Logical Reasoning · Paradox (Explain)

PrepTest 110 · 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

Paradox (Explain)

The one idea it tests

A tool that works great for one task, so-so for another, and not at all for a third is explained by a feature that matches the tool to the tasks.

The basic logic

Lay out the uneven results. Look for one fact that explains all three levels at once, especially a feature that makes the tool fit one task best. Run the Handshake Test: the right answer shakes hands with every part of the pattern, not just one.

Tiny words that decide it

“whereas”
“little”
“no help”
“most”

Playground logic

The class label-maker is a hit for labeling supply bins, a little useful for art projects, and useless for birthday cards. The handshake fact is that the label-maker is built for short, exact, uniform text, which fits bins best and cards worst. That one fact explains the whole mixed report.

Step 2 · The kid story

The Label-Maker Report Card

Ms. Rivera bought a label-maker for the class. After a month she asked for reviews. Nadia said, "Amazing for the supply bins. Every bin now says exactly what is inside." Owen said, "For art projects, it was okay, I guess. My poster title looked a bit stiff." Kevin said, "For Grandpa's birthday card? Useless. I wanted swirly letters and a dinosaur. It just printed one tiny gray line." Marcus said, "Weird. Same machine, three different grades. Maybe it is haunted." Priya laughed. "It is not haunted. It prints short, plain, exact words. Bins need exactly that. Posters need a little more style. Cards need feelings and doodles. The more a job needs exact plain words, the better the label-maker does." Lulu gave the explanation a gold star.

Step 3 · Try the model question

Ms. Rivera's class has used a label-maker for a month. Students say it is very useful for labeling supply bins, of limited use for art projects, and of no use at all for making birthday cards.

Which fact, if it is correct, best accounts for the students' uneven reviews?

Step 4 · The courtroom tale

The Case of the Picky Paint Sprayer

A painter sued the store that sold him a spray gun. "It was perfect on my flat garage door, so-so on my wooden porch rails, and hopeless on my tiny window trim. The store sold me a broken tool!" Mr. Whitfield called the store's expert. "This sprayer lays down a wide, even mist," she explained. "Big flat surfaces love it. Rails are narrower, so some paint misses. Tiny trim needs a brush." Mr. Whitfield faced the judge. "Your Honor, the tool is not broken. One feature, a wide even mist, explains all three results." The judge ruled for the store and suggested the painter buy a small brush.

Step 5 · Work the real question

Open PrepTest 110, Section 2, Question 5 in your official copy from LSAC (for example in LawHub) and read it there.

Your answer

How to apply it

Write down the levels of success in order, from best to worst. Ask what single fact could put the tasks in that exact order. Test each choice: does it explain why the top task works best and why the bottom task fails? Reject choices that touch only one task, that apply equally to all tasks, or that would predict the opposite order.