LSAC LSAC Certifications LSAT-TEST Questions & Answers

• Question 381:

  The most common bird in Stillwater Marsh is a species of marsh hen, yet this species is rarely seen, even by experienced bird-watchers who seek it. In fact, this bird is seen far less frequently than any other bird inhabiting the marsh, including those that are much smaller and much less abundant.

  Each of the following, if true, helps to reconcile the statements above EXCEPT:

  A. The coloration of the marsh hen blends in particularly well with the marsh grass where the marsh hen nests.

  B. The marsh hen's call is harsh and repetitive, whereas the calls of many other marsh birds are pleasant and melodious.

  C. Unlike many small marsh birds, which dash along the banks of the marsh, the marsh hen remains completely still for long periods of time.

  D. Many marsh birds are most active during daylight hours, but the marsh hen is usually most active at night.

  E. Although many small marsh birds fly in groups to several feeding areas each day, the marsh hen tends to be solitary and flies only when it is in danger.

  Correct Answer: B

  What would plausibly explain that the most common bird species is seen much less often than smaller and less numerous birds? Option [The coloration of the marsh hen...] would -- it's camouflaged by the environment. Option [Unlike many small marsh birds...] would it stands still a lot, unlike other species that dash. Option [Many marsh birds are most active...] would -- it's active at night, unlike other species that are diurnal. And [Although many small marsh birds fly...] would -- it flies alone and infrequently, unlike the others that fly often and in packs. But depending on how you look at it, option [The marsh hen's call is harsh] either falls outside the scope (if the calls are irrelevant to the visual cues that the stimulus is interested in) or deepens the paradox (if the obnoxious call of the marsh hen makes it more likely to be identified and spotted than less so).

• Question 382:

  Brewer: All children should be given the opportunity to participate in competitive sports; these activities provide an unsurpassed opportunity to engage children's emotions and so stimulate them to put maximum effort into attaining high athletic standards. Polanski: I disagree. Competitive athletics does, over time, produce a handful of highly motivated children with a desire to excel at an activity, but many children have no taste for competition, and to make them participate would only cause them to develop an antipathy toward athletics.

  Polanski's response most strongly supports the contention that Polanski misunderstood Brewer to be asserting that

  A. characteristics acquired by playing competitive sports carry over into the rest of one's life

  B. winning at competitive sports is essential to motivation to excel at athletics

  C. children should put more effort into athletic activities than any other form of activity

  D. children should be required to participate incompetitive sports regardless of their interests

  E. children cannot be motivated without their emotions being engaged

  Correct Answer: D

  Polanski argues that kids who don't care for competition could be driven to hate sports if forced to compete. So he must have heard Brewer say [children should be required to...], that a kid should be forced to compete whether s/he like sit or not. Of course Brewer said nothing of the kind; all she said was that all kids should have the chance to compete. But Polanski failed to hear that, and that was his mistake.

• Question 383:

  North American eastern white cedars grow both on cliff faces and in forests. Cedars growing on exposed cliff faces receive very few nutrients, and rarely grow bigger than one-tenth the height of cedars growing in forests, where they benefit from moisture and good soil. Yet few eastern white cedars found in forests are as old as four hundred years, while many on cliff faces are more than five hundred years old.

  Which one of the following, if true, most helps to explain the difference in the ages of the cedars on cliff faces and those in forests?

  A. The conditions on cliff faces are similar to those in most other places where there are few tall trees.

  B. In areas where eastern white cedars grow, forest fires are relatively frequent, but fires cannot reach cliff faces.

  C. Trees that are older than a few hundred years start to lose the protective outer layer of their bark.

  D. The roots of cedars on cliff faces lodge in cracks in the cliff, and once the roots are so large that they fill a crack, the tree is unable to grow any taller.

  E. Eastern white cedar wood is too soft to be used for firewood or modern buildings, but it is occasionally used to make furniture.

  Correct Answer: B

  The essence of the paradox about the two sets of cedars goes like this: One set grows in a hospitable forest locale and another grows on hardscrabble cliff faces, yet the cliff cedars seem to be thriving better -in general they're older than the forest cedars. Some outside factor must account for the difference in longevity, and you might not have predicted forest fires but certainly should not have been surprised to encounter [In areas where eastern white...]. That forests are far more susceptible to tree-killing blazes than are cliffs would readily account for the longer life of the cliff cedars.

• Question 384:

  The number of airplanes equipped with a new anticollision device has increased steadily during the past two years. During the same period, it has become increasingly common for key information about an airplane's altitude and speed to disappear suddenly from air traffic controllers' screens. The new anticollision device, which operates at the same frequency as air traffic radar, is therefore responsible for the sudden disappearance of key information.

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

  A. The new anticollision device has already prevented a considerable number of mid-aircollisions.

  B. It was not until the new anticollision device was introduced that key information first began disappearing suddenly from controllers' screens.

  C. The new anticollision device is scheduled to be moved to a different frequency within the next two to three months.

  D. Key information began disappearing from controllers' screens three months before the new anticollision device was first tested.

  E. The sudden disappearance of key information from controllers' screens has occurred only at relatively large airports.

  Correct Answer: D

  The cause of the sudden disappearance of in-flight data is the new anticollision device. That's the author's conclusion, anyway, and it's based on the coincidence of the two things -- that is, the more widespread usage of the device and the increase in disappearances have occurred "during the same period." That's as it may be. But if option [Key information began...] is true, and the disappearing-data phenomenon predates the device's testing (not even its introduction!) by a full three months, then suspicions must be raised that the cause of the disappearing data lies elsewhere.

• Question 385:

  Supervisor: Our next budget proposal will probably be approved, because normally about half of all budget proposals that the vice president considers are approved, and our last five budget proposals have all been turned down.

  The supervisor's reasoning is flawed because it presumes, without giving warrant, that

  A. the last five budget proposals' having been turned down guarantees that the next five budget proposals will be approved

  B. the vice president is required to approve at least half of all budget proposals submitted

  C. having the last five budget proposals turned down affects the likelihood that the next budget proposal will be turned down

  D. the majority of the last five budget proposals deserved to be turned down

  E. the likelihood that a budget proposal will be approved is influenced by the amount of money that budget proposal requests

  Correct Answer: C

  The prediction that the next proposal will probably be approved is based on two facts: the last 5 got thumbs down, and "normally about half" get thumbs up. You needn't know the total number of proposals submitted to recognize that option [having the last five budget...] is the problem: The supervisor has no reason to believe that the last 5 turn downs are relevant, in any way, to the next budget decision. If the

  V.P. considers each proposal on its own merits only, then the probability of the next one's success is unaffected, at least in the way the supervisor argues.

• Question 386:

  An air traveler in Beijing cannot fly to Lhasa without first flying to Chengdu. Unfortunately, an air traveler in Beijing must fly to Xian before flying to Chengdu. Any air traveler who flies from Beijing to Lhasa, therefore, cannot avoid flying to Xian.

  The pattern of reasoning exhibited by the argument above is most similar to that exhibited by which one of the following?

  A. A doctor cannot prescribe porozine for a patient without first prescribing anthroxine for that patient. Unfortunately, anthroxine makes most patients who take it feel either extremely drowsy or else extremely nervous. It is likely, therefore, that a patient who has taken porozine has felt extremely nervous.

  B. An ice-sculpture artist cannot reach the yellow level of achievement without first achieving the green level. The green level is impossible to achieve unless the white level has already been achieved. Therefore, an ice-sculpture artist who has reached the yellow level must have previously achieved the white level.

  C. One cannot properly identify a mushroom without first examining its spores. A powerful microscope can be used to examine the spores of a mushroom. A powerful microscope, therefore, is necessary for anyone wishing to identify mushrooms properly.

  D. It is impossible to be fluent in a language without knowing its grammatical rules. A person who knows the grammatical rules of a language has learned them by means of exhaustive and difficult study or else by growing up in an environment in which the language is spoken. There are two major ways, therefore, for a person to become fluent in a language.

  E. In the City Ballet Company any dancer who has danced in Giselle has also danced in Sleeping Beauty, and some dancers who have danced in Sleeping Beauty have also danced in Swan Lake. Therefore, some dancers in the City Ballet Company who have danced in Giselle have also danced in Swan Lake.

  Correct Answer: B

  The plethora of proper names needn't obscure the essential logic. The conclusion simply asserts that a certain activity (the BeijingLhasa flight) requires a certain necessary condition. Only options [An ice-sculpture artist cannot reach...] and [One cannot properly identify...] have conclusions in that form. Option [A doctor cannot prescribe porozine for...] is an assertion of likelihood; [It is impossible to be fluent in...] asserts two conditions each of which is sufficient to bring about a result; and [In the City Ballet Company any...] is in the algebraic form Some X are Y.

• Question 387:

  Lawyer: Did Congleton assign the best available graphic artist to the project?

  Witness: Yes.

  Lawyer: And the best writer?

  Witness: Yes.

  Lawyer: In fact everyone she assigned to work on the project was top notch?

  Witness: That's true.

  Lawyer: So, you lied to the court when you said, earlier, that Congleton wanted the project to fail?

  Each of the following accurately describes a flaw in the lawyer's reasoning displayed above EXCEPT:

  A. It takes for granted that Congleton was not forced to assign the people she did to the project.

  B. It takes for granted that the project could fail only if Congleton wanted it to fail.

  C. It ignores the possibility that Congleton knew that the people assigned to the project would not work well together.

  D. It ignores the possibility that the witness failed to infer from known facts what should have been inferred and therefore was not lying.

  E. It ignores the possibility that Congleton failed to allot enough time or resources to the project team.

  Correct Answer: B

  The biggest single flaw -- and it appears as three flaws among the wrong choices--is the lawyer's failure to recognize that notwithstanding all the indications of Congleton's support, Congleton still could have wanted the project to fail and the witness is not lying. The possibility that Congleton tried to sabotage the project by hiring incompatible people, or by underbudgeting for it option [It ignores the possibility that...] certainly exists, as does the possibility that Congleton didn't have the freedom to choose people who might sabotage the project object [It takes for granted that...]. The remaining wrong choice deals with the lawyer's inference about the witness. It's not the witness's fault if he looks at all of the listed facts and for whatever reason fails to infer that Congleton wasn't rooting for the project's failure. In that case, the witness wasn't lying; he simply does believe that Congleton wanted the project doomed [It ignores the possibility that...].

• Question 388:

  Attacks on an opponent's character should be avoided in political debates. Such attacks do not confront the opponent's argument; instead they attempt to cast doubt on the opponent's moral right to be in the debate at all.

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

  A. Attacks on an opponent's character result from an inability to confront the opponent's argument properly.

  B. Attacks on an opponent's character should not impress those watching a political debate.

  C. Debating techniques that do not confront every argument should be avoided.

  D. Attacking the character of one's opponent does nothing to preserve one's moral right to enter into further political debates.

  E. Questions of character should be raised in political debate if they are relevant to the opponent's argument.

  Correct Answer: C

  The implication of the second sentence, especially the first clause, suggests that the author believes that a necessary condition for making a personal attack during a political debate is that the personal reference be germane to the issue at hand. If option [The cave paintings that...] is a valid principle, then the author is on solid ground in recommending that ad hominemattacks have no place in political debate.

• Question 389:

  Recently discovered prehistoric rock paintings on small islands off the northern coast of Norway have archaeologists puzzled. The predominant theory about northern cave paintings was that they were largely a description of the current diets of the painters. This theory cannot be right, because the painters must have needed to eat the sea animals populating the waters north of Norway if they were to make the long journey to and from the islands, and there are no paintings that unambiguously depict such creatures.

  Each of the following, if true, weakens the argument against the predominant theory about northern cave paintings EXCEPT:

  A. Once on these islands, the cave painters hunted and ate land animals.

  B. Parts of the cave paintings on the islands did not survive the centuries.

  C. The cave paintings that were discovered on the islands depicted many land animals.

  D. Those who did the cave paintings that were discovered on the islands had unusually advanced techniques of preserving meats.

  E. The cave paintings on the islands were done by the original inhabitants of the islands who ate the meat of land animals.

  Correct Answer: C

  In essence we have to find four ways to weaken the argument against the predominant theory, meaning that we have to weaken the view of the author. He says that the paintings cannot have depicted the diets of their creators, because of the absence of depictions of sea creatures that would've been necessary to the painters' diets. He doesn't say what creatures are depicted in the caves, but option [The cave paintings that...] does, and by asserting the predominance of land animals on the cave walls option [The cave paintings that...] leaves the author's objection untouched at least, and bolsters it at most.

• Question 390:

  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 will be toppled by a clever demagogue.

  Correct Answer: D

  The historian believes that a country's move towards literacy, a condition that makes the public more informed and skeptical of opportunists, can ironically make the country more vulnerable to opportunists. His reasoning is that widespread literacy tends to predate the establishment of general education, and during that middle period, the public is ripe to be hoodwinked. This assessment hinges on the premise that there is something about general education that, when combined with literacy, renders protection against scoundrels, and option [A lack of general education affects...] points out that very premise.