LSAT Explanation PT 36, S1, Q11: Any sale item that is purchased

LSAT Question Stem

If the statements above are true, which one of the following must also be true? 

Logical Reasoning Question Type

This is a Must Be True question. 

Correct Answer

The correct answer to this question is D. 

LSAT Question Complete Explanation

First, let's analyze the passage and break down the information it provides. The passage states that any sale item can be returned for store credit, but not for a refund of the purchase price. It also tells us that every home appliance and every piece of gardening equipment is on sale, along with selected construction tools.

To make this information more relatable, let's consider a simple example. Imagine a store that sells books, clothes, and electronics. If the store has a sale on all books and clothes, along with some electronics, this situation would parallel the information given in the passage.

Now, let's move on to the question type and what it's asking us to do. This is a Must Be True (MBT) question, which means we need to identify the answer choice that must be true based on the information provided in the passage.

Let's evaluate each answer choice:

a) Any item that is not a home appliance or a piece of gardening equipment is returnable for a refund.

This answer choice is incorrect because the passage only provides information about sale items, home appliances, and gardening equipment. We don't have enough information to conclude anything about items that are not home appliances or gardening equipment.

b) Any item that is not on sale cannot be returned for store credit.

This answer choice is also incorrect because the passage only tells us about the return policy for sale items. It does not provide any information about the return policy for items that are not on sale.

c) Some construction tools are not returnable for store credit.

This answer choice is incorrect because it misinterprets the information given in the passage. The passage states that selected construction tools are on sale, but it does not provide any information about the return policy for construction tools that are not on sale. Therefore, we cannot conclude that some construction tools are not returnable for store credit.

d) No piece of gardening equipment is returnable for a refund.

This answer choice is correct. Since every piece of gardening equipment is on sale, and the passage states that sale items can only be returned for store credit and not for a refund, it must be true that no piece of gardening equipment is returnable for a refund.

e) None of the things that are returnable for a refund are construction tools.

This answer choice is incorrect because the passage only tells us that selected construction tools are on sale. We don't have enough information to conclude anything about the return policy for construction tools that are not on sale.

Based on our analysis, the correct answer is D: No piece of gardening equipment is returnable for a refund.