LSAT 140 – Section 2 – Question 07

LSAT 140 - Section 2 - Question 07

December 2013

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Question
QuickView		 Type Tags Answer
Choices		 Curve Question
Difficulty		 Psg/Game/S
Difficulty		 Explanation
PT140 S2 Q07
+LR
+Exp
Resolve reconcile or explain +RRE
Causal Reasoning +CausR
Math +Math
A
1%
154
B
5%
155
C
90%
164
D
3%
157
E
1%
153
134
143
151
 +Medium 149.441 +SubsectionMedium

If grain prices double then the average price of a loaf of bread will rise between 10 and 15 percent, whereas the price of grain-fed beef will come close to doubling.

"Surprising" Phenomenon
If grain prices double, why would the average price of a loaf of bread rise only 10 to 15 percent, even though the price of grain-fed beef would almost double?

Objective
The correct answer will suggest a difference between grain-fed beef and a loaf of bread that could make changes in grain price have less of an effect on the price of a loaf of bread than on the price of grain-fed beef.

A
Farmers engaged in very large-scale cattle production generally try to reduce the labor costs involved in the production and sale of beef.
The labor costs involved in beef don’t have a clear relationship to grain prices. We wouldn’t expect reduced labor costs to change the impact of grain prices on the price of grain-fed beef. In any case, we want to explain the strangely low impact grain price has on bread price.
B
The wholesale price per pound of beef is approximately ten times the wholesale price per pound of bread.
The price of beef compared to the price of bread is irrelevant, because we’re trying to explain the disparity in percentage change in price. Why, if grain price doubles, does bread price only increase 10 to 15% when beef price almost doubles?
C
The labor and marketing costs in producing and selling bread represent most of its cost, but the cost of feeding cattle represents most of the cost of producing beef.
Most of the cost of bread isn’t related to grain. But most of the cost of grain-fed beef is related to grain. This could explain why bread price is less affected by changes in grain price.
D
Only an insignificantly small proportion of the beef sold in retail markets is produced from cattle fed on grass rather than grain.
The comparison in the stimulus involves price changes in bread and grain-fed beef. The fact grain-fed beef isn’t very common compared to other beef doesn’t impact this comparison.
E
The vast majority of retail grocery outlets purchase the bread they sell from small independent bakers but purchase the meat they sell from large wholesale processing operations.
Do we have any reason to think being sourced by an independent baker vs. a large wholesale processing operation would impact the degree to which changes in grain price would affect bread or beef price? No.

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LSAT PrepTest 140 Explanations

Section 1 - Logical Reasoning

Section 2 - Logical Reasoning

Section 3 - Logical Reasoning

Section 4 - Reading Comprehension

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