Logical Reasoning · Weaken

PrepTest 102 · Section 2 · Question 5

Phase 1 (your first ~400 questions): read the guidance, then answer. No clock.

Step 1 · Pre-Question Guidance · read this first

Question type

Weaken

The one idea it tests

Pop a 'switch to the new method' plan by showing the new method can be beaten in a way the old one cannot.

The basic logic

The plan assumes the new method is better at stopping the problem. Attack that: if the worst offenders can fake the new method but cannot fake the old one, switching makes things worse where it matters most.

Tiny words that decide it

“should”
“instead of”
“anyone”

Playground logic

The class wants to swap the gardener's poke test for color sticks (top bun) because anyone can read a stick (patty). The secret sauce is that the sticks cannot be fooled. If a sneaky kid can trick a stick but never the gardener, the plan pops.

Step 2 · The kid story

The Trick Stick

The class agreed: color sticks instead of the gardener's poke test. Anyone can read a stick. Then Owen raised his hand. 'Funny thing. Marcus is on watering duty, and he hates it. Yesterday he just dripped water right next to the stick. The stick turned blue, but the rest of the soil was dry as a cracker.' Lulu flipped her clipboard. 'Can Marcus fool Mr. Okafor?' 'Never,' said Owen. 'Mr. Okafor pokes all over the pot.' Priya sipped her juice. 'So the sticks catch honest mistakes, but the sneakiest skipper can beat them, and he cannot beat the poke test. That hurts the switch.' Marcus looked at the ceiling.

Step 3 · Try the model question

The gardener's poke test is the only way to tell if a pot is dry, and dry pots often go unnoticed. Color sticks would let anyone check at a glance. So the class should use sticks instead of the poke test.

Which choice, if true, does the most damage to the argument?

Step 4 · The courtroom tale

The Smart Lock Lawsuit

An apartment owner wanted to swap metal keys for app locks so any tenant could check who came in. Mr. Whitfield represented the tenants. He called a locksmith. 'Can an ordinary burglar copy a metal key from these buildings?' 'Almost impossible,' she said. 'Special blanks.' 'And the app lock?' 'A skilled burglar can fake its signal in ten minutes.' Mr. Whitfield faced the judge. 'The new lock is easier to read, sure. But the most dangerous intruders can beat it and cannot beat the old one.' The judge paused the switch.

Step 5 · Work the real question

Open PrepTest 102, Section 2, Question 5 in your official copy from LSAC (for example in LawHub) and read it there.

Your answer

How to apply it

State the plan and its reason, then ask what the plan quietly assumes about the new method beating the old. Look for a choice that shows the new method fails, or the old one succeeds, against the people or cases that matter. Be wary of choices that actually support the plan, that only mention future changes, or that are about totals and estimates rather than which method works.