Logical Reasoning · Paradox
PrepTest 115 · 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
- “more”
- “safer”
- “far more”
Playground logic
The soft playground seems safer than the rocky hill, yet more scraped knees come from the playground. Priya's handshake fact: almost every kid plays on the playground, and hardly anyone climbs the hill. Percent vs. Number to the rescue.
Step 2 · The kid story
The Scraped Knee Mystery
The school nurse posted a chart: twenty scraped knees from the soft rubber playground this month, only two from the rocky hill behind the gym. Marcus gasped. "The rubber playground is a death trap! Everyone should play on the rocks!" Owen frowned. "But rubber is soft. Rocks are sharp. How can the soft place have more scrapes?" Priya took a long sip of her juice box. "How many kids play on the playground at recess?" Lulu checked her clipboard. "About two hundred. The hill? Maybe five, and only on dares." "There it is," Priya said. "More kids, more knees. The playground can be safer per kid and still have more scrapes." Marcus slowly put down the rock he had been holding.
Step 3 · Try the model question
The soft playground has a padded surface while the hill behind the gym is covered in rocks, so we would expect the playground to be safer. Yet the nurse recorded many more scraped knees on the playground than on the hill.
Which choice, if true, best resolves the apparent conflict?
Step 4 · The courtroom tale
The Beginner Ramp Lawsuit
A skate park was sued after records showed more falls on the gentle beginner ramp than on the steep expert bowl. The plaintiff's lawyer waved the report. "The 'safe' ramp is the dangerous one, Your Honor!" Mr. Whitfield, for the park, called the gate attendant. "How many skaters used the beginner ramp last year?" "About nine thousand." "And the expert bowl?" "Maybe three hundred, and they wear full pads." Mr. Whitfield turned to the judge. "More skaters, more falls. Per skater, the beginner ramp is far safer. Both facts are true at once." The judge did the math on a napkin, nodded, and dismissed the case. Then she asked whether the beginner ramp was open on weekends.
Step 5 · Work the real question
Open PrepTest 115, 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 both sides of the puzzle: what we expect (one option is safer) and what the numbers show (more harm with that option). Notice whether the numbers are raw counts or rates. Predict a fact that lets both be true, such as a big difference in how many people are exposed to each option. Use the Handshake Test on each choice: does it explain both sides at once? Watch for Half-Hugs and for facts that deepen the puzzle.