Logical ReasoningDifficulty: Easy

PT113 S3 Q24 Explanation

Town councillor: The only reason

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

TopicsPrinciple-Strengthen

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Stimulus

Town councillor: The only reason for the town to have ordinances restricting where skateboarding can be done would be to protect children from danger. Skateboarding in the town’s River Park is undoubtedly dangerous, but we should not pass an ordinance prohibiting it. If children cannot skateboard in the park, they will the streets is more dangerous than skateboarding in the park.

What this question is testing

Principle-Strengthen

Conclusion

The councillor's point: don't ban skateboarding in River Park, because the ban would push kids onto something even more dangerous — the streets.

Evidence

The reasoning is straightforward. Park skateboarding is dangerous, sure. But if the park is closed off, kids will go skateboard in the streets, and that's worse. So the ordinance would produce more danger than it eliminates.

Evaluate

The councillor's argument is missing a general principle that says Plug that principle in, and the argument is airtight: the ordinance would create more danger (streets are worse than park), so by the principle, don't enact it.

Watch for trap principles that say something different — like "only restrict activities that pose danger to participants" (too narrow), or "always restrict dangerous activities" (too broad and pulls the wrong way), or principles that defer to parents instead of the council.

Goal

Pick the principle that says ordinances meant to eliminate danger should not be enacted if they would lead to greater dangers.

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 principles, if established, would provide the strongest support for the

Answer choices

  1. Bad Conclusion Match1% picked this

    Ordinances that restrict the recreational activities of a town’s inhabitants should not be passed unless those activities pose

    This principle says: only restrict activities that pose a danger. The councillor agrees skateboarding is dangerous, so this principle would actually permit (not block) the ordinance. It doesn't deliver the conclusion that the ordinance should not be passed.

  2. Bad Conclusion Match1% picked this

    Since the town could be legally liable for accidents that occur on public property, town ordinances should restrict any unnecessarily dangerous

    This principle pushes the wrong way: it says ordinances should restrict unnecessarily dangerous activities in publicly owned areas. River Park is presumably publicly owned, so this principle would tell the town to enact the ordinance — the opposite of what the councillor concludes.

  3. Bad Conclusion Match1% picked this

    Since safety in a recreational activity depends on the level of skill of the participant in that activity, the regulation of children’s recreational activities

    This principle says recreational activity regulation should be left to parents. That's a sweeping claim about who should regulate, not a principle the councillor's argument needs. The councillor is making a town-level argument and isn't deferring to parents — applying this principle would make the entire argument moot (the town wouldn't regulate at all), but it doesn't deliver the specific conclusion based on the specific evidence the councillor offers.

  4. Bad Conclusion Match2% picked this

    If recreational activities constitute a danger to the participants in those activities, then the town council should enact

    This principle says the council should enact ordinances to prohibit dangerous recreational activities. Skateboarding is dangerous, so this principle would mandate the ordinance — the opposite of what the councillor concludes.

  5. Correct94% picked this

    Ordinances that seek to eliminate dangers should not be enacted if their enactment would lead to dangers that are greater than

    Why this is right

    This is the principle the argument needs. The councillor's evidence: the ordinance is meant to eliminate the danger of park skateboarding, but enacting it would lead to street skateboarding, which is more dangerous. By this principle — don't enact a danger-eliminating ordinance if it leads to greater dangers — the conclusion (don't pass the ordinance) follows directly.

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

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