June 1999 LSAT Section 3 Question 25

The interstitial nucleus, a subregion of the brain's hypothalamus, is typically smaller for male cats than for female...

lklop on August 5, 2021

Why not A?

stumbled on this one because it brought up female cats in the argument but did not mention them in the correct answer. I would have thought that to show X cannot be determined by the size of the nucleus you would've had to show that female cats do not get this disease or that its cause comes from something else which is why I picked A. Otherwise, why bring up female cats in the first place?

Create a free account to read and take part in forum discussions.

Already have an account? log in

Kyland on November 4, 2021

The conclusion is about the male cats being able to contract the disease. Female cats are only relevant to display that the size of the brain is smaller than a female cat(when no disease is present typically) and bigger when they have the disease. Perhaps if the conclusion stated that the size of the nucleus is linked to the disease for all cats A would be applicable. However, in this case to weaken the answer it must say something about the link between male cat nucleus size and the disease. The correct answer destroys the link between the two by saying the hypothalamus does not cause disease X (since it is a subtype) and the nucleus is a part of the hypothalamus.

P.S. not a tutor but thought I would give my reasoning to you until a pro did. :)