PT 52 Section 1 Q 3 Forum

[mz253]

I have some difficulty diagramming the stimulus and choice A.

the stimulus seems fine.

whenever joe's car.... vacumm it.
vacumm->K&L vacumm

they are the only....
didn't diagram, seems repetitive with the first setence.

if the employee ... vacuumed, then Joe ... fixed.
K&L vacuum -> K&L fixed

condition:
vacuumed

conclusion
K&L fixed

A is a little confusing for me..

it would be wet only if she drank water ....
wet-> drank

since the only time she drinks water ... is when she takes her medication
drink->medication (i'm confused by this one and I diagrammed this way based on my hunch, not sure if i'm correct though)

condition:
wet

conclusion:
medication

[KaplanLSATInstructor]

Seems like you have the logic worked out right to me.

As you said, the stimulus isn't bad, and you're breakdown is perfect.

For choice (A), you are also correct. [The glass is wet only if she drank from it] translates to:

glass wet -> drinks from glass

And [the only time she drinks from the glass is when she takes medication] translates to:

drinks from glass -> takes medication.

The reason this is correct is because she drinks from the glass ONLY when she's taking medication. That's the only time. If she drinks from the glass, it MUST be for taking medication -- just as your translation suggests.

From there, both the stimulus and (A) use a string of formal logic to connect a condition (vacuuming in the stimulus, and a wet glass in (A)) to a conclusion (Taking the car to K&L to be fixed inthe stimulus, and taking her medication in (A).)

HTH

- Chris

[mz253]

Seems like you have the logic worked out right to me.

As you said, the stimulus isn't bad, and you're breakdown is perfect.

For choice (A), you are also correct. [The glass is wet only if she drank from it] translates to:

glass wet -> drinks from glass

And [the only time she drinks from the glass is when she takes medication] translates to:

drinks from glass -> takes medication.

The reason this is correct is because she drinks from the glass ONLY when she's taking medication. That's the only time. If she drinks from the glass, it MUST be for taking medication -- just as your translation suggests.

From there, both the stimulus and (A) use a string of formal logic to connect a condition (vacuuming in the stimulus, and a wet glass in (A)) to a conclusion (Taking the car to K&L to be fixed inthe stimulus, and taking her medication in (A).)

HTH

- Chris

Thanks for your help, Chris. I wonder when "only", "the only" are necessary? how did you manage to restructure the sentence putting "only when" together?

[KaplanLSATInstructor]

I wonder when "only", "the only" are necessary? how did you manage to restructure the sentence putting "only when" together?

A simple trick that many people suggest is that "only if" and "only when" (and similar phrasings) precede necessary conditions. "THE only" precedes a sufficient condition. For example:

I wear shorts only when it's warm outside.
The only time I wear shorts is when it's warm outside.

Both sentences say the same thing. In the first, "only when" precedes the necessary condition: it must be warm outside. In the second, "the only" precedes the sufficient condition: if I wear shorts.

Either way, the logic is: shorts -> warm

Alternately, when you see the word "only," SOMETHING in the sentence is necessary. As yourself, "what's needed or must occur in this sentence?" In both sentences, it NEEDS to be warm to wear shorts. Sometimes, a good paraphrase like that make the conditions stand out more clearly.

So, take that sentence, "the only time she drinks water in the morning is when she takes her medication." That's saying she MUST be taking her medication if she's drinking water. Not the other way around.

HTH

- Chris

[mz253]

thank you chris! i have been tricked by the "only when", "the only.... is when" for a while.