Logical ReasoningDifficulty: Medium

PT13 S2 Q15 Explanation

Smokers of pipes or cigars

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

TopicsParadox

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Stimulus

Smokers of pipes or cigars run a distinctly lower risk to their health than do cigarette smokers. However, whereas cigarette smokers who quit smoking altogether sharply reduce their risk of smoking related health problems, those who give up remain in as much danger as before.

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
15.

Which one of the following, if true, offers the best prospects for an explanation of why the two changes in smoking habits do not both

Answer choices

  1. Trap4% picked this

    Smokers of pipes or cigars who quit smoking thereby reduce their risk of

  2. Trap4% picked this

    Cigarette smokers who quit smoking for a time and who then resume cigarette smoking do not necessarily reduce their risk

  3. Trap15% picked this

    The kinds of illnesses that smokers run an increased risk of contracting develop no earlier in cigarette smokers than they do in

  4. Trap1% picked this

    At any given period in their lives, virtually all smokers smoke either cigarettes exclusively or cigars exclusively or pipes exclusively, rather than alternating

  5. Correct75% picked this

    People who switch from cigarette smoking to smoking pipes or cigars inhale smoke in a way that those who have

    Why this is right

    Answer E is correct.

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

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