Logical ReasoningDifficulty: Medium

PT11 S2 Q23 Explanation

A group of scientists studying calcium

A free, expert breakdown of this official LSAT Logical Reasoning question.

TopicsParadox

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Stimulus

A group of scientists studying calcium metabolism in laboratory rats discovered that removing the rats’ parathyroid glands resulted in the rats’ having substantially lower than normal levels of calcium in their blood. This discovery led the scientists to hypothesize that the function of the parathyroid gland is to regulate the level of in the rats’ blood decreased much less sharply than when the parathyroid gland alone was removed.

What this question is testing

Paradox

Your task

Break the argument into its conclusion and evidence, then do exactly what the question stem asks with that structure.

Common trap

Answers that sound relevant to the topic but don't connect to the argument's actual reasoning.

Winning move

Predict what a right answer must do, then test each choice against the conclusion-evidence gap.

Reading along? Open the full official question in LawHub — we show a fragment here and keep the reasoning in our own words.

The question
23.

Which one of the following, if true, explains the surprising discovery in a way most consistent with

Answer choices

  1. Correct69% picked this

    The adrenal gland acts to lower the level of calcium in

    Why this is right

    Answer A is correct.

    Skill tested: Paradox · how this choice captures the argument's function is the move to repeat next time.

  2. Trap9% picked this

    The adrenal gland and the parathyroid gland play the same role in regulating

  3. Trap15% picked this

    The absence of a parathyroid gland causes the adrenal gland to increase the level of

  4. Trap4% picked this

    If the adrenal gland, and no other gland, of a rat were removed, the rat’s calcium

  5. Trap2% picked this

    The only function of the parathyroid gland is to regulate the level of calcium

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