Logical Reasoning · Principle
PrepTest 147 · Section 4 · Question 13
Phase 1 (your first ~400 questions): read the guidance, then answer. No clock.
Step 1 · Pre-Question Guidance · read this first
- “both”
- “but not”
- “because”
Playground logic
Frankie and Sharon both left their scooters in Aunt Rosa's path (both careless). Aunt Rosa tripped on Frankie's scooter and a flowerpot broke. So Frankie, not Sharon, helps replant. Same carelessness, but the bill follows the one whose thing did the damage.
Step 2 · The kid story
The Flowerpot Fiasco
Frankie and Sharon were arguing so hard about cartoons that they both dropped their scooters right across Aunt Rosa's garden path. Neither one thought about who might walk by. Aunt Rosa came out carrying a flowerpot, tripped on Frankie's scooter, and crash: dirt everywhere. Sharon pointed. 'Ha! Frankie has to help replant!' Frankie gasped. 'But you left yours there too!' Aunt Rosa brushed off her apron. 'You were both careless, true. But it was Frankie's scooter that tripped me. So Frankie helps me replant this afternoon. Sharon, you got lucky.' Lulu wrote on her clipboard: 'Both careless. One caused the mess. That one fixes it.' Biscuit sniffed the spilled dirt and sneezed.
Step 3 · Try the model question
Frankie and Sharon both carelessly left their scooters across Aunt Rosa's garden path. Aunt Rosa tripped over Frankie's scooter and broke a flowerpot. Because his scooter caused the fall, Frankie, but not Sharon, should help repair the damage.
Which one of the following best fits the principle the situation illustrates?
Step 4 · The courtroom tale
The Two Kite Flyers
Two neighbors flew kites near power lines, both ignoring the warning signs. One kite snagged a line and knocked out a bakery's ovens. The bakery sued both. Mr. Whitfield represented the second neighbor. 'Your Honor, my client was just as foolish, I admit it. But his kite never touched a wire. The other kite did.' The judge considered. 'So you say equal carelessness does not mean equal bills?' 'Exactly. The one whose act caused the harm should pay for it.' The judge nodded. 'The first neighbor will pay the bakery. Your client gets a stern lecture and a free pamphlet on kite safety.'
Step 5 · Work the real question
Open PrepTest 147, Section 4, Question 13 in your official copy from LSAC (for example in LawHub) and read it there.
Your answer
How to apply it
Write the stimulus's rule as a checklist: two people, both careless, harm caused by one person's act, only that person compensates. Test each choice against every box, one at a time. A choice that misses even one box is out. Keep the choice that checks every box, and make sure its outcome points the same way as the stimulus's outcome.