LR Question 22 Explanation
QUESTION TEXT: A recent study confirms that nutritious breakfasts make…
QUESTION TYPE: Strengthen
PREVIEW: GAP: This is a correlation-causation argument. It....Get the Complete Solution
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Recap: The question begins with “A recent study confirms that nutritious breakfasts make”. It is a Strengthen question. Learn more about LSAT Strengthen questions in our guide to LSAT Logical Reasoning question types.
More Resources for Strengthen Questions
- Intro Course lesson: This intro course lesson covers Strengthen questions.
- Mastery Seminar lesson: This LR Mastery seminar lesson covers strengthen questions.
I can see why “A” is right. The stimulus makes a subtle assumption that if Plant B workers didn’t receive breakfast, then they didn’t eat any breakfast. “A” addresses saying that “few,” which I read as “only few” ate breakfast, meaning majority didn’t eat nutritious breakfast.
However, I still don’t get why “C” is wrong. Doesn’t this eliminate the alternative explanation that maybe Plant B workers were at their maximum capacity of productivity, so there was no more to increase. However, Plant A workers may have been 30% productive, so they had more room to improve productivity regardless of breakfast or not.
Hi Esther – the question specifically focuses on the effects of a nutritious breakfast on productivity. Therefore, the answer that most strengthens the argument is one that supports the link between nutritious breakfasts and productivity. So A is the option that most strengthens the argument.
The workers at Plant A could have started off as less productive than the workers at Plant B, but we’re not worried about comparing the two Plants’ levels of productivity – we’re concerned with whether Plant A’s productivity changed after a month of nutritious breakfasts (compared to their starting productivity levels), and whether Plant B’s productivity changed after a month of not being given nutritious breakfasts (compared to their starting productivity levels). C doesn’t really strengthen the argument, because it compares A and B’s starting productivity levels to each other, rather than comparing A’s starting productivity with A’s end productivity, and B’s starting productivity with B’s end productivity. Hope that helps!