Logical Reasoning · Paradox

PrepTest 138 · Section 2 · Question 3

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

Step 1 · Pre-Question Guidance · read this first

Question type

Paradox (Resolve)

The one idea it tests

Something must get out, the known exits are missing, so look for a different exit.

The basic logic

One side says a thing must happen. The other side says the usual ways it happens are not there. Both are true. The fix is a third way that lets it happen without the usual routes. An answer that only restates the problem or talks about something else does not shake both hands.

Tiny words that decide it

“must”
“yet”
“neither”

Playground logic

Biscuit must get out of the yard every day to bark at the mail carrier, but the gate is shut and there is no hole under the fence. Priya's Handshake Test: find a new exit that shakes hands with both facts. The low corner where he can hop over does it.

Step 2 · The kid story

The Great Biscuit Escape

Every morning, Biscuit ends up on the front sidewalk, barking at the mail carrier. In Tommy's old yard, Biscuit always escaped one of two ways: through the gate when someone left it open, or through a hole he dug under the fence. But in the new yard, the gate is always latched and there are no holes anywhere. Marcus rubbed his chin. 'Impossible. Someone must be lying.' Lulu walked the whole fence with her clipboard. 'No holes. Gate latched.' Priya looked up instead of down. 'In the back corner, the fence is shorter. A dog who can hop onto the woodpile can jump right over.' That afternoon, they watched. Biscuit trotted to the woodpile, hopped up, and sailed over. Tommy cheered. 'A third door!' Mr. Whiskers watched from the window, unimpressed.

Step 3 · Try the model question

Biscuit gets out of the yard every morning. In his old yard, he always got out either through an open gate or through a hole under the fence. In the new yard, the gate is always latched and there are no holes under the fence.

Suppose each choice below is true. Which one best clears up the puzzle in the facts above?

Step 4 · The courtroom tale

The Case of the Vanishing Pies

Judge Alvarez listened as the baker explained. 'Every night, pies disappear from my locked shop. The only ways in are the front door and the back door, and both are bolted.' The opposing lawyer smirked. 'Then nobody took them. The baker is confused.' Mr. Whitfield rose, suspenders gleaming. 'Your Honor, both facts can be true at once. Exhibit C: an old coal chute, painted over, wide enough for a small person.' The judge leaned forward. 'So the pies can leave with both doors bolted.' 'Exactly,' said Mr. Whitfield. 'We did not need to call anyone a liar. We needed a third door.'

Step 5 · Work the real question

Open PrepTest 138, Section 2, Question 3 in your official copy from LSAC (for example in LawHub) and read it there.

Your answer

How to apply it

State the puzzle as two facts: something must happen, and the usual routes for it are absent. Do not doubt either fact. Ask what other route could let it happen. Then test each choice: does it give a new route that works without the missing ones? Reject Saboteurs that deepen the puzzle, Bystanders that never touch the route, and Half-Hugs that cover only one side. The winner lets both facts stand side by side.