Q17 - Two alternative drugs are available

[jimmy902o]

Why is C the right answer? I chose E. Any help would be appreciated.

[ManhattanPrepLSAT1]

Great question! And thanks for bringing it to the forum.

Here's what we know... Drug Z costs more than drug Y and drug Z does not clearly treat the problem more effectively than drug Y. The arguments concludes from this that there is no established medical reason for doctors to use drug Z rather than drug Y on their heart attack victims.

Hold up! That's a terrible argument. And this seems to be the usual issue on the LSAT with medications. What about the side effects? Just because drug Z is no more effective at treating the problem, there could be some nasty side effects to drug Y that would provide a serious medical reason for using drug Z over drug Y - such as nausea, vomiting, etc... (just think back to all of those wonderful commercials for prescription drugs where they list all these nasty things and you ask yourself, "why would anyone ever think about taking this garbage?"). Answer choice (C) is really vague but does refer to such potential side effects. That's why it represents the error in reasoning.

Let's look at the incorrect answers though...

(A) is not relavent because the conclusion is limited to a relative comparison between drug Y and drug Z. It never claims that drug Y is the best drug on the market.
(B) plays off an irrelevant part of the argument.
(D) is totally out of left field. The chemical composition is never addressed.
(E) does not occur. The argument does not confuse economic reasons with medical reasons. The argument relies on both medical and economic reasons, but never confuses the two.

Does that answer your question?