PrepTest 111, Section 1, Question 7
Due to wider commercial availability of audio recordings(13 more words not shown)
Which one of the following(8 more words not shown)
- ABecause of the(14 more words not shown)
- BBecause of the(17 more words not shown)
- CBecause a new(18 more words not shown)
- DBecause a child(18 more words not shown)
- EBecause neither of(21 more words not shown)
Reading the argument
Some people who would have bought a printed book can now listen to it instead. That makes the drop in print sales understandable: customers have another way to consume the same kind of content.
We don't have to assume people consume fewer books overall. Total book consumption could even rise while print sales fall. What matters here is the shift away from an established option when another option becomes more available.
What we’re looking for
The question asks for a situation that fits that same principle. I'd look for a new alternative drawing consumers away from an existing product. The subject can change, but we should still see that relationship between the added choice and reduced use of the old one.
Working the answers
- A
Farmers do switch toward an alternative here, but the trigger is different. The cost of the existing labor rises; the answer doesn't say a new alternative has become available. In the book example, the new way to consume the product is what draws people away from the old one. A changes that explanation to a price increase.
- B
The games and screens go together. New games encourage purchases of screens used to play them, so sales of a related product increase. We need reduced use of an established alternative. A closer game example would be new games drawing players away from an older game. Buying more equipment to enjoy the new games isn't that pattern.
- CCorrect
The new soft drink takes the place of the more available audio books. The established soft drink takes the place of printed books. Once consumers have the new option, they consume less of the established one.
Both examples show an alternative drawing demand away from something people already bought. Neither requires that people consume less of the entire category. Soft drink consumption overall could rise while sales of the older brand fall, just as overall book consumption could rise while print sales fall.
- D
The parent changes the child's incentive: finish the homework to earn playtime. That motivates the child to focus. No new way to consume a product enters the picture and draws customers away from an older option. This is a response to a restriction, not to added consumer choice.
- E
Two competing products are present, but there is no account of a new option causing reduced consumption of an established one. Instead, missing features explain why neither program dominates. Competition by itself isn't enough to reproduce the particular change described in the book example.
More Must Be True questions
Learn the LSAT our way
Our platform drills Must Be True questions at your level and adjusts as you improve.