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Logical Reasoning · Weaken

PrepTest 105 · Section 2 · Question 2

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
An argument that compares total sales using only how often each buyer buys forgets to count how many buyers there are.
The basic logic
Total sales = number of buyers times purchases per buyer. The argument looks at only one of those two factors. The weakener shows the other factor swings hard the other way.
Tiny words that decide it
  • “only once”
  • “many times”
  • “less profitable”

Playground logic

Marcus says balloons will earn less than stickers because each kid buys one balloon but stacks of stickers. That patty only counts how often one kid buys. Priya pops it by noting that way more kids want balloons.

Step 2 · The kid story

Balloons vs. Stickers

The school carnival is coming, and Marcus is in charge of the money table. "We should get the PTA to help pay for the balloon booth," he announces, "because balloons will be the worst seller at the whole carnival." Nadia asks why. "Easy," says Marcus. "Each kid buys one balloon, ties it to their wrist, done. But stickers? Kids buy stickers over and over all afternoon." Priya pokes her straw into her juice box. "Sure, one kid buys a lot of stickers. But how many kids even buy stickers? Last year about six kids bought stickers. Almost every kid at the carnival bought a balloon." Marcus blinks. "So one balloon times three hundred kids is..." "A lot of balloons," says Owen.

Step 3 · Try the model question

Marcus: The balloon booth deserves extra help from the PTA, because balloons will be the least profitable item at the carnival. After all, each kid buys a balloon just once, while kids who like stickers buy them again and again throughout the day.

Which one of these, if it were true, would do the most damage to the reasoning Marcus gives for his claim about balloons?

Choices

Step 4 · The courtroom tale

The Umbrella Shop Appeal

An umbrella maker asked the town for a tax break. Her lawyer argued, "Umbrellas are the least profitable thing on Main Street. A customer buys one umbrella and keeps it for years. A customer buys coffee every single day!" Mr. Whitfield rose for the town, thumbs hooked in his suspenders. "Your Honor, how many people on Main Street buy coffee? Maybe a few hundred. How many people buy an umbrella? Every person in this rainy town." The judge nodded. "Counting how often one person buys tells me nothing until I know how many people are buying. The request is denied."

Step 5 · Work the real question

Open PrepTest 105, Section 2, Question 2 in your official copy from LSAC (for example in LawHub) and read it there.

Your answer

How to apply it

Spot the conclusion about which product earns less. Then find the reason: it compares how often a single buyer buys. Remember the full formula: how many buyers times how often each buys. Look for the choice that fills in the missing factor in the direction that hurts the argument. Ignore choices about who pays other costs or about competitors, since they do not touch the comparison the reasoning makes.