LSAT Prep Questions
LOGICAL:
Laird: Pure research provides us with new technologies that contribute to saving lives. Even more
worthwhile than this, however, is its role in expanding our knowledge and providing new, unexplored
ideas.
Kim: Your priorities are mistaken. Saving lives is what counts most of all. Without pure research,
medicine would not be as advanced as it is.
A) Laird and Kim disagree on whether pure research
derives its significance in part from its providing new technologies
B) expands the boundaries of our knowledge of medicine
C) should have the saving of human lives as an important goal
D) has its most valuable achievements in medical applications
E)has any value apart from its role in providing new technologies to save lives - Correct Answer: D
Difficulty Level: Medium
This question asks you to identify the point on which Laird and Kim disagree with respect to pure
research. Laird identifies two contributions of pure research: its medical applications ("technologies that
contribute to saving lives") and its role in expanding knowledge and providing new ideas. Of these, Laird
considers the second contribution to be more worthwhile. Kim, on the other hand, maintains that
"Saving lives is what counts most of all." Since pure research saves lives through medical applications,
,Kim disagrees with Laird about whether pure research has its most valuable achievements in medical
applications. The correct response, therefore, is (D).
Response (A) is incorrect since we can determine, based on their statements, that Laird and Kim agree
that pure research "derives its significance in part from its providing new technologies." Laird explicitly
cites the value of pure research with respect to providing new technologies. Kim indicates agreement
with (A), at least in the case of medical technologies, by asserting that "Without pure research, medicine
would not be as advanced as it is."
Response (B) is incorrect since we can determine, based on their statements, that Laird and Kim would
likely agree that pure research "expands the boundaries of our knowledge of medicine." Laird notes that
pure research provides us with new technologies that have medical applications. Kim points out that
"Without pure research, medicine would not be as advanced as it is."
Response (C) is incorrect. Kim indicates agreement that pure research "should have the saving of human
lives as an important goal" since Kim's position is that "Saving lives is what counts most of all." Since
Laird cites the saving of lives as one way in which pure research is worthwhile or valuable, Laird also
indicates agreement that pure research "should have the saving of human lives as an important goal,"
although Laird indicates that expanding knowledge and providing new ideas should be an even more
important goal of pure research. The same activity can of course have more than one goal.
Response (E) is incorrect. Laird clearly agrees that pure research has value "apart from its role in
providing new technologies to save lives," given that Laird explicitly cites a second way in which pure
research is valuable. However, nothing in what Kim says suggests disagreement with (E). Kim's position
is that the greatest value of pure research is its role in providing new technologies to save lives. We
cannot infer from this that Kim believes this role to be the only value of pure research.
This question was of medium difficulty, based on the number of test takers who answered it correctly
when it appeared on the LSAT.
LOGICAL:
Executive: We recently ran a set of advertisements in the print version of a travel magazine and on that
magazine's website. We were unable to get any direct information about consumer response to the
print ads. However, we found that consumer response to the ads on the website was much more limited
than is typical for website ads. We concluded that consumer response to the print ads was probably
below par as well.
, The executive's reasoning does which one of the following?
A) bases a prediction of the intensity of a phenomenon on information about the intensity of that
phenomenon's cause
B) uses information about the typical frequency of events of a general kind to draw a conclusion about
the probability of a particular event of that kind
C) infers a statistical generalization from claims about a large number of specific instances
D) uses a case in which direct evidence is available to draw a conclusion about an analogous case in
which direct evidence is unavailable
E) bases a prediction about future events on facts about recent comparable events - Correct Answer: D
Difficulty Level: Easy
This question asks you to identify how the executive's reasoning proceeds. The ads discussed by the
executive appeared in two places—in a magazine and on the magazine's website. Some information is
available concerning the effect of the website ads on consumers, but no consumer response information
is available about the print ads. The executive's remarks suggest that the ads that appeared in print and
on the website were basically the same, or very similar. The executive reasoned that information about
the effect of the website ads could be used as evidence for an inference about how the print ads likely
performed. The executive thus used the analogy between the print ads and the website ads to infer
something about the print ads. (D), therefore, is the correct response.
Response (A) is incorrect. The executive's conclusion about the likely consumer response to the print ads
does not constitute a prediction, but rather a judgment about events that have already transpired.
Moreover, the executive's conclusion is not based on any reasoning about the cause of the consumer
response to the print ads.
Response (B) is incorrect. The executive does conclude that certain events are likely to have transpired
on the basis of what was known to have transpired in a similar case, but no distinction can be made in
the executive's argument between events of a general kind and a particular event of that kind. There are
two types of event in play in the executive's argument and they are of the same level of generality—the
response to the website ads and the response to the print ads.
LOGICAL:
Laird: Pure research provides us with new technologies that contribute to saving lives. Even more
worthwhile than this, however, is its role in expanding our knowledge and providing new, unexplored
ideas.
Kim: Your priorities are mistaken. Saving lives is what counts most of all. Without pure research,
medicine would not be as advanced as it is.
A) Laird and Kim disagree on whether pure research
derives its significance in part from its providing new technologies
B) expands the boundaries of our knowledge of medicine
C) should have the saving of human lives as an important goal
D) has its most valuable achievements in medical applications
E)has any value apart from its role in providing new technologies to save lives - Correct Answer: D
Difficulty Level: Medium
This question asks you to identify the point on which Laird and Kim disagree with respect to pure
research. Laird identifies two contributions of pure research: its medical applications ("technologies that
contribute to saving lives") and its role in expanding knowledge and providing new ideas. Of these, Laird
considers the second contribution to be more worthwhile. Kim, on the other hand, maintains that
"Saving lives is what counts most of all." Since pure research saves lives through medical applications,
,Kim disagrees with Laird about whether pure research has its most valuable achievements in medical
applications. The correct response, therefore, is (D).
Response (A) is incorrect since we can determine, based on their statements, that Laird and Kim agree
that pure research "derives its significance in part from its providing new technologies." Laird explicitly
cites the value of pure research with respect to providing new technologies. Kim indicates agreement
with (A), at least in the case of medical technologies, by asserting that "Without pure research, medicine
would not be as advanced as it is."
Response (B) is incorrect since we can determine, based on their statements, that Laird and Kim would
likely agree that pure research "expands the boundaries of our knowledge of medicine." Laird notes that
pure research provides us with new technologies that have medical applications. Kim points out that
"Without pure research, medicine would not be as advanced as it is."
Response (C) is incorrect. Kim indicates agreement that pure research "should have the saving of human
lives as an important goal" since Kim's position is that "Saving lives is what counts most of all." Since
Laird cites the saving of lives as one way in which pure research is worthwhile or valuable, Laird also
indicates agreement that pure research "should have the saving of human lives as an important goal,"
although Laird indicates that expanding knowledge and providing new ideas should be an even more
important goal of pure research. The same activity can of course have more than one goal.
Response (E) is incorrect. Laird clearly agrees that pure research has value "apart from its role in
providing new technologies to save lives," given that Laird explicitly cites a second way in which pure
research is valuable. However, nothing in what Kim says suggests disagreement with (E). Kim's position
is that the greatest value of pure research is its role in providing new technologies to save lives. We
cannot infer from this that Kim believes this role to be the only value of pure research.
This question was of medium difficulty, based on the number of test takers who answered it correctly
when it appeared on the LSAT.
LOGICAL:
Executive: We recently ran a set of advertisements in the print version of a travel magazine and on that
magazine's website. We were unable to get any direct information about consumer response to the
print ads. However, we found that consumer response to the ads on the website was much more limited
than is typical for website ads. We concluded that consumer response to the print ads was probably
below par as well.
, The executive's reasoning does which one of the following?
A) bases a prediction of the intensity of a phenomenon on information about the intensity of that
phenomenon's cause
B) uses information about the typical frequency of events of a general kind to draw a conclusion about
the probability of a particular event of that kind
C) infers a statistical generalization from claims about a large number of specific instances
D) uses a case in which direct evidence is available to draw a conclusion about an analogous case in
which direct evidence is unavailable
E) bases a prediction about future events on facts about recent comparable events - Correct Answer: D
Difficulty Level: Easy
This question asks you to identify how the executive's reasoning proceeds. The ads discussed by the
executive appeared in two places—in a magazine and on the magazine's website. Some information is
available concerning the effect of the website ads on consumers, but no consumer response information
is available about the print ads. The executive's remarks suggest that the ads that appeared in print and
on the website were basically the same, or very similar. The executive reasoned that information about
the effect of the website ads could be used as evidence for an inference about how the print ads likely
performed. The executive thus used the analogy between the print ads and the website ads to infer
something about the print ads. (D), therefore, is the correct response.
Response (A) is incorrect. The executive's conclusion about the likely consumer response to the print ads
does not constitute a prediction, but rather a judgment about events that have already transpired.
Moreover, the executive's conclusion is not based on any reasoning about the cause of the consumer
response to the print ads.
Response (B) is incorrect. The executive does conclude that certain events are likely to have transpired
on the basis of what was known to have transpired in a similar case, but no distinction can be made in
the executive's argument between events of a general kind and a particular event of that kind. There are
two types of event in play in the executive's argument and they are of the same level of generality—the
response to the website ads and the response to the print ads.
