Logical ReasoningDifficulty: Easy

PT112 S4 Q24 Explanation

Telephone companies are promoting

A free, expert breakdown of this official LSAT Logical Reasoning question.

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Stimulus

Telephone companies are promoting “voice mail” as an alternative to the answering machine. By recording messages from callers when a subscriber does not have access to his or her telephone, voice mail provides a service similar to that of an answering machine. The companies promoting this service argue that it will soon convenient, more flexible, and less expensive than an answering machine.

What this question is testing

Weaken

Your task

Find the choice that makes the argument's conclusion less likely to be true.

Common trap

Answers that look negative but attack a claim the argument never relied on.

Winning move

Find the assumption the argument depends on, then pick the choice that undermines it.

Reading along? Open the full official question in LawHub — we show a fragment here and keep the reasoning in our own words.

The question
24.

Which one of the following, if true, most calls into question the argument made by the companies

Answer choices

  1. Opposite: strengthens4% picked this

    Unlike calls made to owners of answering machines, all telephone calls made to voice-mail subscribers are completed, even if the line called is in

    Says something good about voicemail.

  2. No Impact3% picked this

    The surge in sales of answering machines occurred shortly after they were first introduced to

    Doesn't deal with an advantage or disadvantage of answering machine vs. voicemail.

  3. Opposite, if anything3% picked this

    Once a telephone customer decides to subscribe to voice mail, that customer can cancel the

    Says something seemingly positive about voicemail.

  4. Correct88% picked this

    Answering machines enable the customer to hear who is calling before the customer decides whether to answer the telephone, a service

    Why this is right

    Points out an advantage answering machines have over voicemail.

    Skill tested: Weaken · how this choice captures the argument's function is the move to repeat next time.

  5. Opposite, if anything3% picked this

    The number of messages a telephone answering machine can record is limited by the length of the magnetic tape

    Points out a potential disadvantage of answering machines.

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