PrepTest 148, Section 3, Question 4
Electric stovetop burners would cause fewer fires if(42 more words not shown)
Which one of the following(9 more words not shown)
- AElectric stovetop burners(12 more words not shown)
- BA maximum temperature(12 more words not shown)
- CThe lowest ignition(10 more words not shown)
- DElectric burners on(5 more words not shown)
- EElectric stovetop burners(12 more words not shown)
Reading the argument
Would lowering the maximum temperature make the stove worse at cooking? That's an obvious concern about a cap, but the passage answers it: 350°C still provides more than enough heat for efficient, effective cooking.
The fire argument also makes sense on the stated numbers. Cooking oil and most common fibers don't ignite below 387°C. A burner capped at 350°C would stay below that threshold, while existing burners can exceed 700°C. Lowering the limit would remove opportunities to ignite those materials. That supports fewer fires, not necessarily no fires at all.
What we’re looking for
We're asked for the conclusion, so we don't need to decide every possible cost of changing the burners. The author wants us to believe the conditional claim that limiting their highest temperature would reduce fires. The cooking and ignition facts explain why that change could help.
Working the answers
- ACorrect
This states the point supported by the temperature comparisons: if electric burners were capped at 350°C, they would cause fewer fires. The argument may invite us to favor that change, but its stated conclusion is the predicted reduction in fires. A preserves that claim exactly.
- B
This answers the concern that a lower limit would leave too little heat for useful cooking. It supports the practicality of the proposed limit, but it doesn't express the argument's point about reducing fires. Ask why the author mentions adequate cooking: to help make the case for what would happen if the maximum were lowered.
- C
The ignition threshold is evidence. It explains why 350°C matters: that proposed maximum is below the temperature at which the listed materials begin to ignite. The conclusion uses this fact to predict fewer fires; the threshold itself isn't the final point.
- D
This describes how hot current burners can get. Combined with the ignition threshold, it shows why the author sees room to reduce the fire risk. It leaves out the proposed lower limit and the result the author predicts from adopting it.
- E
This focuses on explaining fires under the current setup. Even if the high temperatures help explain those fires, the author's conclusion goes further in a different direction: lowering the maximum would reduce them. E doesn't express that conditional claim about the proposed change.
More Role/Main Point questions
Learn the LSAT our way
Our platform drills Role/Main Point questions at your level and adjusts as you improve.