Logical Reasoning · Paradox
PrepTest 112 · Section 1 · Question 13
Phase 1 (your first ~400 questions): read the guidance, then answer. No clock.
Step 1 · Pre-Question Guidance · read this first
- “however”
- “even though”
- “until”
- “actually”
Playground logic
Stuffing showed up from Biscuit's toy on Monday, but nobody saw the toy torn apart until Friday. The fix: small rips can leak stuffing before the toy splits. Both facts shake hands.
Step 2 · The kid story
The Leaky Lamb
On Monday, Lulu found white fluff all over the living room. "Biscuit's stuffed lamb is breaking!" she said, and she was right: fluff only comes out when a toy is coming apart. But here's the puzzle. Lulu watched that lamb every single day, clipboard ready, and it didn't actually come apart in two until Friday. Marcus declared the fluff a ghost. Priya inspected the lamb. "Look. Tiny holes along the seams. Fluff can sneak out of small rips long before the toy splits in half." Lulu nodded and wrote: partial rips can still leak. Biscuit wagged, very proud of his slow, careful demolition. Mr. Whiskers watched from the couch, unimpressed.
Step 3 · Try the model question
On Monday, fluff appeared from Biscuit's stuffed lamb, and Lulu correctly concluded that the lamb was coming apart, since fluff spills out when a toy comes apart. Yet although she watched the lamb daily, she did not see it split in two until Friday.
Which fact, if added, best clears up the puzzle?
Step 4 · The courtroom tale
The Dripping Ceiling
A tenant sued her landlord, claiming the upstairs pipe burst on March 1, because water started dripping through her ceiling that day. The landlord's lawyer smirked. "Your Honor, our plumber checked that pipe all month. It did not split open until March 20. Her story is impossible." Mr. Whitfield adjusted his suspenders and called the plumber. "Before a pipe splits, can water leak through small cracks?" "Oh, sure. Hairline cracks drip for weeks." Mr. Whitfield turned to the judge. "So the pipe was failing on March 1, and it fully split later. Both stories are true." The judge nodded. "Water does not wait for paperwork."
Step 5 · Work the real question
Open PrepTest 112, Section 1, Question 13 in your official copy from LSAC (for example in LawHub) and read it there.
Your answer
How to apply it
State the two sides that seem to clash: an effect showed up early, but the cause that produces it wasn't seen in full until later. Then run the Handshake Test on each answer: does it let both facts be true together? The winner usually shows the effect can come from a partial or early stage of the cause. Drop answers that explain only one side or that deepen the conflict.