Logical Reasoning · Most Strongly Supported

PrepTest 146 · 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

Question type

Most Strongly Supported

The one idea it tests

Behavior described in the facts shows that at least some members of a group can do a certain kind of thing.

The basic logic

Two individuals react differently to the same opportunity. One acts openly; the other acts as if uninterested, then acts when no one is watching. The safe inference is a modest 'some can' claim about that hidden behavior, not a ranking or a sweeping claim.

Tiny words that decide it

“some”
“likely”
“not all”
“most”

Playground logic

Tommy pretends not to notice the shiny marker, then uses it the moment Ms. Rivera leaves. That supports a small 'some' claim: at least one kid can fake disinterest. It doesn't support claims about who is smartest.

Step 2 · The kid story

The Marker on the Desk

Ms. Rivera brought a fancy glitter marker to class and left it on her desk. Owen spotted it right away. He picked it up, drew a quick star on scrap paper, and wandered off to the reading corner. Tommy did something different. He glanced at the marker, then looked away and started humming, as if he had never seen it. Lulu, watching from her desk, wrote on her clipboard: "Tommy is acting too calm." Then Ms. Rivera stepped out to talk to the principal. In a flash, Tommy grabbed the marker and began writing his name in glitter across the whiteboard, very large. Marcus gasped. "He was faking!" Priya sipped her juice box. "Well, at least we know some kids in this class can pretend not to care."

Step 3 · Try the model question

When Ms. Rivera left a glitter marker on her desk, Owen picked it up, doodled briefly, and moved on. Tommy acted as if he hadn't noticed it, but once she left the room, he used it to write on the whiteboard.

Which one of these gets the best backing from the story above?

Step 4 · The courtroom tale

The Case of the Unlocked Gate

A witness took the stand. "The farmer left the gate unlatched. The goat walked right over, sniffed it, then trotted off. The donkey stared at the clouds as if the gate didn't exist. When the farmer drove away, the donkey nudged the gate open and left." Mr. Whitfield turned to the jury. "I won't claim donkeys are geniuses or that goats are dull. I claim only this: at least some barnyard animals can act as if they don't care about something they plan to use." The judge nodded. "Modest, counselor. And well supported."

Step 5 · Work the real question

Open PrepTest 146, Section 2, Question 7 in your official copy from LSAC (for example in LawHub) and read it there.

Your answer

How to apply it

Read the facts and note exactly what each actor did, especially any gap between how one acted while watched and while unwatched. Then use the Lunchbox Rule: the right answer must be packed inside the facts. Prefer a modest 'some' claim that one described behavior directly shows. Cross out comparisons of overall ability, claims about feelings or memory that were never measured, and sweeping claims about whole groups.