Logical Reasoning · Sufficient Assumption

PrepTest 142 · Section 2 · Question 24

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

Step 1 · Pre-Question Guidance · read this first

Question type

Sufficient Assumption

The one idea it tests

Two premises link four ideas; the conclusion needs a bridge that connects the dangling middle pieces.

The basic logic

Premise one: X is unlikely without C. Premise two: more K brings less J. Conclusion: more K makes X less likely. The missing key: less J makes C less likely. Click it in and the chain runs from K to J to C to X.

Tiny words that decide it

“unless”
“the more”
“the less”
“consequently”

Playground logic

Kids rarely enter the bubble contest unless they carry gum, and more chores make kids less eager to spend allowance. The top bun says more chores, fewer entries. The magic key: less eager to spend means less likely to carry gum.

Step 2 · The kid story

The Bubble Contest Chain

The Galactic Gum Company announced a bubble contest. Its ad promised bubbles "the size of a small moon." Lulu studied the sign-up sheet. "Hardly anyone enters unless they already have a pack of gum in their pocket." Tommy added, "And the more chores a kid does, the less they want to spend their allowance. Chores make you treasure money." Marcus leapt up. "So the more chores a kid does, the less likely they are to enter!" Priya sipped her juice box. "You skipped a link. Gum in pockets connects to entering. Chores connect to not wanting to spend. Nothing connects not wanting to spend to not having gum." "Oh," said Marcus. "So we need: the less you want to spend, the less likely you carry gum." Lulu clicked her pen. "Now the chain closes."

Step 3 · Try the model question

Kids are unlikely to enter the bubble contest unless they carry a pack of gum. The more chores a kid does, the less eager that kid is to spend allowance. So the more chores a kid does, the less likely that kid is to enter the contest.

Which assumption, if added, makes the conclusion follow?

Step 4 · The courtroom tale

The Case of the Empty Kite Field

Mr. Whitfield faced the jury. "Few people fly kites at the meadow unless they own a kite. And the longer someone has lived in this windy town, the less patience they have for wind. So, longtime residents rarely fly kites at the meadow." Judge Holt raised a hand. "Counselor, you have kites on one side and patience on the other. What ties them?" Mr. Whitfield cleared his throat. "We assume that the less patience one has for wind, the less likely one is to own a kite." The judge nodded. "Now your chain reaches the meadow. Without that, it stops halfway."

Step 5 · Work the real question

Open PrepTest 142, Section 2, Question 24 in your official copy from LSAC (for example in LawHub) and read it there.

Your answer

How to apply it

Mark each idea in the premises and the conclusion. Draw the links the premises give. Find the two ideas the conclusion needs that are not yet connected. The right answer joins exactly those, pointing in the direction that lets the chain run from the conclusion's start to its end. Click it in and check that the conclusion now follows. Cross out answers that link the wrong pair or add new ideas.