LSAT 144 – Section 2 – Question 08

LSAT 144 - Section 2 - Question 08

October 2015

You need a full course to see this video. Enroll now and get started in less than a minute.

Ask a tutor

Target time: 0:39

This is question data from the 7Sage LSAT Scorer. You can score your LSATs, track your results, and analyze your performance with pretty charts and vital statistics - all with a Free Account ← sign up in less than 10 seconds

Question
QuickView		 Type Tags Answer
Choices		 Curve Question
Difficulty		 Psg/Game/S
Difficulty		 Explanation
PT144 S2 Q08
+LR
Method of reasoning or descriptive +Method
Causal Reasoning +CausR
Sampling +Smpl
A
2%
152
B
2%
157
C
1%
155
D
4%
156
E
91%
165
129
139
149
 +Easier 148.975 +SubsectionMedium

J.Y.’s explanation

You need a full course to see this video. Enroll now and get started in less than a minute.

Merton: A study showed that people who live on very busy streets have higher rates of heart disease than average. I conclude that this elevated rate of heart disease is caused by air pollution from automobile exhaust.

Ortiz: Are you sure? Do we know whether people living on busy streets have other lifestyle factors that are especially conducive to heart disease?

Summarize Argument: Phenomenon-Hypothesis
Merton points out that a study shows a correlation between living on very busy streets and heart disease. Merton hypothesizes that the higher heart disease rate of people on these streets is caused by air pollution from cars.
Ortiz responds that there might be other factors that are the cause of the higher heart disease rate among people who live on busy streets.

Describe Method of Reasoning
Ortiz responds by pointing out that there might be other explanations for the correlation observed in the study described by Merton. Merton’s explanation is that air pollution caused by cars is causing heart disease. Ortiz suggests that the real explanation might be related to other lifestyle factors.

A
raising a question about the validity of the study that Merton cites
Ortiz doesn’t question the validity of the study. He doesn’t question the truth of the correlation found in the study. What he questions is Merton’s explanation for that correlation. Merton’s explanation is not part of the study.
B
contending that Merton needs to take into account other effects of air pollution
Ortiz doesn’t point out the need to consider other effects of air pollution. He points out the need to consider other causes of heart disease.
C
claiming that Merton misunderstands a crucial aspect of the study’s findings
Ortiz doesn’t claim Merton misunderstands anything about the study’s findings. Ortiz might agree that Merton perfectly understands the results of the study. What Ortiz questions is Merton’s explanation of those results. Merton’s explanation isn’t part of the study’s findings.
D
raising a counterexample to the general conclusion that Merton draws
Ortiz doesn’t raise a counterexample. A counterexample would involve the existence of people who live on a busy street, but whose heart disease is not caused by air pollution. Ortiz doesn’t point out that this kind of person exists.
E
suggesting that alternative explanations for the study’s findings need to be ruled out
Ortiz, through rhetorical questions, suggests that the cause of heart disease for people on busy streets might be other lifestyle factors. To conclude that air pollution is the cause, we’d need to rule out these other explanations.

Take PrepTest

Review Results

LSAT PrepTest 144 Explanations

Section 1 - Reading Comprehension

Section 2 - Logical Reasoning

Section 3 - Logical Reasoning

Section 4 - Logical Reasoning

Get full LSAT course

Leave a Reply