LSAT 131 – Section 1 – Question 04

LSAT 131 - Section 1 - Question 04

December 2009

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Question
QuickView		 Type Tags Answer
Choices		 Curve Question
Difficulty		 Psg/Game/S
Difficulty		 Explanation
PT131 S1 Q04
+LR
+Exp
Flaw or descriptive weakening +Flaw
Sampling +Smpl
A
6%
161
B
88%
165
C
2%
158
D
3%
159
E
1%
157
122
136
151
 +Easier 147.383 +SubsectionMedium

Advertisement: Seventy-five percent of dermatologists surveyed prefer Dermactin to all other brands of skin cream. Why? We consulted dermatologists during the development of Dermactin to ensure that you have the best skin cream on the market. So if you need a skin cream, use Dermactin.

Summarize Argument

The advertisement concludes that you should use Dermactin if you need a skin cream. It supports this by saying that dermatologists were consulted during the development of Dermactin and 75% of dermatologists surveyed prefer Dermactin to all other brands.

Identify and Describe Flaw

The advertisement says 75% of surveyed dermatologists prefer Dermactin, but it doesn’t explain the details of the survey. They might have surveyed a small or biased group of dermatologists, which would make the results unreliable. Since the ad doesn’t say how many dermatologists were surveyed or if the survey was random, we can’t be sure that this survey actually supports the advertisement’s conclusion.

A
overlooks the possibility that other types of doctors have cause to use Dermactin, which would render the sample unrepresentative

The sample may indeed be unrepresentative, but not because it fails to include other types of doctors. The argument is only based on the preferences of dermatologists; other types of doctors are irrelevant.

B
fails to state the number of dermatologists surveyed, which leaves open the possibility that the sample of doctors is too small to be reliable

Because the ad doesn’t say how many dermatologists were surveyed, it’s possible that the sample size was too small. “75% of dermatologists surveyed” could simply mean 3 out of 4 dermatologists surveyed, which would mean the sample was too small and the survey is not reliable.

C
presumes, without providing justification, that some dermatologists are less qualified than others to evaluate skin cream

Even if the ad did assume this, (C) doesn’t describe a flaw in the argument. Surely some dermatologists are less qualified to evaluate skin cream; this doesn’t change the fact that 75% preferred Dermactin.

D
relies on an inappropriate appeal to the opinions of consumers with no special knowledge of skin care

The ad relies on an appeal to the opinions of dermatologists who do have a special knowledge of skin care. It never mentions the opinions of consumers.

E
overlooks the possibility that for a few people, using no skin cream is preferable to using even the best skin cream

The ad doesn’t overlook this possibility. The conclusion says, “If you need a skin cream, use Dermactin.”

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LSAT PrepTest 131 Explanations

Section 1 - Logical Reasoning

Section 2 - Logical Reasoning

Section 3 - Logical Reasoning

Section 4 - Reading Comprehension

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