PrepTest 138 · Section 3 · Question 13

The Fountain Line Gauge

Lulu has discovered a secret gauge. "The longer the line at the drinking fountain, the more kids are out on the playground. It works every single time." Owen tests it for a week. She is right. Then Ms. Rivera opens the art room during recess for a whole month, and kids drift in to paint. Marcus panics. "The playground will be empty! Soccer is doomed!" Lulu checks her notes from the whole month. The fountain line? About the same length every day, no big dips. Priya sips her juice box. "Then the playground crowd stayed about the same too. The art room did not pull many kids away." Marcus slowly puts down his soccer ball. "So soccer is not doomed?" "Not even a little."

The length of the line at the drinking fountain reliably tracks how many kids are on the playground: the longer the line, the more kids outside. During a month when the art room was open at recess, the line's length stayed about the same.

The facts above give the most support to which choice?

The Case of the Steady Bakery Bell

Your Honor, says Mr. Whitfield, the bakery bell rings each time a customer walks in, and the count of rings reliably tracks how many shoppers visit. The rival bakery across the street claims its grand opening stole our client's customers all year. Yet the ring count for that year hardly budged, week after week. The rival's lawyer sputters. Mr. Whitfield continues. A steady ring count means a steady stream of shoppers. So the grand opening did not greatly cut our client's crowd. The judge nods. I find no big drop. As for whether the rival meant to steal anyone, the bell cannot tell us that.