LSAT

"Evelyn will not be cast in the play unless William is also cast." Accurately translate the following conditional statement above into an "if-then" sentence AND correctly state the contrapositive

Conditional Statement: If Evelyn is cast in the play, then William is also cast in the play. Contrapositive Statement: If William is not cast in the play, then Evelyn is not cast in the play

"Jordan will do the laundry only if Michael cleans the kitchen." Characterize each term in the statement as either the sufficient term or the necessary term: - Jordan will do the laundry (Sufficient / Necessary ) - Michael cleans the kitchen (Sufficient/ Necessary )

Sufficient- Jordan will do the laundry Necessary- Michael cleans the kitchen

None of the students taking literature are taking physics, but several of the students taking physics are taking art. In addition, none of the students taking rhetoric are taking physics. Which one of the following statements follows logically from the statements above? A. There are students who are taking art but not literature B. None of the students taking literature are taking art C. There are students who are taking rhetoric but not literature D. None of the students taking rhetoric are taking literature E. There are students who are taking both art and literature

There are students who are taking art but not literature

Choose exactly one answer in each row. A local reporter is examining a closely contested mayoral election between Delany and Jacobson. She has made the following determinations: 1. if the voter turnout is high, Delany will win the election 2. Voter turnout will be high unless it rains on election day 3. If Delany wins the election, the city will subsequently increase library funding 4. If Jacobson wins the election, the city will subsequently hire additional police officers Identify the following statements as one of the following (Must be True/ Could be true or false/ Must be False) - It rains on election day and Delany wins the election - It rains on election day and the city subsequently hires additional police officers -There is no rain on election day and the city subsequently reduces library funding

- It rains on election day and Delany wins the election = Could be true or false -It rains on election day and the city subsequently hires additional police officers= Could be true or false -There is no rain on election day and the city subsequently reduces library funding= Must be false

"None of the students taking literature are taking physics, but several of the students taking physics are taking art. In addition, none of the students taking rhetoric are taking physics. Which one of the following statements follows logically from the statements above?" Based on this question stimulus, what is the question type?

Because the right answer "follows logically" from the stimulus, it is a statement that must be true. This is an inference question. The stimulus acts as evidence for the correct answer choice. Accept each sentence in the stimulus as true and find an answer choice that must be true on the basis of one or more of those sentences. Keep an eye out for Formal Logic, especially in Inference questions with a short stimulus like this one.

Many mountain climbers regard climbing Mount Everest as the ultimate achievement. But climbers should not attempt this climb since the risk of death or serious injury in an Everest expedition is very high. Moreover, the romantic notion of gaining "spiritual discovery" atop Everest is dispelled by climbers' resorts that the only profound experiences they had at the top were of exhaustion and fear Which one of the following principles, if valid, most helps to justify the reasoning above? A. Projects undertaken primarily for spiritual reasons ought to be abandoned if the risks are great B. Dangerous activities that are unlikely to result in significant spiritual benefits for those undertaking them should be avoided. C. Activities that are extremely dangerous ought to be legally prohibited unless they are necessary to produce spiritual enlightenment. D. Profound spiritual experiences can be achieved without undergoing the serious danger involved in mountain climbing E. Mountain climbers and other athletes should carefully examine the underlying reasons they have for participating in their sports

Dangerous activities that are unlikely to result in significant spiritual benefits for those undertaking them should be avoided.

A large amount of rainfall in April and May typically leads to an increase in the mosquito population and thus to an increased threat of encephalitis. People cannot change the weather. Thus, people cannot decrease the threat of encephalitis. The reasoning in the argument above is flawed in that the argument A. Takes for granted that because one event precedes another the former must be the cause of the latter B. Presumes, without providing justification, that a certain outcome would be desirable C. Ignores the possibility that a certain type of outcome is dependent on more than one factor D. Takes for granted that a threat that is aggravated by certain factors could not occur in the absence of those factors E. Draws a conclusion about what is possible from a premise about what is actually the case

Ignores the possibility that a certain type of outcome is dependent on more than one factor - there are so many different factors that could be at work here, that is why it need not be true that the risk of encephalitis cannot be managed, this is what the correct answer choice gets at.

Perry: Worker-owned businesses require workers to spend time on management decision-making and investment strategy, tasks that are not directly productive. Also, such businesses have less extensive divisions of labor than do investor-owned businesses. Such inefficiencies can lead to low profitability, and thus increase the risk for lenders. Therefore, lenders seeking to reduce their risk should not make loans to worker-owned businesses. Which one of the following, if true, most seriously weakens Perry's argument? A. Businesses with the most extensive divisions of labor something fail to make the fullest use of their most versatile employee's potential B. Lenders who specialize in high-risk loans are the largest source of loans for worker-owned businesses C. Investor-owned businesses are more likely than worker-owned businesses are to receive start-up loans D. Worker-owned businesses have traditionally obtained loans from cooperative lending institutions established by coalitions of worker-owned businesses. E. In most worker-owned businesses, workers compensate for inefficiencies by working longer hours than do workers in investor owned businesses.

In most worker-owned businesses, workers compensate for inefficiencies by working longer hours than do workers in investor owned businesses.

In criminal proceedings, defense attorneys occasionally attempt to establish that a suspect was not present at the commission of a crime by comparing the suspect's DNA to the DNA of blood or hair samples taken from the scene of the crime. Although every person's DNA is unique, DNA tests often fail to distinguish among DNA samples taken from distinct individuals. Hence, it is a mistake to exonerate a suspect simply because that person's DNA did not match the DNA samples taken from the scene of the crime. Which one of the following is an error in the reasoning above? A. It assumes without warrant that the use of physical evidence in identifying suspects is never mistaken B. It confuses a test that incorrectly identifies DNA samples as coming from the same person with a test that incorrectly shows as coming from different persons samples that come from a single person. C. It generalizes about the reliability of all methods used to identify those involved in the commission of a crime on the basis of results that pertain to only a few such methods D. It relies on experimental data derived from DNA testing that have not been shown to hold under non-experimental conditions. E. It fails to demonstrate that physical evidence taken from the scene of a crime is the only sort of evidence that should be admitted in criminal court proceedings.

It confuses a test that incorrectly identifies DNA samples as coming from the same person with a test that incorrectly shows as coming from different persons samples that come from a single person

"A large amount of rainfall in April and May typically leads to an increase in the mosquito population and thus to an increased threat of encephalitis. People cannot change the weather. Thus, people cannot decrease the threat of encephalitis. The reasoning in the argument above is flawed in that the argument" Based on the question stem, what kind of question is this?

Logical flaw, an effect can have many causes

"Only students who have finished their science projects may go on the field trip." Characterize each term in the statement as either the sufficient term or the necessary term: - Students who have finished their science projects (Sufficient/ Necessary) -May go on the field trip (Sufficient/Necessary)

Necessary- Students who have finished their science projects Sufficient- May go on the field trip

Economist: A country's rapid emergence from an economic recession requires substantial new investment in that country's economy. Since people's confidence in the economic politics of their country is a precondition for any new investment, countries that put collective goals before individuals' goals cannot emerge quickly from an economic recession. Which one of the following, if assumed, enables the economist's conclusion to be properly drawn? A. No new investment occurs in any country that does not emerge quickly from an economic recession B. Recessions in countries that put collective goals before individuals' goals tend not to affect the country's people's support for their government's policies C. If the people in a country that puts individuals' goals first are willing to make new investments in their country's economy, their country will emerge quickly from an economic recession D. People in countries that put collective goals before individuals' goals lack confidence in the economic policies of their countries E. A country's econoic policies are the most significant factor determining whether that country's economy will experience a recession.

People in countries that put collective goals before individuals' goals lack confidence in the economic policies of their countries.

"Many mountain climbers regard climbing Mount Everest as the ultimate achievement. But climbers should not attempt this climb since the risk of death or serious injury in an Everest expedition is very high. Moreover, the romantic notion of gaining "spiritual discovery" atop Everest is dispelled by climbers' resorts that the only profound experiences they had at the top were of exhaustion and fear Which one of the following principles, if valid, most helps to justify the reasoning above?" Based on the question stimulus, what kind of question type is this?

Principle *the correct principle should take into account as much of the stimulus as possible without going outside of the scope *

Psychologist: We asked 100 entrepreneurs and 100 business managers to answer various questions and rate how confident they were that their responses were correct. While members of each group were overconfident, in general the entrepreneurs were much more so than the business managers. This indicates that people who are especially overconfident are more likely to attempt to start a business in spite of the enormous odds against success than people who are less confident. Which one of the following, if true, lends the most support to the psychologist's conclusion? What kind of question stem is this? A. The questions asked of the entrepreneurs and business managers included personal, political, and business questions. B. At least some of the entrepreneurs surveyed had accurately determined before attempting to start their businesses what the odds were against their attempts being successful. C. Another survey showed that degree of confidence was highly correlated with success in business. D. The business managers who were most overconfident were found to have attempted to start business in the past. E. How confident each person surveyed was that his or her answers to the questions asked were correct corresponded closely to that person's confidence in his or her business acumen.

The business managers who were most over confident were found to have attempted to start businesses in the past. -- Because the stem indicates that the correct answer will support the psychologist's conclusion, this is a Strengthen question. Break the argument down into conclusion and evidence and find the psychologist's assumption. The correct answer choice makes that assumption more likely to be true.

A recent study of several hundred female physicians showed that their tendency to develop coronary disease was inversely proportional to their dietary intake of two vitamins, folate and B6. The researchers concluded that folate and B6 inhibit the development of heart disease in women. Which one of the following would, if true, most weaken the researchers' conclusion? What kind of question stem is this? A. The foods that contain significant amounts of the vitamins folate and B6 also contain significant amounts of non-vitamin nutrients that inhibit heart disease. B. It is very unlikely that a chemical compound would inhibit coronary disease in women but not in men. C. Physicians are more likely than non-physicians to know a great deal about the link between diet and health. D. The physicians in the study had not been screened in advance to ensure that none had preexisting heart conditions. E. The vitamins folate and B6 are present only in very small amounts of most foods.

The foods that contain significant amounts of the vitamins folate and B6 also contain significant amounts of non-vitamin nutrients that inhibit heart disease. - If, in fact, when one eats foods that are rich in folate and B6 he also ingests non-vitamin heart-disease-inhibiting nutrients, then the impact of folate and B6 is not merely negligible, but perhaps irrelevant. This answer choice is a stinging weakener here.

"Each one of the following statements can be logically inferred from the judge's statements EXCEPT:" For the LR stem above, select the most helpful and accurate characterizations for the correct & incorrect answer choices from the following: must be true, could be true, could be false, must be false. The one correct answer choice_______________ The four incorrect answer choices __________________

The one correct answer: Could be False The four incorrect answers: Must be True

"Which one of the following statements could be false?" For the LR stem above, select the most helpful and accurate characterizations for the correct & incorrect answer choices from the following: must be true, could be true, could be false, must be false. The one correct answer choice_______________ The four incorrect answer choices __________________

The one correct answer: Could be False The four incorrect answers: Must be True

"Each of the following could be true EXCEPT:" For the LR stem above, select the most helpful and accurate characterizations for the correct & incorrect answer choices from the following: must be true, could be true, could be false, must be false. The one correct answer choice_______________ The four incorrect answer choices __________________

The one correct answer: Must be False The four incorrect answers: Could be True

"If the statements above are true, then which one of the following must also be true?" For the LR stem above, select the most helpful and accurate characterizations for the correct & incorrect answer choices from the following: must be true, could be true, could be false, must be false. The one correct answer choice ____________ The four incorrect choices ___________________

The one correct answer: Must be True The four incorrect answers: Could be False

"In practice, the government will have the last word on what an individual's rights are, because its police will do what its officials and courts say. But that does not mean that the government's view is necessarily the correct view; anyone who thinks it is must believe that persons have only such moral rights as the government chooses to grant, which means that they have no moral rights at all. Which one of the following most accurately expresses the conclusion of the argument?" What kind of questions stem is this?

The question asks for a conclusion, so this is a Main Point question

"In criminal proceedings, defense attorneys occasionally attempt to establish that a suspect was not present at the commission of a crime by comparing the suspect's DNA to the DNA of blood or hair samples taken from the scene of the crime. Although every person's DNA is unique, DNA tests often fail to distinguish among DNA samples taken from distinct individuals. Hence, it is a mistake to exonerate a suspect simply because that person's DNA did not match the DNA samples taken from the scene of the crime. Which one of the following is an error in the reasoning above?" Based on the question stimulus above, what kind of question type is this?

The question asks for an "error in reasoning," which means this is a flaw question

Economist: A country's rapid emergence from an economic recession requires substantial new investment in that country's economy. Since people's confidence in the economic politics of their country is a precondition for any new investment, countries that put collective goals before individuals' goals cannot emerge quickly from an economic recession. Which one of the following, if assumed, enables the economist's conclusion to be properly drawn? Based on the question stem, what kind of question type this is?

The word assumed identifies this as an Assumption question. Furthermore, the 'if' indicates that you are looking for a Sufficient Assumption. While there may be several options that would be sufficient to ensure that the conclusion follows logically from the evidence, only one answer choice will state such an assumption.

In practice, the government will have the last word on what an individual's rights are, because its police will do what its officials and courts say. But that does not mean that the government's view is necessarily the correct view; anyone who thinks it is must believe that persons have only such moral rights as the government chooses to grant, which means that they have no moral rights at all. Which one of the following most accurately expresses the conclusion of the argument? A. Individuals have no rights at all unless the government says that they do B. What government officials and courts say an individual's rights are may not be correct C. Individuals have rights unless the government says that they do not D. The police always agree with government officials and the courts about what an individual's rights are E. One should always try to uphold one's individual rights against the government's view of what those rights are

What government officials and courts say an individual's rights are may not be correct