Logical ReasoningDifficulty: Medium

PT155 S2 Q10 ExplanationToning shoes—walking shoes

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

TopicsParadox

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Stimulus

Toning shoes—walking shoes with a specially rounded sole—are popular with fitness enthusiasts. Research shows that the major leg muscles of people walking in toning shoes receive no more exercise than those of people walking in ordinary walking shoes. Nevertheless, major leg muscles after switching to toning shoes.

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
10.

Which one of the following, if true, most helps to resolve the apparent discrepancy in

Answer choices, explained

  1. Out of Scope: small muscles16% picked this

    Toning shoes strengthen small underused muscles in the feet

    We're looking for a way to explain why major muscles are strengthening.

  2. No Impact5% picked this

    Muscles in the leg adapt to the rounded shape of toning

    Adapting immediately sounds more like the research's takeaway — these end up being the same as regular shoes. Nothing in this answer gives us a way to explain why the major leg muscles are getting strengthened.

  3. Correct77% picked this

    Many people find toning shoes especially comfortable and walk more as

    Why this is right

    If they walk more as a result, that could explain why they experience a strengthening of their major leg muscles. It would be like if you got new headphones, and listening to music was so enjoyable that you walked more, and so we said that "the new headphones helped you to strengthen your major leg muscles". The headphones don't directly exercise your major leg muscles more, but they lead you to exercise your major leg muscles more.

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

  4. No Impact0% picked this

    There is little evidence that toning shoes cause injuries to

    The fact that these shoes don't cause injuries doesn't give us a good way to explain why there is more major leg muscle strengthening being experienced by those who switch to toning shoes.

  5. Out of Scope: marketable1% picked this

    Shoes that strengthen the major leg muscles are more marketable than

    We don't care about how well these shoes do / don't sell. We're just wondering why those who wear them, however big or small that number is, are experiencing a strengthening of major leg muscles.

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