Logical Reasoning · Weaken

PrepTest 129 · Section 3 · Question 6

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

A chain of 'costs go up, so they must cut back' breaks if the cost can be shifted somewhere else without pain.

The basic logic

Map the chain: cost rises, so the payer cannot afford as much, so a bad result follows. Pop the middle link: show the payer can absorb or pass on the cost without cutting back.

Tiny words that decide it

“so”
“therefore”
“cause”

Playground logic

Marcus's burger has a middle bun: if glitter costs more, the art club cannot afford as many glitter crafts. Pop that middle bun and the top falls: if the club can pass the cost along with no harm, it need not cut anything.

Step 2 · The kid story

The Great Glitter Panic

Marcus burst into art club with big news. "The price of glitter is going way up! Obviously that makes glitter crafts cost more for the club. So the club can't afford as many glitter crafts. So fewer kids will get to make sparkly stuff this year!" Kevin gasped and clutched his glitter dinosaur. Priya raised her juice box. "Wait. Last time a supply got expensive, the club added a quarter to the bake sale cookie price. Nobody bought fewer cookies, and the club had the same money as before." Lulu checked her clipboard. "She's right. The club just passed the cost to the cookie buyers." Marcus frowned. If the club can cover the higher price without losing anything, his whole chain falls apart.

Step 3 · Try the model question

Marcus: Glitter is about to cost much more. That will make glitter crafts more expensive for the art club. So the club will not be able to afford as many glitter crafts, and fewer kids will get to make them.

Suppose each choice is true. Which one most seriously undermines Marcus's argument?

Step 4 · The courtroom tale

The Case of the Pricey Pumpkins

A farm stand owner testified. "Pumpkin seed prices doubled. So the hayride company that buys my pumpkins will have to buy fewer, and I'll go broke." Mr. Whitfield stood up, suspenders gleaming. "Your Honor, I call the hayride company's manager." The manager explained, "When costs rise, we add a dollar to the hayride ticket. Riders never notice, and our profits stay the same." Mr. Whitfield turned to the jury. "If the cost simply moves along to the riders, the company need not buy fewer pumpkins. The chain is broken."

Step 5 · Work the real question

Open PrepTest 129, Section 3, Question 6 in your official copy from LSAC (for example in LawHub) and read it there.

Your answer

How to apply it

Diagram the chain from the first fact to the conclusion and find the link that does the heavy lifting, usually 'so they could not afford it.' Look for an answer that shows the cost can be absorbed or shifted without the predicted cutback. Ignore answers that judge whether the outcome is acceptable, or that discuss unrelated trends.