LSAT PRACTICE QUESTIONS
LOGICAL REASONING: IDENTIFY THE CENTRAL ASSUMPTION: Linsey has been judged to be a bad songwriter simply because her lyrics typically are disjointed and subjective. This judgment is ill founded, however, since the writings of many modern novelists typically are disjointed and subjective and yet these novelists are widely held to be good writers. Which one of the following is an ASSUMPTION on which the argument depends? (A) Disjointed and subjective writing has a comparable effect in modern novels and in songs. (B) Some readers do not appreciate the subtleties of the disjointed and subjective style adopted by modern novelists. (C) Song lyrics that are disjointed and subjective have at least as much narrative structure as any other song lyrics do. (D) A disjointed and subjective style of writing is usually more suitable for novels and song lyrics than it is for any other written works. (E) The quality of Linsey's songs is better judged by quality of their lyrics than by the quality of their musical form.
(A) Disjointed and subjective writing has a comparable effect in modern novels and in songs.
LOGICAL REASONING: DENIAL TEST On a certain day, nine scheduled flights on Swift Airlines were canceled. Ordinarily, a cancellation is due to mechanical problems with the airplane scheduled for a certain flight. However, since it is unlikely that Swift would have the mechanical problems with more than one or two scheduled flights on a single day, some of the nine cancellations were probably due to something else. The argument depends on which one of the following assumptions? (A) More than one or two airplanes were scheduled for the nine canceled flights. (B) Swift Airlines has fewer mechanical problems than do other airlines of the same size. (C) Each of the canceled flights would have been longer than the average flight on Swift Airlines. (D) Swift Airlines had never before canceled more than one or two scheduled flights on a single day. (E) All of the airplanes scheduled for the canceled flights are based at the same airport
(A) More than one or two airplanes were scheduled for the nine canceled flights.
We ought to pay attention only to the intrinsic properties of a work of art. Its other, extrinsic properties are irrelevant to our aesthetic interactions with it. For example, when we look at a painting we should consider only what is directly presented in our experience of it. What is really aesthetically relevant, therefore, is not what a painting symbolizes, but what it directly presents to experience. The conclusion follows logically if which one of the following is added to the premises? (A) What an artwork symbolizes involves only extrinsic properties of that work. (B) There are certain properties of our experiences of artworks that can be distinguished as symbolic properties. (C) Only an artwork's intrinsic properties are relevant to our aesthetic interactions with it. (D) It is possible in theory for an artwork to symbolize nothing. (E) An intrinsic property of an artwork is one that relates the work to itself.
(A) What an artwork symbolizes involves only extrinsic properties of that work.
LOGICAL REASONING: IDENTIFYING CENTRAL ASSUMPTION Obviously, we cannot in any real sense mistreat plants. Plants do not have nervous systems, and having a nervous system is necessary to experience pain. The conclusion above follows logically if which one of the following is assumed? (A) Any organism that can experience pain can be mistreated. (B) Only organisms that have nervous systems can experience pain. (C) Any organism that has a nervous system can experience pain. (D) Only organisms that can experience pain can be mistreated. (E) Any organism that has a nervous system can be mistreated.
(D) Only organisms that can experience pain can be mistreated.
LOGICAL REASONING: IDENTIFYING CENTRAL ASSUMPTION No chordates are tracheophytes, and all members of Pteropsida are tracheophytes. So no members of Pteropsida belong to the family Hominidae. The conclusion above follows logically if which one of the following is assumed? (a) All members of the family Hominidae are tracheophytes (b) All members of the family Hominidae are chordates (c) All tracheophytes are members of Pteropsida (d) No members of the family Hominidae are chordates (e) No chordates are members of Pteropsida
(b) All members of the family Hominidae are chordates
LOGICAL REASONING: WRONG CHOICE ANSWERS Art historian: Great works of art have often elicited outrage when first presented; in Europe, Stravinsky's Rite of Spring prompted a riot, and Manet's Dejeuner sur l'herbe elicited outrage and derision. So, since it is clear that art is often shocking, we should not hesitate to use public funds for supporting works of art that many people find shocking. Which of the following is an assumption, that is required for the Art historian to draw his conclusion properly? 1. Most art is shocking 2. Stravinsky and Manet received public funding for their art 3. Art used to be more shocking than it currently is 4. Public fund should support art 5. Anything that shocks is an art
4. Public funds should support art
LOGICAL REASONING: DENIAL TEST Naturalist: The recent claims that the Tasmanian tiger is not extinct are false. The Tasmanian tiger's natural habitat was taken over by sheep farming decades ago, resulting in the animal's systematic elimination from the area. Since then naturalists working in the region have discovered no hard evidence of its survival, such as carcasses or tracks. In spite of alleged sightings of the animal, the Tasmanian tiger no longer exists. Which one of the following is an assumption on which the naturalist's argument depends? A) Sheep farming drove the last Tasmanian tigers to starvation by chasing them from their natural habitat. B)Some scavengers in Tasmania are capable of destroying tiger carcasses without a trace. C)Every naturalist working in the Tasmanian tiger's natural habitat has looked systematically for evidence of the tiger's survival. D)The Tasmanian tiger did not move and adapt to a different region in response to the loss of habitat. E)Those who have reported sightings of the Tasmanian tiger are not experienced naturalists.
D)The Tasmanian tiger did not move and adapt to a different region in response to the loss of habitat.
LOGICAL REASONING: WRONG CHOICE ANSWERS Historian: The spread of literacy informs more people of injustices and, in the right circumstances, leads to increased capacity to distinguish true reformers from mere opportunists. However, widespread literacy invariably emerges before any comprehensive system of general education;thus, in the interim, the populace is vulnerable to clever demagogues calling for change. Consequently, some relatively benign regimes may ironically be toppled by their own "enlightened" move to increase literacy. Which one of the following is an assumption on which the historian's argument depends? A. A demagogue can never enlist the public support necessary to topple an existing regime unless a comprehensive system of general education is in place. B. Without literacy there can be no general awareness of the injustice in a society. C. Any comprehensive system of general education will tend to preserve the authority of benign regimes. D. A lack of general education affects the ability to differentiate between legitimate and illegitimate calls for reform. E. Any benign regime that fails to provide comprehensive general education wil be toppled by a clever demagogue.
D. A lack of general education affects the ability to differentiate between legitimate and illegitimate calls for reform.
When exercising the muscles in one's back, it is important to maintain a healthy back, to exercise the muscles on opposite sides of the spine equally. After all, balanced muscle development is needed for a healthy back since the muscles on opposite sides of the spine must pull equally in opposition directions to keep the back in proper alignment and protect the spine. Which of the following is an assumption, required by the argument?
Exercising the muscles on opposite sides of the spine unequally tends to lead to unbalanced muscle development
LOGICAL REASONING: IDENTIFYING CENTRAL ASSUMPTION All material bodies are divisible into parts, and everything divisible is imperfect. It follows rgar akk material bodies are imperfect.It likewise follows that the spirit is not a material body. The final conclusion above follows logically if which one of the following is assumed? a) Everything divisible is a material body. b) Nothing imperfect is indivisible. c) The spirit is divisible. d) The spirit is perfect. e) The spirit is either indivisible or imperfect.
d) The spirit is perfect.
