LSAT Prep Questions with
Correct Detailed Answers
Which one of the following principles, if valid, most helps to justify the journalist's
reasoning?
A)People who are ill deserve more consideration than do healthy people, regardless of
their relative socioeconomic positions.
B)Wealthy institutions have an obligation to expend at least some of their resources to
assist those incapable of assisting themselves.
C)Whether one deserves - Answer-Correct Answer: C
Difficulty Level: Easy
The journalist states that pharmaceutical companies have both a need for profits to
support future research and a moral obligation to provide medicines to those who most
need them and cannot afford them. In order to balance these requirements they have
adopted a practice of selling drugs at lower prices in poorer countries. The journalist's
conclusion is that this practice is unjustified. To support this claim, the journalist points
out that different individuals in the same nation have differing abilities to pay, but this
consideration does not, by itself, establish that the pharmaceutical company's policy is
unjustified. The question asks you to choose the principle that would most help to justify
the journalist's reasoning.
The principle stated in response (C) connects the question of whether special
consideration is deserved to personal, rather than societal, needs. The pharmaceutical
companies' practice provides special consideration based on the characteristics of one's
society, and not based on one's personal needs. As a result, according to this principle,
the practice tends to deny special consideration to some who deserve it (the poorer
citizens of wealthier nations), while giving special consideration to some who do not
deserve it (the middle class citizens of poorer nations). In this way the practice is failing
to meet the pharmaceutical companies' obligation to provide special consideration for
those who most need the drugs and cannot afford them, and, in giving undeserved
special consideration, failing to generate income that could have been used to support
new drug research. The principle in (C) thereby provides strong support for the
journalist's reasoning that the pharmaceutical companies' practice is unjustified. Thus,
(C) is the correct response.
,The principle
LOGICAL:
Several critics have claimed that any contemporary poet who writes formal poetry—
poetry that is rhymed and metered—is performing a politically conservative act. This is
plainly false. Consider Molly Peacock and Marilyn Hacker, two contemporary poets
whose poetry is almost exclusively formal and yet who are themselves politically
progressive feminists.
The conclusion drawn above follows logically if which one of the following is assumed?
A)No one who is a feminist is also politically conservative.
B)No poet who writes unrhymed or unmetered poetry is politically conservative.
C)No one who is politically progressive is capable of performing a politically
conservative act.
D)Anyone who sometimes writes poetry that is not politically conservative never writes
poetry that is politically conservative.
E)The content of a poet's work, not the work's form, is the most decisive factor in
determining what politic - Answer-Correct Answer: C
Difficulty Level: Hard
This question asks you to identify the option containing information that makes the
conclusion of the argument follow logically. The conclusion of the argument is that it is
false that any contemporary poet who writes formal poetry is performing a politically
conservative act. To draw this conclusion logically, one only needs to show at least one
contemporary poet who is writing formal poetry and is not thereby performing a
politically conservative act. Showing such an instance would provide a counterexample
to the claim attributed to the critics, demonstrating that the critics' generalization is false.
The premise given is that there are two contemporary and politically progressive
feminist poets who write formal poetry—Molly Peacock and Marilyn Hacker. If no one
who is politically progressive is capable of performing a politically conservative act, and
Peacock and Hacker are politically progressive, it follows logically that neither is
capable of performing a politically conservative act. Since both write formal poetry, their
writing of formal poetry cannot be a politically conservative act. This shows that one can
write formal poetry without performing a politically conservative act, so (C) is the correct
response.
If it is true that no one who is a feminist is politically conservative, as response (A) says,
we can conclude that Peacock and Hacker, who are identified as being feminists, are
not politically conservative. But we already knew this, as they were also identified as
, being politically progressive. As long as people who are not themselves politically
conservative are capable of performing politically conservative acts, the question of
whether it is possible for someone to write formal poetry without performing a politically
conservative act remains unanswered. (A)
LOGICAL:
Situation: In the island nation of Bezun, the government taxes gasoline heavily in order
to induce people not to drive. It uses the revenue from the gasoline tax to subsidize
electricity in order to reduce prices charged for electricity.
Analysis: The greater the success achieved in meeting the first of these objectives, the
less will be the success achieved in meeting the second.
The analysis provided for the situation above would be most appropriate in which one of
the following situations?
A)A library charges a late fee in order to induce borrowers to return books promptly. The
library uses revenue from the late fee to send reminders to tardy borrowers in order to
reduce the incidence of overdue books.
B)A mail-order store imposes a stiff surcharge for overnight delivery in order to limit use
of this option. The store uses revenue from the surcharge to pay the extra expenses it
incurs for providing t - Answer-Correct Answer: E
Difficulty Level: Hard
This question presents an analysis of a situation and asks you to select, from among
the options, another situation for which the analysis is appropriate. The analysis states
that the two objectives described in the original situation are related in such a way that
more success in the first objective, the reduction of driving, will result in less success in
the second, a reduction in the price of electricity. To see this, suppose that the gasoline
taxes mentioned in the passage prove successful in inducing people not to drive. This
would mean that people would have a diminished need to purchase gasoline, since they
do not drive as much. Since less gasoline is being purchased, there is less revenue
from taxes on gasoline purchases. There is therefore less revenue from the gasoline tax
with which to subsidize electricity. With less of a subsidy, there will be less reduction in
the prices charged for electricity. Among the options, (E) is the one that presents a
situation that fits the analysis in the same way. The more motorists there are who begin
to use other routes, thus reducing bridge traffic, the less toll money there will be for the
new bridge fund. Thus (E) is the correct response.
Response (A) is incorrect. Two devices are named, late fees and reminders, but they
share just one objective, which is described in two ways: to get "borrowers to return
books promptly" and to "reduce the incidence of overdue books." Success in one is
success in the other.
Correct Detailed Answers
Which one of the following principles, if valid, most helps to justify the journalist's
reasoning?
A)People who are ill deserve more consideration than do healthy people, regardless of
their relative socioeconomic positions.
B)Wealthy institutions have an obligation to expend at least some of their resources to
assist those incapable of assisting themselves.
C)Whether one deserves - Answer-Correct Answer: C
Difficulty Level: Easy
The journalist states that pharmaceutical companies have both a need for profits to
support future research and a moral obligation to provide medicines to those who most
need them and cannot afford them. In order to balance these requirements they have
adopted a practice of selling drugs at lower prices in poorer countries. The journalist's
conclusion is that this practice is unjustified. To support this claim, the journalist points
out that different individuals in the same nation have differing abilities to pay, but this
consideration does not, by itself, establish that the pharmaceutical company's policy is
unjustified. The question asks you to choose the principle that would most help to justify
the journalist's reasoning.
The principle stated in response (C) connects the question of whether special
consideration is deserved to personal, rather than societal, needs. The pharmaceutical
companies' practice provides special consideration based on the characteristics of one's
society, and not based on one's personal needs. As a result, according to this principle,
the practice tends to deny special consideration to some who deserve it (the poorer
citizens of wealthier nations), while giving special consideration to some who do not
deserve it (the middle class citizens of poorer nations). In this way the practice is failing
to meet the pharmaceutical companies' obligation to provide special consideration for
those who most need the drugs and cannot afford them, and, in giving undeserved
special consideration, failing to generate income that could have been used to support
new drug research. The principle in (C) thereby provides strong support for the
journalist's reasoning that the pharmaceutical companies' practice is unjustified. Thus,
(C) is the correct response.
,The principle
LOGICAL:
Several critics have claimed that any contemporary poet who writes formal poetry—
poetry that is rhymed and metered—is performing a politically conservative act. This is
plainly false. Consider Molly Peacock and Marilyn Hacker, two contemporary poets
whose poetry is almost exclusively formal and yet who are themselves politically
progressive feminists.
The conclusion drawn above follows logically if which one of the following is assumed?
A)No one who is a feminist is also politically conservative.
B)No poet who writes unrhymed or unmetered poetry is politically conservative.
C)No one who is politically progressive is capable of performing a politically
conservative act.
D)Anyone who sometimes writes poetry that is not politically conservative never writes
poetry that is politically conservative.
E)The content of a poet's work, not the work's form, is the most decisive factor in
determining what politic - Answer-Correct Answer: C
Difficulty Level: Hard
This question asks you to identify the option containing information that makes the
conclusion of the argument follow logically. The conclusion of the argument is that it is
false that any contemporary poet who writes formal poetry is performing a politically
conservative act. To draw this conclusion logically, one only needs to show at least one
contemporary poet who is writing formal poetry and is not thereby performing a
politically conservative act. Showing such an instance would provide a counterexample
to the claim attributed to the critics, demonstrating that the critics' generalization is false.
The premise given is that there are two contemporary and politically progressive
feminist poets who write formal poetry—Molly Peacock and Marilyn Hacker. If no one
who is politically progressive is capable of performing a politically conservative act, and
Peacock and Hacker are politically progressive, it follows logically that neither is
capable of performing a politically conservative act. Since both write formal poetry, their
writing of formal poetry cannot be a politically conservative act. This shows that one can
write formal poetry without performing a politically conservative act, so (C) is the correct
response.
If it is true that no one who is a feminist is politically conservative, as response (A) says,
we can conclude that Peacock and Hacker, who are identified as being feminists, are
not politically conservative. But we already knew this, as they were also identified as
, being politically progressive. As long as people who are not themselves politically
conservative are capable of performing politically conservative acts, the question of
whether it is possible for someone to write formal poetry without performing a politically
conservative act remains unanswered. (A)
LOGICAL:
Situation: In the island nation of Bezun, the government taxes gasoline heavily in order
to induce people not to drive. It uses the revenue from the gasoline tax to subsidize
electricity in order to reduce prices charged for electricity.
Analysis: The greater the success achieved in meeting the first of these objectives, the
less will be the success achieved in meeting the second.
The analysis provided for the situation above would be most appropriate in which one of
the following situations?
A)A library charges a late fee in order to induce borrowers to return books promptly. The
library uses revenue from the late fee to send reminders to tardy borrowers in order to
reduce the incidence of overdue books.
B)A mail-order store imposes a stiff surcharge for overnight delivery in order to limit use
of this option. The store uses revenue from the surcharge to pay the extra expenses it
incurs for providing t - Answer-Correct Answer: E
Difficulty Level: Hard
This question presents an analysis of a situation and asks you to select, from among
the options, another situation for which the analysis is appropriate. The analysis states
that the two objectives described in the original situation are related in such a way that
more success in the first objective, the reduction of driving, will result in less success in
the second, a reduction in the price of electricity. To see this, suppose that the gasoline
taxes mentioned in the passage prove successful in inducing people not to drive. This
would mean that people would have a diminished need to purchase gasoline, since they
do not drive as much. Since less gasoline is being purchased, there is less revenue
from taxes on gasoline purchases. There is therefore less revenue from the gasoline tax
with which to subsidize electricity. With less of a subsidy, there will be less reduction in
the prices charged for electricity. Among the options, (E) is the one that presents a
situation that fits the analysis in the same way. The more motorists there are who begin
to use other routes, thus reducing bridge traffic, the less toll money there will be for the
new bridge fund. Thus (E) is the correct response.
Response (A) is incorrect. Two devices are named, late fees and reminders, but they
share just one objective, which is described in two ways: to get "borrowers to return
books promptly" and to "reduce the incidence of overdue books." Success in one is
success in the other.
