Logical Reasoning · Method of Argument
PrepTest 156 · 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
- “no such”
- “must”
- “have shown”
Playground logic
Frankie says the school bell must have a hidden timer. Sharon says there is no timer, and her proof is what the janitor found inside the box. She isn't explaining the bell another way; she is bringing evidence for a conclusion that clashes with Frankie's.
Step 2 · The kid story
The Mystery of the Bell
Frankie was sure. "The school bell rings at exactly 3:00 every day, and nobody touches it. So there must be a timer hidden inside the bell box." Sharon shook her head. "There's no timer in there. Last week the janitor opened the bell box to fix it, and I watched. Wires, a little hammer, and dust. No clock part at all." Frankie opened his mouth, then closed it. Lulu wrote on her clipboard: Frankie = conclusion. Sharon = evidence that says the opposite. Priya sipped her juice box. "Notice Sharon didn't say how the bell rings. She just showed Frankie's thing isn't there." Kevin raised his hand. "Maybe a dinosaur rings it?" Nobody wrote that down.
Step 3 · Try the model question
Frankie: The bell rings at exactly 3:00 daily, and nobody presses it. So the bell box must hold a hidden timer. Sharon: There's no timer inside. When the janitor opened the box last week, it held only wires and a small hammer.
Sharon's reply works by doing which of the following?
Step 4 · The courtroom tale
The Hidden Room
The landlord's lawyer stood. "Your Honor, the house stays warm all winter, yet the tenant never runs the heater. There must be a secret furnace in the basement." Mr. Whitfield rose. "Your Honor, there is no secret furnace. Last month a city inspector walked every inch of that basement with a flashlight and a checklist. Her report is right here: boxes, a bicycle, and one very surprised spider." He placed the report on the bench. "I don't need to explain why the house is warm. I only need to show the furnace isn't there." The judge nodded. "Evidence against the conclusion, plain and simple."
Step 5 · Work the real question
Open PrepTest 156, Section 2, Question 7 in your official copy from LSAC (for example in LawHub) and read it there.
Your answer
How to apply it
Write down the first speaker's conclusion in a few words. Then read the second speaker's first sentence: does it deny that conclusion? Next, check what the reply offers as support: a test, an observation, a new fact? Describe that move in abstract words. Be careful to tell apart giving a different explanation for the same facts from directly showing the other conclusion is false.