mine, then maybe they took some of the gold from the mine and used it for the artifacts? Although now that I’m typing this, I can see why JY was careful to say it would strengthen because I had to make some big assumptions there.
C) yeeeaahhh but what if they just stored the gold somewhere for the time being. That wouldn’t change the fact that the gold in the artifacts was dug from the ancient mine ☹
D) similar to C, it doesn’t matter how many times the gold artifacts were constructed from other artifacts, if the gold came from the ancient mine in the first place, then they came from the ancient mine.
E) transported far away? The gold still came from the ancient mine lol this doesn’t do anything.
cortez259
Tuesday, Feb 02 2021
Tip: you only need to negate the answer choice a little bit to see if it destroys the argument or not.
Negated E: the merchandise is only sometimes sold in retail stores at prices that are higher than the suggested retail price. Well then. That’s great. The conclusion that customers spend less with the points than if they were to purchase the products in-store still stands. Why? Because there are still some instances where they are saving money even if the merchandise is only sometimes sold at a higher price.
Negated D: the amount customers pay for shipping sometimes increases the total amount spent than if they purchased the item in-store. Not good! Just negating this answer choice a little bit completely destroys the conclusion that customers spend less when using points! Because if they’re paying for shipping and the total amount is higher, then they aren’t really spending less when using the points!
I chose E thinking that drinking large amounts of coffee due to stress causes heart problems. It was not until watching this video when I realized that I mid-read the statement D: gotta be careful!