LSAT 3 | Section 4 | Logical Reasoning: Q21

LR Question 21 Explanation

QUESTION TEXT: Leona: If the average consumption of eggs in the United States…

QUESTION TYPE: Strengthen

ANALYSIS: I personally think Thomas is being dense. It’s pretty obvious what Leona means: some people who would have died an egg related death will now either live or die for some other reason. They won’t die from eggs: their lives are safe from the egg menace.

The early LSAT was a lot more literal than the present LSAT. It is possible to be so logical as to be an idiot.

We must explain to Thomas that Leona wasn’t speaking according to the strict logical meaning of her words. Instead, she was speaking like a normal human being fluent in English. She meant that 5,000 fewer people will die egg related deaths each year. It does not necessarily mean that all of them will survive for ten full years: the population might not be a full 50,000 higher.

___________

1. No one even mentioned population growth. Thomas is concerned with the death rate. He keeps everything else equal by saying “[lower] than it otherwise would have been.”
2. CORRECT. This is confusing to read but all it means is that 5,000 fewer people die from eggs each year. Even if they later die for other reasons their lives were “saved” from an egg-related demise.
3. This is true, but it doesn’t address the whole issue. Leona already mentioned that “an estimated 5,000 lives might be saved.” She was pretty explicit that the number was just an estimate and could be different in real life.
4. Thomas is mainly concerned with changes in the death rate. He keeps everything else equal by saying “[lower] than it otherwise would have been.”
5. This doesn’t clear up anything. Thomas’ objection didn’t have to do with how we could cut egg consumption in half. He was concerned about the consequences.

Recap: The question begins with “Leona: If the average consumption of eggs in the United States”. It is a Strengthen question. Learn how to master LSAT Strengthen questions on the LSAT Logical Reasoning question types page.