#21 - Designer: Any garden and adjoining living room that

[Administrator]

Complete Question Explanation

Must Be True. The correct answer choice is (D)

In this stimulus, a designer states that any garden and adjoining living room separated by sliding glass doors can become a single space visually. When the doors may be open, as in the summer, the “single space” will be created if it does not already exist. If the visual single space does exist already, this effect will be magnified:

• Sliding doors open create single space or intensify pre-existing single space

Even during the colder months, the effect will remain, if the garden is coordinated with the room and contributes a strong visual interest on its own:

• Garden coordinated and contributes strong visuals single space effect remains

The question stem asks which answer is most strongly supported by the designer’s statements, so we should locate the answer choice in accordance with the above conditional rules.

Answer choice (A): This answer choice provides the following conditional statement regarding a room with the sliding glass doors closed:

• Garden coordinated contributes strong visual interest

This statement runs contrary to the information provided in the stimulus, referenced above, which states in the winter, when the door is closed, the single space effect will continue if the garden is coordinated with the room and if the garden contributes a strong visual interest of its own:

• Garden coordinated and contributes strong visuals single space effect remains

This answer choice incorrectly characterizes the strong visual interest single space effect as the sole necessary condition for being coordinated with the room, so this answer choice is incorrect.

Answer choice (B): This answer choice provides the following incorrect conditional reasoning:

• Single space effect garden well coordinated

This answer choice is contrary to the conditional reasoning provided in the stimulus:

• Garden coordinated and contributes strong visuals single space effect remains

Since this answer choice reverses the sufficient and necessary conditions, and leaves out any reference to contribution of a strong visual interest, this choice is incorrect.

Answer choice (C): This answer choice is also contrary to what is said in the stimulus, which tells us that a visual single room effect can be created if the doors are open. The designer also states that the effect can be intensified by opening the doors:

• Sliding doors open create single space or intensify pre-existing single space

Since we are told that the open sliding glass doors have the potential to intensify a single space effect, we know that they are not always required to create such an effect.

Answer choice (D): This is the correct answer choice. According to the stimulus, the contribution of a strong visual interest doesn’t even come into play in the summer, during which the opening of the sliding doors creates a single space effect if it didn’t already exist. If this effect was already present, opening the doors intensifies it:

• Sliding doors open create single space or intensify pre-existing single space

Because a garden can visually merge with an adjoining living room and form a single space in the summer, even if it does not contribute a strong visual interest of its own, this answer choice is correct.

Answer choice (E): The designer provides conditional reasoning regarding sliding glass doors. The first rule concerns open sliding doors, and the author points out that this may happen in the summer. This does not imply that the same course of action in the winter would not have the same results, so this answer choice is incorrect.

[lsatbossintraining]

Is it wise to diagram these statements under timed pressure and if so should I capture the second if?

“If the sliding doors are open...this effect will be created if it does not already exist and intensified if it does?”

Thanks much.

Kyle

[Rachael Wilkenfeld]

Hi LSATbossintraining,

I'm going to start with the first part of your question: on test day, should you diagram something like this out?

Ultimately, it's going to be a personal call. That sounds like a non-answer, but it's true. The balance between timing and accuracy is the central battle of the test. Making that decision of where to diagram is a personal balance on the test. In practice, diagram everything, every single time. On practice tests, you'll want to experiment a bit. Unless I'm really confident, I default to drawing it out. I will tell you that when I ran through this question, I drew it out. The increase in accuracy is (typically) worth it for me.

The other consideration is how long diagramming these things take you. It should be almost automatic. If it isn't for you yet, that's ok. Just plug away at it. Practice conditional reasoning daily until it IS automatic for you. Conditional reasoning is takes consistent work.

Ok, with all that being said, let's turn to the second part of your question. How on do you diagram that sentence about the open door? Whenever I get a conditional reasoning question that doesn't follow my expectations, I work with what I do recognize. In this case, there are really two conditionals: One for what happens if the effect exists, and one for if it doesn't. But both are really conditionals with TWO if statements. Let's try it out.

If sliding doors open
AND
the areas already visually merged (the effect exists) The effect with be intensified

If sliding doors open
AND
the did not visually merge (the effect did not exist) The effect will be created

Hope that helps!
Rachael

[lsatbossintraining]

So helpful. Thanks, Rachael

[kateelizab@gmail.com]

Hi,
I'm confused by the explanations for A and C. Although I understand the correct answer, the conditionality of this stimulus and ACs is confusing to me -- especially with the unless equation.

For example, with C, the conditional I produced was : Garden visually merges Sliding doors open , because the doors open element was after unless I placed it as neccesary. Maybe I'm missing something with the unless equation - can you explain how that applies to this question?

[atierney]

Hello Kate,

Alright, let's talk about conditional statements! For this question we have the second sentence stating that if the sliding doors open, then we will necessarily be able to create a merging of the garden with the living room. And that if we have visually merged the two together, then we will necessarily intensify the merger by opening the sliding doors. The third sentence says that if the garden is well coordinated and if it contributes a strong visual interest on its own, then the effect remains quite strong in the colder months.

Answer choice A says that in order for a garden to be well coordinated with the living room, it must contribute strong visual interest. This answer choice simply does not follow from the conditional statements in the stimulus. There is no requirement of contribution of a strong visual interest in the second sentence (or the first), therefore it is not true that a visual merger depends on, in any way (especially in the summer when the sliding doors are open), this particular condition (contributing visual interest). So A is out. Hopefully that is clear.

Answer choice C says that in order for the living room and garden to visual merge in the summer, the doors must be open. However, we know this is true from the second sentence, which states that opening doors can intensify an already-existing visual merger, implying that one must necessarily be capable of existing prior to said-opening. Hopefully that is clear as well.

And then, finally, just to round things out, D is the correct answer, given the implication of the sufficient condition in the third sentence, which contemplates the existence of this visual merger in the absence of the garden having a strong visual interest on its own via implication.

Let me know if you have further questions on this.