Logical reasoning PrepTest 113 · Section 4 · Question 3

Question prompt

An instructor presented two Remaining source text redacted.
Why the credited answer is right

Credited answer: D

The notes below walk through why it fits the stem and how to eliminate the rest.

Argument or Facts

Facts

Valid or Flawed

NA

Question Type

Must Be True Questions

Stimulus Summary

Class 1 - Painting A has been in prestigious museums; Painting B is by an amateur
(Everyone) Class 1 judgment - Painting A is better
Class 2 - Painting B has been in prestigious museums; Painting A is by an amateur
(Everyone) Class 2 judgment - Painting B is better

Answer Anticipation

The teacher pulled the old reversal here! The same paintings were shown to two classes of students. In both classes, every student said that the painting they believed to have hung in prestigious museums was the better painting - even though the teacher switched which painting she said had that history.
Is it possible that every student in Class 1 just thought Painting A was better, and everyone in Class 2 just thought Painting B was better? Sure, but that seems exceedingly unlikely. As this is a Most Strongly Supported Must be True question, that’s close enough for us to look for an answer stating that what the teacher told the students about the paintings influenced at least some of them in determining which painting was better.

Answer choices

  1. A
    Most of the students Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice A is not credited
    The stimulus says that the students thought the painting not done by the amateur was better, but that doesn’t mean they didn’t like the one by the amateur. Additionally, “most” is too strong based on the stimulus.
  2. B
    None of the claims Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice B is not credited
    While the instructor couldn’t have been telling both classes the truth, she could have been telling it to one of them.
  3. C
    Each of the students Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice C is not credited
    The stimulus says the students said that the painting they believed had hung in prestigious museums was “better” than the other. That means they could have disliked it but thought it was the “right” answer, or they could have really disliked both paintings but disliked the prestigious painting less. Additionally, this answer is very strong in saying that “[e]ach” student would like “most” paintings in “any” prestigious museum - the stimulus doesn’t provide enough strength to support that.
  4. D
    In judging the paintings, Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice D matches the stem
    This answer is very weak (“some” were “affected”). While it’s not 100% certain, it’s pretty close to certain that at least one or two students made up their mind because they believed the “better” painting had been in prestigious museums. This answer is very weak and serves as the most logical explanation for at least some of the phenomenon, so it’s the correct answer.
  5. E
    Had the instructor presented Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice E is not credited
    It’s very hard to have a correct answer in a Must be True question bring up what would have happened if the details were different, and this answer is no different. There’s no way to know what the students’ preferences would have been without the info provided by the teacher.

What this tests

Question analytics

Based on historical answer selection rates for this question.

Answer choice distribution

  1. A 9%
  2. B 3%
  3. C 5%
  4. D Credited 78%
  5. E 5%

Deeper help

Ask follow-ups on any step

Optional AI tutor mode will let you interrogate assumptions, compare answers, and drill weak patterns without leaving the page.

Human-written explanations stay primary; AI is an add-on when you want it.

Discussion

View all discussions Start a discussion