LR Drill Set 9, Question 9
Dietitian: To control blood cholesterol by dietary means,(57 more words not shown)
The dietitian's reasoning is flawed(3 more words not shown)
- Afails to consider(31 more words not shown)
- Btakes for granted(18 more words not shown)
- Ctakes for granted(17 more words not shown)
- Dfails to consider(9 more words not shown)
- Efails to consider(15 more words not shown)
Reading the argument
What if canola oil is liquid and still high in saturated fats?
We're told that solid oils are high in saturated fats. That tells us what to expect from a solid oil. It doesn't tell us that solid oils are the only ones high in saturated fats. Liquid oils could fall on either side: some low, some high. The passage gives us no rule settling that.
The dietitian wants to recommend canola for controlling cholesterol. The opening comparison explains why low saturated fat would matter, but we still need to establish that canola actually has that property. Being good for cooking at high temperatures doesn't supply it, and being liquid doesn't supply it either.
Think of the unsupported step this way: 'Every solid oil is high in saturated fats; this oil isn't solid; therefore it isn't high in saturated fats.' That last move treats one group known to have the property as though it were the only group that could have it.
What we’re looking for
The flaw answer might say that in abstract language, or it might simply point out that canola could still be high in saturated fats. Either version needs to address the missing fact about this oil, not a different question about the best possible health plan.
Working the answers
- A
Combining the two dietary methods might help even more. But the dietitian hasn't concluded that people should abandon limiting dietary cholesterol or use only one method. The conclusion recommends canola oil. A doesn't explain why the given facts fail to establish that canola is a suitable oil for that purpose.
- BCorrect
Translate the two characteristics. The characteristic that accompanies being solid is being high in saturated fats. The argument wrongly assumes that high saturated fat is present only when the oil is solid.
That is why the dietitian treats canola's liquid state as evidence that its saturated fat content is low. But the original rule covers solid oils without ruling out high saturated fat in liquid oils. B captures exactly that unsupported restriction.
- C
Cardiovascular health may be why someone cares about cholesterol, but the passage doesn't compare ways to achieve cardiovascular health. Its stated goal is controlling blood cholesterol through diet. We shouldn't turn a plausible background motive into a claim the dietitian made.
- D
Exercise or some other nondietary approach might help control cholesterol. That wouldn't prevent a particular oil from being a good dietary choice too. The dietitian isn't claiming diet is the best of all possible methods; the problem is failing to show that canola has the dietary property used to support its recommendation.
- E
Other liquid cooking oils could exist without making canola a bad choice. The conclusion says canola is a good oil to use, not the only good oil or the best one. E doesn't address whether canola is actually low in saturated fats.
More Flaw questions
Learn the LSAT our way
Our platform drills Flaw questions at your level and adjusts as you improve.