LSAT 23 | Section 3 | Logical Reasoning: Q12

LR Question 12 Explanation

QUESTION TEXT: Vitamin XYZ has long been a favorite among health food…

QUESTION TYPE: Most Strongly Supported

FACTS:

1. Health food eaters like vitamin XYZ.
2. A well controlled study found that a group of people who ate large amounts of vitamin XYZ for two years had a 40% lowers chance of heart disease.

ANALYSIS: Normally, studies mentioned on the LSAT have flaws. This study sounds pretty good though. There was a control group, the diet was controlled and the group was tracked for a long time.

So it’s safe to say that large amounts of vitamin XYZ reduce heart disease risk if taken for two years. Note that we don’t know if the vitamins have other health effects, good or bad.

___________

1. We’re not told about any side effects. Maybe the vitamins increase also the risk of cancer, and it’s a bad idea to take them.
2. CORRECT. The study was controlled, so it’s reasonable to expect that vitamin XYZ does reduce the risk of heart disease if you take large amounts of it for two years.
3. The risk was 40% lower than the control group…but the risk for both groups might have gone up over time. e.g. 60% more risk for the control group, and only 20% more risk for the vitamin group.
4. We don’t know if there are side effects. And we don’t know if the benefits continue if you take vitamin XYZ for more than two years.
5. This is too general. We only know about vitamin XYZ. We don’t know about other vitamins.

Recap: The question begins with “Vitamin XYZ has long been a favorite among health food”. It is a Most Strongly Supported question. Learn more about LSAT MSS questions in our guide to LSAT Logical Reasoning question types.