LSAT 158 | Section 2 | Logical Reasoning: Q7

LR Question 7 Explanation

QUESTION TEXT: Researcher: In a recent study of elementary school computers …

QUESTION TYPE: Weaken

CONCLUSION: School computers put children at the same risk of stress injuries as office workers.

REASONING: They’re placed too high and are causing unhealthy postures.

ANALYSIS: The premises are telling us that: (1) the computers are placed too high for kids, and (2) they’re causing unhealthy postures. That’s not disputable and you’re supposed to take the premises at face value.

However, this leads to the conclusion that office workers (adults) and kids have the same risk for repetitive stress injuries.

We want to show why that might not be true. Maybe:

• Office workers use computers way more than the kids
• Adult bodies are more fragile

You get the gist. We want an answer that makes it less likely that adults and kids have the same risk of injuries.

___________

1. Sure, but that doesn’t matter. We know the setup is wrong for kids, and we don’t know anything about the recommended vs. actual height for adults.
2. The argument is specifically about risk from school computers. So what’s happening at home doesn’t factor in.
3. CORRECT. If children are less susceptible to injury, then they’re probably not at the same risk as office workers.
4. This just tells us that the setup is also harmful (wrong height) for office workers, as it is for kids. But that doesn’t help us evaluate the comparative risk.
5. Reporting differences don’t affect actual risk.