LSAT 153 – Section 2 – Question 19

LSAT 153 - Section 2 - Question 19

June 2019

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Question
QuickView		 Type Tags Answer
Choices		 Curve Question
Difficulty		 Psg/Game/S
Difficulty		 Explanation
PT153 S2 Q19
+LR
Except +Exc
Flaw or descriptive weakening +Flaw
Causal Reasoning +CausR
A
76%
163
B
8%
155
C
6%
152
D
4%
152
E
5%
155
146
152
159
 +Medium 146.684 +SubsectionMedium

Trainer: An athlete developed lower back pain after a strenuous athletic competition. For several days, she tried to overcome the pain by daily stretching, but the pain continued. Then, on the advice of a friend, she used a heating pad. Within a few days the pain was gone. This shows that the use of heating pads is generally more effective at relieving lower back pain than stretching is.

Summarize Argument
The author concludes that the use of heating pads is more effective than stretching is at relieving lower back pain. This is based on the fact that an athlete first tried unsuccessfully to overcome lower back pain through stretching. After, the athlete tried a heating pad. Several days later, the pain was gone.

Identify and Describe Flaw
The author assumes that the heating pad caused the lower back pain to go away. This overlooks alternate explanations, such as the possibility that the pain went away simply with more time.
The author also assumes that this athlete’s experience is representative of others concerning what will relieve lower back pain.

A
It fails to consider that even if the use of heating pads is more effective at relieving lower back pain than stretching is, it may be much less effective at helping to heal the underlying injury responsible for the pain.
This possibility is irrelevant, because the conclusion concerns only what is more effective at relieving lower back pain. What is better healing the underlying injury is a separate issue from what’s better at relieving pain.
B
It fails to consider the fact that lower back pain resulting from athletic competitions often disappears after several days regardless of any attempts to relieve it.
This possibility shows that the athlete’s relief from lower back pain does not have to be a result of the heat pad. It could have been due to the additional time after the athletic competition.
C
It fails to consider that the athlete’s experience regarding the effectiveness of different methods of relieving lower back pain may not have been representative of that of the general population.
This points out that the athlete’s experience may not be representative of the general population. So the author cannot conclude what is “generally” more effective at relieving back pain simply based on this one athlete.
D
It overlooks the possibility that the effectiveness of different methods of relieving lower back pain may vary substantially depending on the underlying cause of the lower back pain.
If back pain from some other cause — such as moving heavy objects — might be affected differently from pain relief methods, then we cannot conclude what is “generally” more effective from this one athlete’s experience after an athletic competition.
E
It overlooks the possibility that there might be ways of stretching that are much more effective at relieving lower back pain than were the ways the athlete tried.
This points out that the athlete might not have tried the most effective methods of stretching. This shows that we cannot conclude that stretching is generally less effective simply from this one athlete’s experience stretching. Maybe the athlete didn’t stretch in the right way.

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LSAT PrepTest 153 Explanations

Section 1 - Reading Comprehension

Section 2 - Logical Reasoning

Section 3 - Logical Reasoning

Section 4 - Reading Comprehension

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