PrepTest 116

[lcid:3561] Prep Test 116 LSAT — Logical Reasoning — S2 Logical reasoning

Question prompt

Shipping Coordinator: If we 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.

Question Type

Must Be True Questions / Sufficient & Necessary Questions

Answer choices

  1. A
    Ground carrier is as Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice A is not credited
    Incorrect. The Customer's response addresses timeliness and cost, not reliability, so this answer is out of scope.
  2. B
    If the shipment is Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice B is not credited
    Incorrect. This isn't a misinterpretation—it's what the Shipping Coordinator says.
  3. C
    Ground carrier is not Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice C is not credited
    Incorrect. The Customer refers to paying for air express over ground carrier as requiring extra money, so she doesn't misinterpret the Shipping Coordinator's statement on cost.
  4. D
    Unless the shipment is Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice D matches the stem
    Correct. Argument or Facts:
    Argument

    Valid or Flawed:
    Flawed

    Question Type:
    Misinterpretation

    Stimulus Summary:
    SC: Air express → Arrive tomorrow morning
    Ground carrier → Arrive tomorrow or the next day
    Shipping via ground carrier is cheaper.

    C: not Air express → not Arrive tomorrow, so I have to pay the extra money.

    Answer Anticipation:
    Air express will guarantee that the shipment will arrive the following day, which appears to be a requirement for this customer. However, she seems to believe that it's the only option for getting the shipment by tomorrow. The Shipping Coordinator doesn't guarantee that the ground carrier can get the shipment there by the following day, but it's possible—so there is an option that might get it there tomorrow that doesn't require the extra cost.

    So how is this likely to be phrased in this Misinterpretation question? One of two ways. Either she misinterpreted his statements to mean that the ground carrier can't get the shipment there by the following day, or she misinterpreted his statements to mean that not shipping by air express will guarantee the shipment doesn't make it there by the following day.

    Answer Explanation:
    This answer reflects the Customer's misinterpretation. While the Coordinator doesn't guarantee that a shipment sent via ground carrier will arrive the following day, he does raise it as a possibility. However, the Customer treats air express as the only option for getting it there the next day. She therefore misinterprets the Coordinator's statement that air express guarantees the shipment arrives tomorrow to a statement that only air express can possibly get it there tomorrow, as this answer states.

    Key Takeaway:
    Misinterpretation questions are somewhere between Errors in Reasoning and Point at Issue questions. Identify what concepts show up in both statements, and then see which one is treated as having two different meanings/implications.
  5. E
    The greater the shipping Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice E is not credited
    Incorrect. The debate is between two shipping methods for a single package, not a general rule about the connection between cost and shipping speed, so this answer is out of scope.

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