LSAT Prep Tests <- LSAT Prep Test 84 <- LSAT Prep Test 84 - Logical Reasoning 2 – Questions + Answers

LSAT Prep Test 84 - Logical Reasoning 2 – Questions + Answers

LSAT Prep Test 84 - Logical Reasoning 2 – Questions + Answers

1 / 25

In constructing a self-driving robotic car, engineers face the challenge of designing a car that avoids common traffic problems like crashes and congestion. These problems can also affect fish traveling together in schools. However, the principles fish use to navigate in schools ensure that these problems are much less common within schools of fish than among cars on the road. Hence, __________.


Which one of the following most logically completes the argument?

2 / 25

The Common Loon is a migratory bird that winters in warmer regions and returns to its breeding lakes in the spring. Typically, only one pair of loons occupies a single lake. Breeding pairs in search of breeding territory either occupy a vacant lake or take over an already occupied one. Surprisingly, almost half the time, returning loons choose to intrude on a territory already occupied by another pair of loons and attempt to oust its residents. This happens even when there are vacant lakes nearby that are perfectly suitable breeding territories.


Which one of the following, if true, most helps to explain the surprising behavior described above?

3 / 25

Taxi driver: My passengers complained when, on a hot day, I turned off my cab’s air conditioner while driving up a steep hill. While the engine is powerful enough to both run the air conditioner and climb the hill without slowing, this would have decreased my fuel economy considerably. So turning off the air conditioner was the right decision.


Which one of the following principles, if valid, most supports the taxi driver’s reasoning?

4 / 25

The reason J. S. Bach is remembered is not that he had a high ratio of outstanding compositions to mediocre compositions. It is rather because he was such a prolific composer. He wrote more than a thousand full-fledged compositions, so it was inevitable that some of them would be outstanding and, being outstanding, survive the ages.


Which one of the following, if true, most seriously weakens the argument?

5 / 25

Pundit: Clearly, the two major political parties in this city have become sharply divided on the issues. In the last four elections, for example, the parties were separated by less than 1 percent of the vote.


The reasoning in the argument is most vulnerable to criticism on the grounds that the argument

6 / 25

The waters surrounding Shooter’s Island have long been a dumping ground for ruined ships and boats, and the wreckage there has caused these waters to be exceptionally still. An ornithologist found that the overall abundance of waterbirds around Shooter’s Island is similar to that around each of the neighboring islands, but that juvenile waterbirds are much more abundant around Shooter’s Island than around those other islands. This suggests that the still waters around Shooter’s Island serve as a nursery for the juveniles.


Which one of the following, if true, provides the most support for the argument’s conclusion?

7 / 25

Pollster: When opinion researchers need a population sample that reflects the demographic characteristics of the national population, they choose their sample on the basis of national census data. Not everyone participates in the national census, despite its being mandatory. If, however, census participation became voluntary, as some have proposed, the participation rate would be much lower. So if census participation became voluntary, polls designed to discover the opinions of the national population would have less accurate results.


Which one of the following is an assumption on which the pollster’s argument depends?

8 / 25

Of the many works in a collection from Japan’s Tokugawa period that the museum will soon put on display, those that are most sensitive to light, as well as the most valuable pieces, will be on display for two weeks only. Sakai Hoitsu’s “Spring and Autumn Maples” will be on display for two weeks only, so it is clearly among the most valuable pieces in the collection.


The flawed pattern of reasoning in the argument above most closely parallels that in which one of the following?

9 / 25

Marketing agent: A survey of my business clients reveals that, of those who made a profit last year, 90 percent made at least $100,000 in profit for the year. In prior years, not one of these businesses made an annual profit of more than $10,000. So, 90 percent of my business clients increased their profits at least tenfold last year.


The reasoning in the marketing agent’s argument is most vulnerable to criticism on the grounds that the argument

10 / 25

Changes in Britain’s National Health Service have led many British hospitals to end on-site laundry services for their staff. Although the water in a typical residential washing machine, unlike that in the industrial washing machines used by hospitals, does not reach temperatures high enough to kill the dangerous bacterium Acinetobacter, hospital officials believe that the discontinuation of these services will not put patients at risk.


Which one of the following, if true, most helps to justify the hospital officials’ belief?

11 / 25

Many newspapers have cut back on book reviews, replacing them with other features that, according to focus group research, are of greater interest to potential readers. Such a move is ill-advised. Though meant to increase readership, it actually decreases readership by alienating loyal readers while catering to casual readers who are more likely to watch television than pick up a newspaper.


Which one of the following most accurately expresses the conclusion drawn in the argument?

12 / 25

Doctor: There will be more local cases of flu infection this year than there were last year. In addition to the strains of flu that were present in this area last year, a new strain has infected some people this year.


The conclusion of the doctor’s argument can be properly drawn if which one of the following is assumed?

13 / 25

Hendry: Most employee strikes should be legally permitted. But strikes by university faculty are an exception. Faculty strikes harm a university’s students, and I accept the principle that an employee strike shouldn’t be legally permitted if it would harm the employer’s customers.
Menkin: If your principle is correct, then, contrary to what you claim, employee strikes should almost never be legally permitted.


On the basis of their statements, Hendry and Menkin are committed to disagreeing over whether

14 / 25

Most popular historical films are not documentaries; they are dramatic presentations of historical events. Such presentations cannot present the evidence for the accuracy of what they portray. Consequently, uninformed viewers of dramatic historical films should not regard them as accurate portrayals of historical events.


Which one of the following principles, if valid, most helps to justify the reasoning in the argument?

15 / 25

Carrillo: Using the number of existing primate species, along with measures of the genetic diversity among these primates and among the extinct primate species, our statistical model strongly supports the conclusion that the first primate developed around 81.5 million years ago.
Olson: Given that the oldest primate fossils discovered so far date back only 55 million years, your estimate of how long primate species’development has gone on is sheer speculation.


The dialogue provides the most support for the claim that Carrillo and Olson disagree over whether

16 / 25

Automobile executive: Our critics say that the communications devices installed in our automobiles are dangerously distracting to drivers. But these critics are wrong. Drivers who want to use communications devices are going to use them regardless. Our devices are easier for drivers to use, and hence they are safer.


The reasoning in the automobile executive’s argument is most vulnerable to criticism on the grounds that it

17 / 25

Since mosquito larvae are aquatic, outbreaks of mosquito-bome diseases typically increase after extended periods of wet weather. An exception to this generalization, however, occurs in areas where mosquitoes breed primarily in wetland habitats. In these areas, outbreaks of mosquito-bome diseases are worse after periods of drought.


Which one of the following, if true, most helps to resolve the apparent discrepancy described above?

18 / 25

Efforts to get the public to exercise regularly, which have emphasized the positive health effects of exercise rather than the dangers of a sedentary lifestyle, have met with little success. In contrast, efforts to curb cigarette smoking, which have emphasized the dangers of smoking rather than the positive health effects of quitting, have been highly successful. Thus, efforts to get the public to exercise regularly would be more successful if they emphasized the dangers of a sedentary lifestyle rather than the positive health effects of exercise.


Which one of the following is an assumption on which the argument relies?

19 / 25

Henry: Engines powered by electricity from batteries cause less pollution than internal combustion engines. Therefore, to reduce urban pollution, we should replace standard automobiles with battery-powered vehicles.
Umit: I disagree. Battery-powered vehicles have very short ranges and must be recharged often. Their widespread use would create a greater demand for electricity generated by power plants, which are themselves a major source of pollution.


Of the following, which one, if true, is the strongest coxniter Henry could make to Umit’s objection?

20 / 25

History student: It is unfair for the History Department to prohibit students from citing certain online encyclopedias in their research papers merely because these sources are not peer reviewed. In their research, students should be allowed to read whatever they wish; otherwise, it is censorship.
History professor: Students are allowed to read whatever they like. The rule stipulates only that certain online encyclopedias are not to be cited as references since, given that they are not peer reviewed, they cannot reasonably be treated as reliable support for any claim.


The dialogue provides most support for the claim that the student and the professor disagree over whether

21 / 25

Finance minister: The World Bank’s “Doing Business” report ranks countries in terms of ease of doing business in them. In producing the rankings, the World Bank assesses how difficult it is for a hypothetical business to comply with regulations and pay taxes. Since the last “Doing Business” report came out, our government has dramatically simplified tax filing for small and even midsized businesses. So our “Doing Business” ranking will probably improve.


The answer to which one of the following questions would most help in evaluating the finance minister’s argument?

22 / 25

Commentator: Unfortunately, Roehmer’s opinion column has a polarizing effect on national politics. She has always taken a partisan stance, and lately she has taken the further step of impugning the motives of her adversaries. That style of argumentation is guaranteed not to change the minds of people with opposing viewpoints; it only alienates them. But that is likely not a problem for Roehmer, since her column is just an attempt to please her loyal readers.


The reasoning in the commentator’s argument is most vulnerable to criticism on the grounds that the argument

23 / 25

Fine short story writers are unlikely to become great novelists. Short story writers must master the ability to interweave the many small details that together allow mundane incidents to illuminate important truths. Because the novel drowns in such detail, novelists must focus on larger matters. Only a few writers possess both the ability to weave together many small details and the ability to focus on larger matters.


The reasoning in which one of the following is most similar to the reasoning above?

24 / 25

Politician: Every regulation currently being proposed by the Committee for Overseas Trade will reduce the trade deficit. Our country’s trade deficit is so large that it weakens the economy. Therefore, each of the proposed regulations would help the economy.


The reasoning in the politician’s argument is flawed in that the argument

25 / 25

Essayist writing in 2012: At its onset, a new medium is limited to carrying content from the old medium it replaces. We are in that phase with e-books— today’s e-books take their content from print books. Thus it is too early to understand the e-book as a medium, since it has not yet taken its ultimate form. Which one of the following principles, if valid, most helps to justify the essayist’s reasoning?

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