PrepTest 134, Section 2, Question 5
Everyone in Biba's neighborhood is permitted to swim(44 more words not shown)
If all the sentences above(11 more words not shown)
- AFew children under(8 more words not shown)
- BIf Biba's next-door(16 more words not shown)
- CIf most children(19 more words not shown)
- DOn days when(13 more words not shown)
- EAny child swimming(12 more words not shown)
Reading the argument
When can the youngest children swim?
Everyone in the neighborhood is allowed to swim at some point on each open day. But children under six can't swim from noon to 5 P.M., and after 5 P.M. the pool is reserved for adults. Put those restrictions together: for a neighborhood child under six to get a turn, it has to be before noon.
What we’re looking for
That is the useful consequence of combining all three statements. The last two remove the afternoon and evening; the first makes sure that every neighborhood resident has some permitted time. We need an answer that follows from those rules, not a guess about who actually shows up.
Working the answers
- A
We don't know how many children under six live in the neighborhood. The same rules could apply to one young child or many. A swimming schedule doesn't establish a head count.
- BCorrect
If the next-door neighbor has a child under six, that child belongs to the neighborhood and must have some permitted time to swim. Noon through 5 P.M. is unavailable, and after 5 P.M. is unavailable. The pool therefore must be open before noon to provide that child with a turn.
Why does B include the word “if”? We haven't been told that any children under six actually live there. If there are none, the promise that everyone gets a turn doesn't force the pool to accommodate that age group. B supplies the existence of a young neighbor conditionally, then draws the consequence our rules require. Before noon wasn't stated explicitly, but it follows by eliminating the other times.
- C
Fewer children after 5 P.M. doesn't necessarily mean fewer swimmers overall. A large crowd of adults could arrive then. Even if most swimming children come in the afternoon, we would still need information about adult attendance to compare the total crowds.
- D
Being permitted to swim doesn't mean anyone actually swims. Children six or older might be allowed in the afternoon, but we don't know whether any come. The pool could have only adults there on a particular day without violating any rule given.
- E
The afternoon restriction applies to children under six, not all children. A seven-year-old swimming at 2 P.M. need not be breaking it. And a neighborhood child under six could swim before noon, which is also before 5 P.M. E incorrectly treats the whole earlier part of the day as forbidden to every child.
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.