LSAT 135 | Section 1 | Logical Reasoning: Q10

LR Question 10 Explanation

QUESTION TEXT: A new process enables ordinary table salt to be…

QUESTION TYPE: Role in Argument

CONCLUSION: The new advance could reduce anemia worldwide.

REASONING: We can now put iron in salt. Lots of people eat salt. Anemia is caused by lack of iron.

ANALYSIS: The sentence in question shows that people will get a decent amount of iron from salt. If people just ate a tiny bit of salt, then salt couldn’t help fix iron deficiency.

Thus, the sentence in question helps show that adding iron to salt really could help solve the problem.

___________

1. The conclusion is that the new advance could help reduce anemia.
2. CORRECT. The sentence supports the conclusion by showing that people will get a meaningful amount of iron from salt.
3. The argument doesn’t try to disprove any claims. And the fact that people eat a lot of salt supports the argument.
4. ‘Qualifying’ a conclusion means putting limits on it. An example would be ‘not everyone eats salt, so this won’t work for everyone’. The sentence in question supported the conclusion, it didn’t restrict the conclusion.
5. Not at all. Illustrating a principle means giving an example of something abstract. I could say:
    
   ‘Technological advances can improve health. For instance, improved monitoring can catch diseases early.’
    
   That’s a principle, and an example illustrating the principle. The sentence in question wasn’t an example of anything.