Logical Reasoning · Strengthen
PrepTest 145 · Section 2 · Question 7
Phase 1 (your first ~400 questions): read the guidance, then answer. No clock.
Step 1 · Pre-Question Guidance · read this first
- “far more likely”
- “often”
- “usually”
Playground logic
Lulu says Galactic Gum cards with a neat, centered gold star are more likely to be counterfeits, since counterfeiters print neat stars. It clicks harder if real factory stars are almost always smudged and off-center: then neat stars mostly come from fakers.
Step 2 · The kid story
The Suspicious Gold Stars
The Galactic Gum Company prints trading cards, and the rare ones carry a gold star worth a fortune at recess. Counterfeiters have noticed. They print fake cards and, to make them look valuable, add a neat, perfectly centered gold star. Lulu, now the official card inspector, made a rule on her clipboard: "A card with a neat, centered star is more likely fake than a card without one." Marcus scoffed. "Neat stars could be real too!" Priya opened her juice box. "Here is what would back Lulu up. The Galactic Gum factory machines are wobbly. Real stars almost always come out smudged and tilted." Lulu nodded. "So if the star looks perfect, it probably did not come from the factory." Tommy quietly checked his three neat-star cards. Uh oh.
Step 3 · Try the model question
Rare Galactic Gum cards carry a gold star and are worth more. Counterfeiters often add a neat, centered gold star to their fake cards. So cards with a neat, centered gold star are much likelier to be fake than cards without one.
Which choice, if correct, does the most to back up the argument?
Step 4 · The courtroom tale
The Case of the Too-Perfect Postmark
The prosecutor held up an old letter. "Collectors pay extra for letters with an early postmark, and forgers stamp crisp, clean postmarks onto blank envelopes. So a crisp early postmark makes a letter much likelier to be forged." Mr. Whitfield, defending the dealer, objected. "Crisp postmarks could be real." The prosecutor called a retired postal clerk. "Back then," she testified, "our ink pads were always too wet. Real stamps came out blurry and smeared nearly every time." The judge nodded slowly. "So a perfectly crisp one is unlikely to be genuine. That strengthens the claim considerably." Whitfield sat down, adjusting his suspenders.
Step 5 · Work the real question
Open PrepTest 145, Section 2, Question 7 in your official copy from LSAC (for example in LawHub) and read it there.
Your answer
How to apply it
State the conclusion: items showing a certain normal-looking feature are more likely to be fakes. Note the premise: fakers add that feature. Ask what would make the normal look suspicious. Look for an answer showing genuine items rarely display the feature in that normal-looking way. Avoid answers about sellers in general, size or price differences, or how hard testing is, since they do not connect the specific look to faking.