Logical Reasoning · Inference (evidence against)
PrepTest 129 · Section 2 · Question 23
Phase 1 (your first ~400 questions): read the guidance, then answer. No clock.
Step 1 · Pre-Question Guidance · read this first
- “usually”
- “typically”
- “fewer”
- “against”
Playground logic
Owen stops selling once he reaches his goal, so on busy days he quits early and on slow days he stays late. That fact punches a hole in any claim that kids stay longer when sales come fast.
Step 2 · The kid story
Owen's Lemonade Rule
Owen runs a lemonade stand every Saturday. His rule is simple: as soon as his jar holds ten dollars, he packs up and goes to play. On hot days, the line is long and the cups fly. He hits ten dollars by lunchtime. On chilly days, people walk right past. He sits there until almost dinner. Marcus watched this for a month. 'That's weird,' he said. 'I thought people stayed longer when business was booming.' Priya sipped her juice box. 'Not Owen. When each hour pays a lot, he works fewer hours, because he reaches his goal faster.' Lulu wrote it on her clipboard: busy day, short shift. Slow day, long shift. Biscuit, who only cared about dropped ice cubes, preferred the slow days.
Step 3 · Try the model question
Owen stops selling lemonade each Saturday as soon as he earns ten dollars. Because of this, he usually sells for fewer hours on busy days than on slow days.
The facts above count most strongly against which claim?
Step 4 · The courtroom tale
The Pumpkin Patch Puzzle
A pumpkin patch owner was accused of being lazy on busy days. 'On the busiest fall weekends,' said the prosecutor, 'he closes early!' Mr. Whitfield stood. 'Your Honor, my client sets a goal: once he sells one hundred pumpkins, he locks the gate. On busy days he hits that goal before noon. On slow days, he stays until dark.' The judge frowned at the prosecutor. 'So your theory that people always stay longer when sales pour in?' 'It, um, does not fit these facts,' the prosecutor mumbled. 'Indeed,' said Mr. Whitfield. 'His records point the other way entirely.' The jury nodded. Laziness was off the table.
Step 5 · Work the real question
Open PrepTest 129, Section 2, Question 23 in your official copy from LSAC (for example in LawHub) and read it there.
Your answer
How to apply it
Accept the facts as given and spell out what they show about how effort changes when results come faster or slower. Predict the claim that would say the reverse. Then scan for the choice that the facts contradict most directly. Ignore choices the facts never touch, and be careful with choices the facts actually support, since they are not evidence against anything.