Logical Reasoning · Weaken

PrepTest 129 · Section 2 · Question 9

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

Step 1 · Pre-Question Guidance · read this first

Question type

Weaken

The one idea it tests

Challenge a 'this change would not help much' claim by showing the change frees up a lot.

The basic logic

The claim says a change would not make a big difference. The best weakener shows that the resources tied up in the old habit are huge compared with what they could do elsewhere, so the change could matter a lot.

Tiny words that decide it

“even if”
“not significantly”
“would”

Playground logic

The claim: even if lots of kids skipped trading cards, the field trip fund wouldn't grow much. The pop: one pack of cards costs as much as bus tickets for ten kids, so skipping cards could free up a lot of money.

Step 2 · The kid story

The Trading Card Fund

Ms. Rivera's class was saving for a trip to the science museum. The jar was looking sad. Marcus declared, "Even if lots of us stopped buying trading cards, the jar wouldn't grow much." Priya sipped her juice box and pulled out a calculator. "Marcus, one pack of shiny cards costs as much as bus tickets for ten kids." Marcus blinked. "Ten?" "Ten." Nadia whistled. "If even half the class skipped one pack, we'd have the whole bus covered." Lulu wrote on her clipboard: Small change, big money. Kevin raised his hand. "Can we still buy dinosaur cards?" "Only after we're on the bus, Kevin." Biscuit, who had eaten a trading card, did not comment.

Step 3 · Try the model question

Marcus: Suppose lots more kids in our class skipped buying trading cards, our field trip fund would not grow much.

Which one of these, if true, does the most damage to Marcus's claim?

Step 4 · The courtroom tale

The Case of the Garden Hose

The town argued that even if residents stopped washing their cars, the reservoir would barely rise. Mr. Whitfield, representing the gardeners, stood. "Your Honor, the water used to wash one car could water ten vegetable gardens for a week." The judge raised her eyebrows. "Ten?" "Ten, Your Honor. So if many residents skipped car washes, a great deal of water would be saved. The town's claim that it would barely matter is all wet." The judge tapped her pen. "So the habit uses far more than we thought, and dropping it frees up a lot." "Exactly. Dry cars, happy tomatoes."

Step 5 · Work the real question

Open PrepTest 129, Section 2, Question 9 in your official copy from LSAC (for example in LawHub) and read it there.

Your answer

How to apply it

Find the claim that a change would not matter much. Ask: what would show that the change frees up a large amount of something useful? Look for a choice that compares the cost of the old habit with what that cost could achieve elsewhere. Eliminate choices that leave the size of the freed-up resource untouched, or that even help the claim.