Logical Reasoning · Weaken

PrepTest 142 · Section 2 · Question 11

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

When a study offers one reason for a pattern, a different reason that fits the same numbers pops the argument.

The basic logic

The patty is a set of measured times under different conditions. The top bun names a feeling as the cause. Look for an alternative cause that would produce the same pattern with no such feeling at all.

Tiny words that decide it

“suggests”
“even when”
“increases”

Playground logic

Marcus times kids leaving the class computer and blames a selfish feeling for the slow ones. But the same numbers appear if kids just fumble when someone is watching. A rival cause that fits the data pops his burger.

Step 2 · The kid story

Marcus Times the Computer Line

Marcus brought a stopwatch to the class computer. When nobody was waiting, kids logged off in 30 seconds. When a classmate stood quietly behind them, it took 40. When a classmate shouted "HURRY UP!", it took 55. "Case closed," Marcus announced. "Kids feel like the computer belongs to them, and they get extra clingy when someone wants it." Priya sipped her juice box. "Or maybe kids get flustered when someone is watching. Flustered fingers miss the buttons." Owen nodded. "Remember when Ms. Rivera watched me tie my shoe? Took me three tries." Lulu wrote on her clipboard: same numbers, different reason. Marcus stared at his stopwatch. "So my clock is right, but my case is not closed?" "Exactly," said Priya.

Step 3 · Try the model question

Kids took 30 seconds to log off the class computer with no one waiting, 40 seconds when a classmate waited quietly, and 55 seconds when a classmate shouted at them to hurry. This shows kids feel the computer is theirs, and they feel this more strongly when someone else wants a turn.

Suppose each choice below were true. Which would do the most damage to Marcus's reasoning?

Step 4 · The courtroom tale

The Slow Signature

The landlord's lawyer held up a chart. "When my client watched, the tenant took twice as long to sign the lease. When my client tapped his foot, three times as long. Clearly the tenant secretly wanted to keep the apartment forever!" Mr. Whitfield stood. "Your Honor, I call a handwriting teacher." The teacher explained that nearly everyone's hand shakes more as pressure rises. "Shaky hands write slower," she said. "No secret wishes required." The judge set down the chart. "So the numbers are real, but they fit a different story just as well." Mr. Whitfield nodded, very slowly, so no one would think he was clinging to the podium.

Step 5 · Work the real question

Open PrepTest 142, Section 2, Question 11 in your official copy from LSAC (for example in LawHub) and read it there.

Your answer

How to apply it

Separate the data (the patty) from the cause the argument names (the top bun). Ask: what else could produce exactly this pattern, including the step-up across conditions? Look for a choice offering a rival cause that grows as the pressure grows. Cross off choices about other activities, other places, or reactions that actually support the named cause. Check that your pick explains every condition, not just one.