Logical Reasoning · Strengthen

PrepTest 132 · Section 2 · Question 2

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

Step 1 · Pre-Question Guidance · read this first

Question type

Strengthen

The one idea it tests

Support a cause by showing it runs in the family, so the other explanation fades.

The basic logic

The argument sees a good result that happens in spite of bad habits and concludes an inborn trait is the cause. The best help is fresh evidence that points straight at inheritance, such as close relatives sharing the same result.

Tiny words that decide it

“likely”
“since”
“often”

Playground logic

Owen's tomato plant thrived even though he forgot to water it, so he says the seed itself must be a tough kind (top bun). The patty is that neglect usually kills plants. The sauce: the seed's built-in toughness, not luck, made the difference. Showing the plant's seed-packet 'siblings' also thrived makes that sauce taste much stronger.

Step 2 · The kid story

Owen's Unkillable Tomato

Owen is famous for forgetting things. He forgot his lunch, his shoes once, and, all summer, his tomato plant. He watered it maybe three times. He never pulled weeds. Biscuit dug next to it twice. And yet the plant was taller than Lulu by August, covered in fat red tomatoes. "Plants that get ignored usually wilt," said Priya, sipping her juice box. "So this one must come from a super tough kind of seed." Marcus squinted. "Or Owen secretly watered it at night." "I did not," said Owen, with great pride. Priya pulled out the old seed packet. "If the seed is the reason, the other plants from this packet should be tough too." That was the next thing to check.

Step 3 · Try the model question

Owen's tomato plant grew tall and full even though he almost never watered or weeded it. Plants that are neglected usually do poorly. So Owen's plant probably grew from an unusually hardy type of seed.

Which fact, if true, would give the most help to Priya's conclusion?

Step 4 · The courtroom tale

The Case of the Never-Late Bicycles

The town bike shop was sued for making 'magic' bikes. A judge asked why. "Your Honor," said a lawyer named Ms. Delgado, "one customer never oils the chain, leaves the bike in the rain, and rides it through mud. Neglected bikes usually rust apart. Yet this one runs perfectly after twenty years. So it was built from an unusually strong batch of steel." Mr. Whitfield rose. "One bike could be a fluke." Ms. Delgado smiled and lifted a folder. "Every other bike welded from that same batch is also still rolling, even the ones in sheds with leaky roofs." The judge nodded. "Now the batch looks like the real reason." Mr. Whitfield sat down slowly.

Step 5 · Work the real question

Open PrepTest 132, Section 2, Question 2 in your official copy from LSAC (for example in LawHub) and read it there.

Your answer

How to apply it

Find the conclusion: an inborn cause explains a surprising good outcome. Note the evidence: the outcome happened despite things that usually prevent it. Ask what new fact would point straight at an inherited cause. Look for the answer that ties the outcome to family or shared origin. For every other answer, ask: does this make an inborn cause more likely, or does it just add detail? Only the first kind helps.