Practice Quiz

LSAT

Category - Logical Reasoning

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Miguel: “My mother is worried that I will hurt myself because I always ride my bicycle without a helmet. But I heard that deadly bike accidents are more common with mountain bikes than with road bikes, so I probably will be safe while riding my road bike. Wearing a helmet would not do anything to lessen my risk of an accident.”

Which of the following is a flaw in Miguel’s argument?
  1. He presumes that his mother is a biased source of information.
  2. He mistakes evidence for something being likely for evidence of it being certain.
  3. He mistakes evidence for one activity being safer than another as evidence of that activity’s absolute safety.
  4. He mistakes a sufficient condition for one that is necessary.
  5. He mistakes the rate of deadly bike accidents with the rate of overall bike accidents.
Explanation
Answer: C - Miguel’s flaw is he mistakes evidence for one activity being safer than another as evidence of that activity’s absolute safety. Miguel gives evidence that his road bike is safer than a mountain bike, but then uses that evidence to justify his assertion that he does not need a bike helmet. While a road bike may be safer than a mountain bike, his data do not explain why he wouldn’t be safer with a helmet on a road bike.
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