Logical Reasoning · Principle

PrepTest 136 · Section 2 · Question 12

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

Step 1 · Pre-Question Guidance · read this first

Question type

Principle

The one idea it tests

Find the rule that, once added, makes the conclusion follow from the evidence.

The basic logic

The conclusion says a practice fails a certain label. The evidence says the practice uses up something that supplies a big benefit faster than it can come back. The justifying principle links that kind of harm directly to failing the label.

Tiny words that decide it

“not”
“if”
“even if”

Playground logic

Classmates think grabbing spare pencils is good manners because the pencils are free and get refilled. Lulu says no: the spare box feeds kids who have nothing, and it's being emptied faster than it fills. The secret sauce is a rule: if something cuts off help for kids in need, it isn't good manners.

Step 2 · The kid story

The Pencil Box Problem

Ms. Rivera keeps a spare pencil box on her desk. Lots of kids grab three or four pencils at a time. "It's fine," said Tommy. "They're free, and she refills the box every month. Taking them is totally polite." Lulu shook her head. "Not polite. That box is how kids with no supplies get through math tests. And we're emptying it way faster than Ms. Rivera can refill it." Tommy frowned. "But they're free!" Priya sipped her juice box. "Lulu's reasons only work if there's a rule behind them. Something like: if what you do leaves classmates in need without help, it isn't polite." Lulu wrote that on her clipboard and underlined it twice. Tommy put two pencils back. Then, after a pause, a third.

Step 3 · Try the model question

Many kids grab extra spare pencils, believing it is polite because the pencils are free and refilled monthly. They are wrong. The spare box is what kids without supplies depend on, and it is being emptied faster than it is refilled.

Which rule, if valid, does the most to back up Lulu's reasoning?

Step 4 · The courtroom tale

The Case of the Garden Hose

Neighbor Bert Hollis was sued for filling his giant pool from the shared street tap. His lawyer said, "Your Honor, the water is free and the tank refills. That makes it good neighboring." Mr. Whitfield stood. "The tank also supplies the fire hydrant on this block. And Mr. Hollis drains it faster than it refills." Judge Ramos frowned. "Mr. Whitfield, your facts are clear. But what rule connects them to 'bad neighboring'?" "This one, Your Honor: an act isn't good neighboring if it seriously cuts what the block needs for safety." The judge nodded. "With that rule, your conclusion follows neatly." Mr. Hollis bought a pool cover.

Step 5 · Work the real question

Open PrepTest 136, Section 2, Question 12 in your official copy from LSAC (for example in LawHub) and read it there.

Your answer

How to apply it

Write down the conclusion in a few words, including any label it denies. Then circle the key fact in the evidence that does the work. The right principle should say: if that kind of fact holds, then the conclusion's label applies (or fails). Check each choice for both ends: does it mention the evidence's key fact and the conclusion's label? Choices that only restate the opponents' view, praise something else, or call for action are off target.