LSAT 157 | Section 2 | Logical Reasoning: Q11

LR Question 11 Explanation

QUESTION TEXT: Wounds become infected because the break in the skin allows…

QUESTION TYPE: Paradox

PARADOX: Infections slow healing and are caused by bacteria entering through a break in the skin. Wounds treated with honey healed faster than wounds treated with antibiotic ointment and untreated wounds, even though honey contains significant amounts of bacteria.

ANALYSIS: The paradox here is that wounds treated with honey heal faster than the other listed wounds, even though honey contains infection-causing bacteria.

This is a pretty typical paradox question. Based on the stimulus, we would expect honey to cause more infection and slow healing. But it doesn’t, and the correct answer will tell us why. It must be something that not only offsets the negative impact of bacteria in the honey, but has an overall positive effect on healing.

___________

1. We aren’t comparing untreated wounds to wounds treated with ointment – we want something that sets honey apart.
2. This seems good at first glance, but isn’t enough. It tells us that there is probably small amounts of bacteria after a treatment with ointment, and that honey only contains small amounts of bacteria. But that’s not enough to explain why honey is better.
3. CORRECT. This is exactly what we were looking for. The honey slows the growth of bacteria, explaining why it’s better than no treatment. The bit about antibiotic ointment making wounds take longer to heal is what sets this answer apart from D – it’s better to reduce the growth of bacteria with honey than kill it with ointment, because the ointment slows healing and gives more opportunity for complications.
4. This is decent, but not the best answer. Honey slowing bacterial growth is a benefit, but isn’t it better to have ointment that kills the bacteria? There must be something that makes honey better.
5. This is half of the correct answer, with D making up the remainder. It isn’t enough for there to be problems caused by the ointment – honey has to be better than both ointment and no treatment.

Recap: The question begins with “Wounds become infected because the break in the skin allows”. It is a Paradox question. Learn how to master LSAT Paradox questions on the LSAT Logical Reasoning question types page.