Logical Reasoning · Principle

PrepTest 129 · Section 2 · Question 10

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

Step 1 · Pre-Question Guidance · read this first

Question type

Principle (illustrate)

The one idea it tests

Find the general rule that the speaker's little story is a living example of.

The basic logic

Boil the statements down to their skeleton: someone made a change, the change helps others feel better, and the true motive behind the change is money. The right principle matches that skeleton, no stronger and no weaker. Do not pick a rule that adds a must, a should, or a comparison the speaker never made.

Tiny words that decide it

“intended to”
“thus”
“can”
“only if”

Playground logic

Kevin's patty: he put cushions on the bench at his lemonade stand, the cushions make customers comfy, and comfy customers stay and buy a second cup. His top bun is not a rule at all, it is just a story. The principle it shows: a change made to earn more money can also make life nicer for others.

Step 2 · The kid story

Kevin's Comfy Bench

Kevin runs a lemonade stand every Saturday, right next to his dinosaur poster. Last week he dragged out Grandpa's old bench and piled it with fluffy cushions. Lulu tapped her clipboard. "Why the cushions, Kevin? Are you being nice?" Kevin grinned. "Sort of. People who sit on a soft bench stay longer. People who stay longer get thirsty again. Thirsty people buy a second cup. Second cups mean more quarters for my pineapple pizza fund." Owen flopped onto the bench. "Well, it is the comfiest seat on the whole block." Lulu wrote it down. "So you did it for the money," she said, "but it still made your customers happier." Kevin shrugged. "Both can be true, Lulu. That is just good business with cushions."

Step 3 · Try the model question

Kevin: I put soft cushions on the bench at my lemonade stand. The cushions make customers more comfortable, so they sit longer. Customers who sit longer buy a second cup, and that brings me more money.

Kevin's remarks best serve as an example of which general rule?

Step 4 · The courtroom tale

The Case of the Shady Parking Lot

A grumpy neighbor sued the town mall for planting fifty trees in its parking lot. "Your Honor, they claim to care about drivers. Nonsense! They only want shoppers to stay longer and spend more." Mr. Whitfield snapped his suspenders. "My client agrees. The trees were planted to boost sales. Shady cars mean shoppers linger. Lingering shoppers buy more." The judge raised an eyebrow. "Then where is the harm?" Mr. Whitfield smiled. "There is none, Your Honor. A plan built for profit also gave every driver a cool car seat in July. Money was the motive, and comfort came along for the ride." The judge nodded. "Case dismissed. Both things can be true at once."

Step 5 · Work the real question

Open PrepTest 129, Section 2, Question 10 in your official copy from LSAC (for example in LawHub) and read it there.

Your answer

How to apply it

Read the speaker's statements as one small story and strip out the topic. Write the skeleton on scratch paper: who changed what, who benefits, and why the change was really made. Then test each choice against that skeleton. Toss any rule with a must or should the speaker never states, any comparison with others the story never makes, and any claim that one thing is required for another. Keep the rule that the story fits like a glove.