Unplugged Practice Test: Logical Reasoning Set 3, Question 1 (Fill in the Blank)
Taking the test? Finish it first. This page shows the answer.
- Fill in the Blank questions ask you to finish the argument. The blank is usually its conclusion.
- Read the words just before the blank. If they signal a conclusion (so, hence, it follows that), pick the choice the premises already prove. Skip anything that says more than they do.
- Every question on this test is original, written to the same logical skeletons as real questions, and Steve checked every one himself before release.
The question
A season ticket stands to the games a fan can attend with it as a ladder stands to the shelves a worker can reach with it. A ladder, however, serves no purpose where nothing sits out of reach. It follows that _______.
1. Which one of the following most logically completes the argument?
- (A)a season ticket is best understood as a form of access, not as a piece of property
- (B)any ladder that puts a shelf within a worker's reach is worth owning
- (C)a season ticket serves a fan no better than a ladder serves a worker
- (D)a season ticket serves no purpose where there are no games to attend
- (E)what a season ticket is worth comes from the shelves it puts within reach
DWhy (D) is correct
The stimulus lines up a season ticket with a ladder, and the games a fan can attend with the shelves a ladder lets a worker reach. It then adds that a ladder serves no purpose where nothing sits out of reach. Carried straight across that mapping, a season ticket serves no purpose where there are no games to attend, which is exactly what (D) says.
Why the other answers are wrong
AWhy (A) is wrong
(A) turns the comparison into a claim about property versus access, a distinction the stimulus never draws.
BWhy (B) is wrong
(B) makes a claim about ladders that put a shelf within a worker's reach, not about season tickets.
CWhy (C) is wrong
(C) only compares how useful each item is, which isn't what the "serves no purpose" premise yields.
EWhy (E) is wrong
(E) states a broader claim about where a season ticket's worth comes from, when the given premise supports only uselessness with nothing to attend, not a general account of value.
Common questions
What type of question is this?
Fill in the Blank. Fill in the Blank questions ask you to finish the argument. The blank is usually its conclusion.
How do I get better at Fill in the Blank questions?
Read the words just before the blank. If they signal a conclusion (so, hence, it follows that), pick the choice the premises already prove. Skip anything that says more than they do. The free LSAT cheat sheet lists the wrong-answer patterns to watch for on every type.
