LSAT 137 – Section 2 – Question 12

LSAT 137 - Section 2 - Question 12

October 2012

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Question
QuickView		 Type Tags Answer
Choices		 Curve Question
Difficulty		 Psg/Game/S
Difficulty		 Explanation
PT137 S2 Q12
+LR
Method of reasoning or descriptive +Method
Causal Reasoning +CausR
Net Effect +NetEff
A
1%
155
B
7%
161
C
14%
160
D
72%
165
E
5%
159
136
150
164
 +Medium 146.731 +SubsectionMedium

When a patient failed to respond to prescribed medication, the doctor hypothesized that the dosage was insufficient. The doctor first advised doubling the dosage, but the patient’s symptoms remained. It was then learned that the patient regularly drank an herbal beverage that often inhibits the medication’s effect. The doctor then advised the patient to resume the initial dosage and stop drinking the beverage. The patient complied, but still showed no change. Finally, the doctor advised the patient to double the dosage and not drink the beverage. The patient’s symptoms disappeared. Hence, the doctor’s initial hypothesis was correct.

Summarize Argument: Phenomenon-Hypothesis

The author concludes that the doctor’s initial hypothesis—that the original dosage was too low—was correct. She supports this by describing three sets of recommendations made by the doctor:

Double the dosage. (Symptoms remained.)

Return to original dosage but stop drinking a beverage that inhibits the medication. (Symptoms remained.)

Double the dosage again, keep avoiding the beverage. (Symptoms disappeared!)

Describe Method of Reasoning

The second set of recommendations lends support to the initial hypothesis that the dosage was too by eliminating an alternative hypothesis. Since the patient’s symptoms remained after this set of recommendations, it’s likely that the beverage wasn’t the sole cause of the original dosage’s ineffectiveness.

A
They establish that the doctor’s concerns about the healthfulness of the beverage were well founded.

Actually, when the patient stopped drinking the beverage and returned to the original dosage, his symptoms still remained. So the results of the second set of recommendations don’t yet establish that the doctor’s concerns about the beverage were well founded.

B
They make it less plausible that the beverage actually contributed to the ineffectiveness of the prescribed medication.

The patient’s symptoms remained after quitting the beverage and returning to the original dosage. Even if the beverage is a contributing factor, these results suggest that the original dosage is indeed too low, whether the patient is drinking the beverage or not.

C
They give evidence that the beverage was responsible for the ineffectiveness of the prescribed medication.

We don't know yet if the beverage caused the medicine to be ineffective. In fact, because the symptoms remained, we now know that the beverage alone wasn’t entirely responsible. Also, if (C) were true, it would weaken the original hypothesis; we need an answer that supports it.

D
They suggest that the beverage was not the only cause of the ineffectiveness of the prescribed dosage.

Since the symptoms remained after stopping the beverage, it shows the beverage wasn't the only cause of the dosage's ineffectiveness. This supports the hypothesis that the dosage was too low by eliminating the alternative hypothesis that the beverage alone was responsible.

E
They rule out the possibility that the doctor had initially prescribed the wrong medication for the patient’s ailments.

The results of the second set of recommendations don’t rule out this possibility because it’s still unclear whether a higher dosage of the original medication will help the patient or not.

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LSAT PrepTest 137 Explanations

Section 1 - Reading Comprehension

Section 2 - Logical Reasoning

Section 3 - Logical Reasoning

Section 4 - Logical Reasoning

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