LSAT 131 | Section 2 | Logical Reasoning: Q5

LR Question 5 Explanation

QUESTION TEXT: Gilbert: This food label is mistaken. It says that these

QUESTION TYPE: Strengthen

ARGUMENTS: Gilbert says that the food label is wrong: the food contains chemically synthesized alphahydroxy acids. (The label says “only natural ingredients”)

Sabina says that alphahydroxy acids also occur naturally, in sugarcane. Therefore the label is not mistaken.

ANALYSIS: The two disagree on two points:

Are chemically synthesized ingredients natural if they occur naturally elsewhere?

Is the label mistaken?

The first point might require explanation. Sabina is not saying that the acids in the food occurred naturally. She’s saying that they can occur naturally, elsewhere. And therefore that makes them natural even when chemically synthesized.

___________

1. Gilbert and Sabina are arguing about the label on an old package, which did have alphahydroxy acid.
2. Neither person talks about chemicals not in the cookies.
3. Sabina isn’t saying the company used sugarcane. She’s saying the acid also occurs naturally in sugarcane.
   So this answer is irrelevant to the points either person was making.
4. If this is true, then the two authors might disagree on these labels as well! But neither of them had an opinion on what other labels do.
5. CORRECT. This is worded strangely. It means:
   Occur naturally in some source → considered natural
   considered natural → occur naturally
   Sabina agrees. She thinks: alphahydroxy acids occur in sugarcane, so they are natural when produced by other methods.
   Gilbert disagrees. He thinks chemical synthesis makes something not natural, even if it also occurs naturally elsewhere.