LSAT 136 | Section 4 | Logical Reasoning: Q4

LR Question 4 Explanation

QUESTION TEXT: Company spokesperson: Household Products magazine claims that…

QUESTION TYPE: Weaken

CONCLUSION: The attack is groundless.

REASONING: Critics say our filter doesn’t remove contaminants. But millions of people are satisfied with our filter.

ANALYSIS: It doesn’t matter what users think. If I claim that Coca-Cola is unhealthy, it’s irrelevant to point out that millions of people enjoy drinking it. It’s still not a healthy drink.

Likewise, the chemical might satisfy customers because it looks nice, while being totally ineffective at removing chemicals from water.

___________

1. It doesn’t matter if the magazine evaluated taste. The study was only concerned with chemical removal. (Though better taste could explain why millions of people are satisfied with the product).
2. CORRECT. This shows that Filterator X owners can’t help us decide whether it removes chemicals. They have no idea.
3. This doesn’t show whether or not the filter helps remove those chemicals.
4. Why should it matter if consumers read this magazine? We care if the claims are true, not if the magazine is popular. For all we know this is the first issue that mentioned Filterator X, so there’s no obvious impact on the views of Filterator X customers.
5. This could be either because of bias, or because the filters are terrible. This doesn’t tell us anything.