LSAT 151 | Section 3 | Logical Reasoning: Q22

LR Question 22 Explanation

QUESTION TEXT: Insurers and doctors are well aware that the incidence of lower-back injuries …

QUESTION TYPE: Weaken

CONCLUSION: Office equipment and furniture aren’t designed to promote workers’ health.

REASONING: Office workers who sit long hours have more lower-back injuries than people who regularly do physically demanding work that stresses the lower back.

ANALYSIS: This is a causal argument. It’s assuming that the injury difference is because of the office equipment and furniture.

To weaken that, we want to give an alternative explanation for why office workers might have more injuries that does not point to bad furniture design.

A strong alternative explanation would be something suggesting the relevant difference is not furniture, but something else about the lifestyles of the two groups.

___________

1. This does not explain why office workers have more back injuries than laborers.
2. This is completely irrelevant to the reasoning.
3. Tempting, but this only says they are encouraged to use such techniques, not that they do so effectively enough to explain the injury difference. It weakens only indirectly.
4. This actually tends to support the argument by linking injuries to workplace conditions.
5. CORRECT. Physical laborers may suffer fewer injuries not because office furniture is badly designed, but because their physically active work may function like protective exercise. That undermines the blame on office furniture.