LSAT 150 | Section 3 | Logical Reasoning: Q12

LR Question 12 Explanation

QUESTION TEXT: Doctor: There will be more local cases of flu infection…

QUESTION TYPE: Sufficient Assumption

CONCLUSION: There will be more local cases of flu infection this year compared to last year.

REASONING: A new strain has appeared, in addition to the previous strains that were present last year.

ANALYSIS: The doctor’s argument only works if there actually are more cases. But a new strain doesn’t mean more cases – the new strain might be competing with the old strains for the same case count. This would decrease the case count from the old strains, possibly offsetting the new strain.

The correct answer will prevent the possibility that case counts actually decreased.

___________

1. This doesn’t allow us to properly draw the conclusion. This answer might make the new strain more competitive, but it actually tells us that the overall case count might decrease!
2. It doesn’t matter how rare new strains are. We’ve got one. You may have picked this because you inferred that new strains being rare meant they were dangerous, but the answer choice doesn’t actually tell us this. Be careful when making assumptions!
3. This doesn’t mean for sure that there will be more cases. If the old strains were completely wiped out, the new strain would have to infect a lot of people to cause more infections.
4. See answer C. If the old strains are much less infectious, there would be fewer cases.
5. CORRECT. If this were true, it would mean that the old strain count is the same or larger than last year. If you add the new strain cases, the doctor is definitely correct that there will be more cases.

Recap: The question begins with “Doctor: There will be more local cases of flu infection”. It is a Sufficient Assumption question. Learn more about LSAT Sufficient questions in our guide to LSAT Logical Reasoning question types.