Logical ReasoningDifficulty: Medium

PT3 S2 Q9 Explanation

Although nondairy coffee lighteners made with coconut

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

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Stimulus

Although nondairy coffee lighteners made with coconut oil contain 2 grams of saturated fat per tablespoon, or 7 times more than does whole milk, those lighteners usually contain no cholesterol. Yet one tablespoon of such lighteners causes the consumer’s blood cholesterol to rise to a higher milk, which contains 2 milligrams of cholesterol per tablespoon.

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.

Manufacturers of coffee lighteners based on coconut oil claim that their products usually cause the typical consumer’s blood cholesterol to rise to a lower level than does the

Answer choices

  1. No Impact12% picked this

    Consumers of lighteners made with coconut oil who avoid other high-cholesterol foods and exercise more than average tend to

    This choice provides irrelevant context, discussing consumers with special habits that aren't typical. It's not addressing the comparison between the lighteners and whole milk for the typical consumer.

  2. No Impact / No Distinction9% picked this

    Coffee is frequently consumed with pastries and other rich desserts that themselves result in high

    This is just about coffee, regardless of which creamer one uses. Since it makes no distinction between the coconut-oil creamer and whole milk, it doesn't help us explain how coconut-oil users would get less of a blood cholesterol boost.

  3. No Impact4% picked this

    One popular nondairy coffee lightener that is not based on coconut oil has reduced its fat content by 20 percent while keeping

    This choice talks about a nondairy lightener unrelated to coconut oil. It doesn’t relate to the comparison between coconut oil-based lighteners vs. whole milk.

  4. Correct73% picked this

    Consumers typically add to their coffee substantially smaller quantities of coconut oil-based lighteners than

    Why this is right

    If consumers typically add substantially smaller quantities of coconut oil-based lighteners than of whole milk, it could explain why the increase in blood cholesterol is usually lower compared to using whole milk. Even though 1 tbsp of coco-creamer is worse than 1 tbsp of whole milk, if consumers add less of the coco-creamer, then we really might be comparing the effects of 0.5 tbsp of coco-creamer to 1 tbsp of whole milk.

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

  5. No Impact2% picked this

    Most consumers are convinced that whole dairy products increase blood cholesterol and that nondairy coffee

    This choice only discusses consumers’ beliefs about dairy and nondairy products, which doesn't affect the actual comparative cholesterol-raising effects of coconut oil-based lighteners versus whole milk.

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