LSAT 142 | Section 2 | Logical Reasoning: Q17

LR Question 17 Explanation

QUESTION TEXT: Herbalist: While standard antibiotics typically have just…

QUESTION TYPE: Role in Argument

CONCLUSION: Compared to standard antibiotics, herbal antibiotics are more likely to remain effective against bacteria.

REASONING: Bacteria have to develop resistance to all the ingredients in herbal antibiotics in order to survive. And most standard antibiotics have just one ingredient.

ANALYSIS: This question is very complex. To understand the analogy, try to put yourself in the position of a bacteria, and of a cook. And imagine a herbal antibiotic has 4-5 elements.

If you’re a bacteria, you have to develop resistance to the 4-5 elements of a herbal antibiotic.

If you’re a cook, you need to make a meal that can please the 4-5 people you’re serving.

The question is asking about a standard antibiotic. In that situation, the bacteria just has to develop immunity to one ingredient. Resisting one element of an antibiotic is easier, just like it’s easier for a cook to please only a single guest.

Note: I called this a “role in argument” question, but really it’s a unique question type. I’ve never seen a question like this before.

___________

1. CORRECT. See the analysis above.
2. Several dozen guests are like a herbal antibiotic with multiple ingredients.
3. The pleasure of a guest is like the resistance of a bacteria. Bacteria develop resistance to protect themselves against antibiotics. Cooks aim for pleasure to protect themselves from angry customers.
4. The cook is like a bacteria. The bacteria try to survive antibiotics, and cooks try to survive angry customers.
5. The ingredients available to a cook aren’t even mentioned. In the analogy, they’d be similar to the mechanisms by which bacteria develop resistance.