Logical Reasoning · Flaw

PrepTest 103 · Section 2 · Question 4

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

Step 1 · Pre-Question Guidance · read this first

Question type

Flaw

The one idea it tests

Concluding that a claim is untrue just because acting on it would make people unhappy.

The basic logic

The claim is about what is required or true. The reply only points out that doing it would upset people. Unpleasant results do not make a claim false; a duty can be both real and annoying.

Tiny words that decide it

“because”
“would make”
“mistaken”

Playground logic

Priya says the class must clean the hamster cage every Friday. Marcus says she is wrong because cleaning it would make everyone grumpy. The patty (people would be unhappy) does not reach the top bun (so the claim is false); the secret sauce, 'anything that upsets people cannot be required,' is never earned.

Step 2 · The kid story

The Hamster Cage Duty

Priya stood at the class meeting. 'Mr. Whiskers is a cat, so he does not count, but our hamster, Peanut, does. The class must clean Peanut's cage every Friday. That is part of having a class pet.' Marcus jumped up. 'Wrong! Cleaning the cage would make everybody grumpy. Nobody wants to touch hamster stuff on a Friday. So Priya is mistaken.' Lulu frowned at her clipboard. 'Marcus, you only showed that cleaning is yucky. You did not show we do not have to do it.' Kevin added, 'Brushing teeth is yucky too. I still have to.' Priya sipped her juice box. 'Being unpleasant and being untrue are two different things.' Peanut squeaked in agreement.

Step 3 · Try the model question

Priya claims the class is required to clean the hamster cage each Friday. Marcus replies that cleaning the cage would make the students unhappy, so Priya's claim is wrong.

Marcus's reasoning is most open to criticism because he

Step 4 · The courtroom tale

The Snow Shoveling Ordinance

In Pine Hollow, a resident named Iris testified that the town code requires homeowners to clear their sidewalks within a day of snowfall. The opposing lawyer leaned back. 'Your Honor, shoveling makes people sore and cranky. Nobody enjoys it. Therefore Ms. Iris is plainly wrong about the code.' Mr. Whitfield, the town's attorney, stood up slowly. 'Counsel, the code book is right here. You have told us shoveling is unpleasant, which I grant. You have not told us the requirement is absent.' The judge agreed. 'Whether a rule exists does not depend on whether people like following it.'

Step 5 · Work the real question

Open PrepTest 103, Section 2, Question 4 in your official copy from LSAC (for example in LawHub) and read it there.

Your answer

How to apply it

Write down the claim being attacked: what does the other side say is required or true? Then write down the only evidence offered against it. Ask whether that evidence shows the claim false, or only that acting on it would be unwelcome. If it is the second, the flaw is treating bad consequences as proof of falsehood. Pick the choice describing that move, and drop choices about character or missing evidence.