LSAT 156 | Section 4 | Logical Reasoning: Q10

LR Question 10 Explanation

QUESTION TEXT: While the population of city X is approximately one-half …

QUESTION TYPE: Paradox

PARADOX: Why are city X residents only half as likely to be patients in hospitals as city Y residents are?

ANALYSIS: This is an EXCEPT question. Four answers should help explain why city X has fewer hospital patients per person, and one should not.

So you’re looking for explanations that either:

1. make people in city X healthier, or
2. make fewer people in city X count as hospital patients (e.g., more outpatient care)

Most answers do exactly that. But one answer will not help explain the lower number—it may even push in the opposite direction.

___________

1. This helps. More preventive programs would mean fewer people get sick enough to need hospital care.
2. This helps. More outpatient treatment means fewer people are counted as hospital patients.
3. This helps. Worse water in city Y would lead to more illness and more hospital patients there.
4. CORRECT. This does not help explain the difference. If residents of city X are sent to hospitals in city Y, they would still count as hospital patients, so this does not explain why city X has fewer.
5. This helps. Less stress in city X would likely mean better health and fewer hospitalizations.