PrepTest 102, Section 2, Question 3
Many people limit the intake of calories and(63 more words not shown)
Which one of the following(5 more words not shown)
- Amight at first(11 more words not shown)
- Bwill not lose(13 more words not shown)
- Cmight lose more(16 more words not shown)
- Dwill not decrease(8 more words not shown)
- Ewill both decrease(12 more words not shown)
Reading the argument
Eating less cholesterol doesn't mean cholesterol can only leave the bloodstream. The fat cells could be releasing some into it at the same time.
The passage says that when people lose weight, their fat cells shrink rather than disappear. As the cells shrink, they release stored cholesterol. So a person could be doing what the diet is intended to do—losing weight—while that process adds cholesterol to the blood.
How much is being released, compared with whatever reduction the diet otherwise produces?
We aren't told. That is why I'd be careful about predicting the result. The diet might not lower blood cholesterol immediately; the release could even cause a temporary increase. But we can't say everyone on the diet will experience an increase.
What we’re looking for
To complete the argument, keep that possible unintended effect. We don't need to invent a comparison between different diets or decide exactly how much weight someone will lose.
Working the answers
- ACorrect
Blood cholesterol might initially increase. The shrinking fat cells supply a possible source of extra cholesterol even while the person consumes less of it. “Might” matters here because the passage doesn't give the quantities needed to calculate the overall change. A describes a supported possibility without insisting that the release always outweighs every other effect of the diet.
- B
We have no comparison of weight-loss speeds between low-calorie and high-calorie diets. The passage describes what fat cells do when someone loses weight. It doesn't tell us how quickly different people lose it, so B introduces a comparison we can't complete from these facts.
- C
The passage doesn't compare weight loss on low-cholesterol and high-cholesterol diets. The unexpected issue concerns cholesterol released during weight loss, not evidence that eating more cholesterol would make someone lose more weight. Changing the proposed diet doesn't follow from the described process.
- D
This confuses the size of the cells with their number. The passage says that weight loss reduces their size while leaving their number unchanged. The shrinking is precisely what releases the cholesterol. D denies the relevant change rather than drawing out its consequence.
- E
Neither promised result is established. We aren't told the person will gain weight, and the release of cholesterol gives us a reason not to guarantee a fall in blood cholesterol. The diet's intended benefits aren't automatic outcomes, and E's particular combination is unsupported.
More Must Be True questions
Learn the LSAT our way
Our platform drills Must Be True questions at your level and adjusts as you improve.