Logical ReasoningDifficulty: Easy

PT151 S4 Q6 ExplanationThe construction of new apartments

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

TopicsParadox

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Stimulus

The construction of new apartments in Brewsterville increased the supply of available housing there. Ordinarily, increasing the supply of available housing leads to lower rents for rents for existing apartments rose.

What this question is testing

Paradox

Your task

Break the argument into its conclusion and evidence, then do exactly what the question stem asks with that structure.

Common trap

Answers that sound relevant to the topic but don't connect to the argument's actual reasoning.

Winning move

Predict what a right answer must do, then test each choice against the conclusion-evidence gap.

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

The question
6.

Which one of the following, if true, most helps to explain the

Answer choices, explained

  1. No Impact6% picked this

    Fewer new apartments were constructed than

    Even if it's fewer new apartments than planned, the ones they did build are still increasing the supply of available housing, so we would still expect rents to stay put or go lower. This doesn't give us any way to explain a rent increase.

  2. No Impact5% picked this

    The new apartments were much more desirable than the

    The newer apartments, being more desirable, would likely have higher rents than the existing apartments, which are less desirable. But we need to explain why rents for existing apartments went up, so this isn't doing anything for us.

  3. Unrelated to Goal1% picked this

    Rents in some areas close to Brewsterville dropped as a result of the construction of

    We need to explain why rents for existing apartments in Brewsterville went up. This is telling us that rents in areas outside of Brewsterville when down. Does that give us some causal story? Why would rents in areas outside of Brewsterville going down cause rents for existing apartments inside Brewsterville to go up?

  4. Deepens Paradox4% picked this

    A sizeable number of people moved out of the existing apartments while the new apartments

    If a bunch of people moved out of the existing apartments, then that would increase the supply of available housing in these existing apartment buildings, which should theoretically bring down the price of rent there (or at worst, it shouldn't go up).

  5. Correct84% picked this

    The new apartments were constructed at the outset of a trend of increasing numbers of people

    Why this is right

    This is saying that, simultaneous with the building of these new apartments, there was an influx of more people trying to find housing in Brewsterville. LSAC always expects us to know how supply / demand works. Low supply or high demand makes prices go up. High supply or low demands makes prices go down. This is telling us that there was increased demand for apartments (more people seeking residence), so that can help explain why the rents for apartments went up.

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

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