LSAT 19, Logical Reasoning I, Q18, LSATHacks

LR Question 18 Explanation, by LSATHacks

QUESTION TEXT: In the past decade, a decreasing percentage of money…

QUESTION TYPE: Sufficient Assumption

CONCLUSION: Less money is spent on effective treatments.

REASONING: A smaller percentage of money is spent on effective treatments.

ANALYSIS: The evidence is about the percentage (e.g. 55%) while the conclusion is about the amount ($5,000,000). They’re two very different things.

We need something that proves a smaller amount of money is spend on effective treatments.

___________

1. It doesn’t really matter if those varieties have become less common. We can spend more money on something even if it is less common.
2. This doesn’t affect either the amount of money or the percentage of money spent on non-standard treatments. It only affects how many treatments we could pay for with a given amount of money.
3. Total medical expenditures are irrelevant. We’re making a claim about the amount of money spend on effective treatments for disease X.
4. This affects percentage. We need information about the amount of money.
5. CORRECT. If effective treatments get a smaller percentage of a smaller amount of money then the amount spent on them must have declined.

Recap: The question begins with “In the past decade, a decreasing percentage of money”. It is a Sufficient Assumption question. Learn more about LSAT Sufficient questions in our guide to LSAT Logical Reasoning question types.

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