Logical ReasoningDifficulty: Medium

PT118 S3 Q9 Explanation

High blood cholesterol levels are

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

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Stimulus

High blood cholesterol levels are bad for the heart. Like meat, eggs, and poultry, shellfish contains cholesterol. But shellfish is not necessarily bad for the heart; it is very low in saturated much more than dietary cholesterol does.

What this question is testing

Strengthen

Your task

Find the choice that makes the argument's conclusion more likely to be true.

Common trap

Answers that are consistent with the argument but add no real support, or that strengthen a claim the argument doesn't make.

Winning move

Locate the gap between evidence and conclusion, then pick the choice that closes it.

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

The question
9.

Which one of the following, if true, most strengthens

Answer choices

  1. No Impact10% picked this

    Meat and eggs are high in

    Whether meat and eggs are high in saturated fat does not affect the comparison between the cholesterol content of shellfish and its impact on heart health.

  2. No Impact3% picked this

    Small quantities of foods high in saturated fat are not bad

    Shellfish is low in saturated fat. This answer is talking about stuff that's high in saturated fat, so it's not even talking about shellfish. If anything, it's diminishing the author's connection between "high in saturated fat = bad for the heart".

  3. Weaker Impact11% picked this

    Shellfish has less cholesterol per gram than meat, eggs, and

    This is does somewhat help us argue that shellfish is fine for the heart. We know that high cholesterol is bad for the heart, and this is saying that shellfish has less cholesterol per gram than some other foods. But saying that it has less cholesterol than other foods doesn't mean it's a low cholesterol food. We know shellfish contains cholesterol. A person whose committed fewer crimes than these other three guys is still a criminal. So it's not a strong way to argue "this person is fine for society".

  4. Correct76% picked this

    Foods low in saturated fat promote low

    Why this is right

    This may feel like it's kind of just restating the premise, but the premise never actually told us what type of affect saturated fat has. It just says "saturated fat affects blood cholesterol more than dietary cholesterol does". But we don't know whether that's saying "the more saturated fat, the MORE blood cholesterol" or "the more saturated fat, the LESS blood cholesterol". This answer spells out the connection. Shellfish is a food low in saturated fat. A food low in saturated fat promotes low blood cholesterol. High blood cholesterol is bad for the heart. Thus shellfish is not too bad for the heart!

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

  5. Irrelevant Comparison1% picked this

    A serving of meat or poultry is typically larger than a

    The serving size comparison doesn't tell us anything about what shellfish's impact on the heart is.

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