LSAT 130 – Section 1 – Question 11

LSAT 130 - Section 1 - Question 11

September 2009

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Question
QuickView		 Type Tags Answer
Choices		 Curve Question
Difficulty		 Psg/Game/S
Difficulty		 Explanation
PT130 S1 Q11
+LR
Flaw or descriptive weakening +Flaw
Causal Reasoning +CausR
A
58%
165
B
10%
164
C
5%
161
D
2%
159
E
25%
160
141
158
176
 +Harder 147.03 +SubsectionMedium

J.Y.’s explanation

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Recent studies indicate a correlation between damage to human chromosome number six and adult schizophrenia. We know, however, that there are people without damage to this chromosome who develop adult schizophrenia and that some people with damage to chromosome number six do not develop adult schizophrenia. So there is no causal connection between damage to human chromosome number six and adult schizophrenia.

Summarize Argument

The author concludes that there is no causal connection between damage to chromosome six and adult schizophrenia. He supports this by pointing out that some people with schizophrenia don't have damage to chromosome six, and some people with chromosome six damage don't develop schizophrenia.

Identify and Describe Flaw

The author cites studies that establish a correlation between chromosome six damage and schizophrenia and then concludes that the two aren’t causally connected. But just because there are some exceptions to the correlation doesn’t prove that there is no causal connection between chromosome six damage and schizophrenia at all.

For example, there is a causal relationship between smoking and lung cancer, but some smokers never get lung cancer while some non-smokers do get lung cancer.

A
The argument ignores the possibility that some but not all types of damage to chromosome number six lead to schizophrenia.

The author overlooks the possibility that not all kinds of damage to chromosome six cause schizophrenia. If some types of damage do lead to schizophrenia, then there could still be a causal connection between the two, even if they aren't always linked.

B
The argument presumes, without providing evidence, that schizophrenia is caused solely by chromosomal damage.

The argument actually assumes that schizophrenia is not caused by damage to chromosome six, simply because the two are not perfectly correlated.

C
The argument makes a generalization based on an unrepresentative sample population.

This is the cookie-cutter flaw of using unrepresentative samples. However, we have no reason to believe that the recent studies or the author’s argument are based on unrepresentative samples of people with chromosome 6 damage or schizophrenia.

D
The argument mistakes a cause for an effect.

The author doesn’t mistake a cause for an effect. Instead, he assumes that there is no causal connection between chromosome six damage and schizophrenia at all.

E
The argument presumes, without providing warrant, that correlation implies causation.

This is the cookie-cutter flaw of assuming that correlation implies causation. But the author concludes that there’s no causal connection at all. Instead of (E), he assumes, without providing warrant, that an imperfect correlation implies a lack of causation.

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LSAT PrepTest 130 Explanations

Section 1 - Logical Reasoning

Section 2 - Reading Comprehension

Section 3 - Logical Reasoning

Section 4 - Logical Reasoning

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