LSAT-TEST Real Exam Questions and Verified Answers

Question 1 Single choice

The symptoms of hepatitis A appear no earlier than 60 days after a person has been infected. In a test of a hepatitis A vaccine, 50 people received the vaccine and 50 people received a harmless placebo. Although some people from each group eventually exhibited symptoms of hepatitis A, the vaccine as used in the test is completely effective in preventing infection with the hepatitis A virus.

Which one of the following, if true, most helps resolve the apparent discrepancy in the information above?

A
The placebo did not produce any side effects that resembled any of the symptoms of hepatitis A.
B
More members of the group that had received the placebo recognized their symptoms as symptoms of hepatitis A than did members of the group that had received the vaccine.
C
The people who received the placebo were in better overall physical condition than were the people who received the vaccine.
D
The vaccinated people who exhibited symptoms of hepatitis A were infected with the hepatitis A virus before being vaccinated.
E
Of the people who developed symptoms of hepatitis A, those who received the vaccine recovered more quickly, on average, than those who did not.

Show answer and explanation

Correct answer: D

Explanation

For Q. 10 we need to resolve the apparent discrepancy. Remember, the first step in this question type is to make sure you understand, in your own words, the nature of the discrepancy before moving on to the answer choices. In this case, the discrepancy is signaled by the Keyword "although" in the last sentence.
The paradox is that even though the vaccine used in this test is completely effective in preventing hepatitis, members of both groups exhibited symptoms of hepatitis A. Now, it's not surprising that members of the placebo group may have contracted the disease; after all, they weren't vaccinated. But how could the
members of the group that received the vaccine exhibit symptoms of hepatitis if we're told the vaccine is completely effective in preventing it? Try to answer that yourself, and then look to the answer choices for a similar explanation. Option [The vaccinated people who...] is correct because it gives a perfectly logical explanation: the people who exhibited symptoms contracted hepatitis before they were vaccinated.
Remember, the stimulus tells us that the symptoms appear no earlier than 60 days after a person has been infected. Therefore, if a person were infected on day 1, and received the vaccine on day 10, we would expect that person to exhibit symptoms sometime after he or she was vaccinated.

Question 2 Single choice

Exactly five cars ?Frank's, Marquitta's, Orlando's, Taishah's, and Vinquetta's ?are washed, each exactly once. The cars are washed one at a time, with each receiving exactly one kind of wash: regular, super, or premium. The following conditions must apply:

The first car washed does not receive a super wash, though at least one car does.

Exactly one car receives a premium wash. The second and third cars washed receive the same kind of wash as each other.
Neither Orlando's nor Taishah's is washed before Vinquetta's.
Marquitta's is washed before Frank's, but after Orlando's. Marquitta's and the car washed immediately
before Marquitta's receive regular washes Suppose that in addition to the original five cars Jabrohn's car is also washed.
If all the other conditions hold as given, which one of the following CANNOT be true?

A
Orlando's car receives a premium wash.
B
Vinquetta's car receives a super wash.
C
Four cars receive a regular wash.
D
Only the second and third cars washed receive a regular wash.
E
Jabrohn's car is washed after Frank's car.

Show answer and explanation

Correct answer: A

Explanation

A new question, and a new car to upset our little car-washing universe. The fact that Jabrohn's car can be washed in any of the now six positions means that our options don't really hold anymore, as M can now be either 3, 4, or 5, with the other cars shifted around as well.

Question 3 Single choice

In a lab, the scientists have been performing tests on pregnant lab rats with caffeine. These rats were given the equivalent amount of caffeine that a person would consume with 6 cups of coffee every day. The caffeine increase also increased the occurrence of birth defects.
A media relations person told reporters that the government would not require warning labels on products that contain caffeine, as the testing was continuing, and it may have different results in the future, and the government did not want to lose credibility.

Of the following statements, which is the most in line with the statement that was made by the media relations person?

A
If a warning applies only to a small minority of people is inappropriate
B
Six cups of coffee per day is much higher than what a person typically drinks
C
The conclusive nature of studies that have been performed on animals are doubted
D
Studies on rats don't provide us with much data regarding birth defects in humans
E
The significance of birth defects due to the use of caffeine is unclear

Show answer and explanation

Correct answer: E

Question 4 Single choice

The rural community of Pottsville has a low crime rate. Urban Los Angeles has a high crime rate. Shady

Junction, a small agricultural community, has a high rate of criminal activity. The city of Washington, D.C. has a low rate of criminal activity.

Which one of the following most clearly expresses the main point in the passage above?

A
Urban communities generally have higher crime rates.
B
Crime is rampant in all communities.
C
Rural communities generally have higher crime rates.
D
Crime is not solely an urban or rural phenomenon.
E
Urban crime is more violent than rural crime.

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Correct answer: D

Explanation

The passage points out that crime rates can be high or low in rural or urban communities.

Question 5 Single choice

Bird-watchers explore a forest to see which of the following six kinds of birds -- grosbeak, harrier, jay, martin, shrike, wren -- it contains. The findings are consistent with the following conditions:

If harriers are in the forest, then grosbeaks are not.
If jays, martins, or both are in the forest, then so are harriers
If wrens are in the forest, then so are grosbeaks
If jays are not in the forest, then shrikes are

Which one of the following pairs of birds CANNOT be among those birds contained in the forest?

A
jays, wrens
B
jays, shrikes
C
shrikes, wrens
D
jays, martins
E
shrikes, martins

Show answer and explanation

Correct answer: A

Explanation

Use previous work. We saw, chosen together in our work for questions 7 and 9, "H, J, M, S," which itself demonstrates that the pairs in options [jays, shrikes], [jays, martins], and [shrikes, martins] can in fact be chosen together. Option [shrikes, wrens] is a possible pair. But option [jays, wrens] is impossible, a fact demonstrable through trial. Selecting J requires H (Rule 2), and selecting W requires G (Rule 3), and voila.
We have violated Rule 1.

Question 6 Single choice

Five racing drivers, Alan, Bob, Chris, Don, and Eugene, enter into a contest that consists of 6 races. The results of all six races are listed below: Bob always finishes ahead of Chris. Alan finishes either first or last.
Eugene finishes either first or last. There are no ties in any race.
Every driver finishes each race. In each race, two points are awarded for a fifth place finish, four points for fourth, six points for third, eight points for second, and ten points for first.

If Alan finishes first only once, and Don finishes second exactly twice, the lowest total number of points that Bob can earn in the race is:

A
32 points.
B
38 points.
C
40 points.
D
44 points.
E
48 points.

Show answer and explanation

Correct answer: D

Explanation

If Don finishes second twice, then Bob must finish second four times (32 points) and the other two times he would finish third (12 points) for a total of 44 points.

Question 7 Single choice

The victory of the small Greek democracy of Athens over the mighty Persian empire in 490 B. C. is one of the most famous events in history. Darius, king of the Persian empire, was furious because Athens had interceded for the other Greek city-states in revolt against Persian domination. In anger the king sent an enormous army to defeat Athens. He thought it would take drastic steps to pacify the rebellious part of the empire. Persia was ruled by one man. In Athens, however, all citizens helped to rule. Ennobled by this participation, Athenians were prepared to die for their city-state. Perhaps this was the secret of the remarkable victory at Marathon, which freed them from Persian rule. On their way to Marathon, the Persians tried to fool some Greek city-states by claiming to have come in peace. The frightened citizens of Delos refused to believe this. Not wanting to abet the conquest of Greece, they fled from their city and did not return until the Persians had left. They were wise, for the Persians next conquered the city of Etria and captured its people.
Tiny Athens stood alone against Persia. The Athenian people went to their sanctuaries. There they prayed for deliverance. They asked their gods to expedite their victory. The Athenians refurbished their weapons and moved to the plain of Marathon, where their little band would meet the Persians. At the last moment, soldiers from Plataea reinforced the Athenian troops. The Athenian army attacked, and Greek citizens fought bravely. The power of the mighty Persians was offset by the love that the Athenians had for their city. Athenians defeated the Persians in archery and hand combat. Greek soldiers seized Persian ships and burned them, and the Persians fled in terror. Herodotus, a famous historian, reports that 6400
Persians died, compared with only 192 Athenians.

The people of Delos did not want to ________________ the conquest of Greece.

A
end
B
encourage
C
think about
D
daydream about
E
answer not available

Show answer and explanation

Correct answer: B

Question 8 Single choice

China wants to avoid financial collapse of their economy. In order to do this, China must raise their gross national product rate by 33%. China's economy is structured so that if the 33% increase in GNP is reached, then it is possible for a 50% GNP increase.

Of the following statements listed below, which one must be true if we are to assume the above statements are also true?

A
China's economy will fall, if China's 50% increase in GNP is unattainable.
B
China's GNP will not have a 50% increase, if its economy falls.
C
The economy of China will not fall, if it can obtain an increased GNP of 50%.
D
A 17% GNP increase will be unattainable, if China continues to suffer national conflict.
E
A 71% increase is possible, if the 33% brink is achieved, and the 50% GNP increase is attainable.

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Correct answer: A

Question 9 Single choice

Native speakers perceive sentences of their own language as sequences of separate words. But this perception is an illusion. This is shown by the fact that travelers who do not know a local language hear an unintelligible, uninterrupted stream of sound, not sentences with distinct words.

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

A
It is impossible to understand sentences if they are in fact uninterrupted streams of sound.
B
Those who do not know a language cannot hear the way speech in that language actually sounds.
C
People pay less close attention to the way their own language sounds than they do to the way an unfamiliar language sounds.
D
Accomplished non-native speakers of a language do not perceive sentences as streams of sound.
E
Native speakers' perceptions of their own language are not more accurate than are the perceptions of persons who do not know that language.

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Correct answer: E

Explanation

One last Assumption question to round out the section, and the stimulus is fairly short. "This is shown by the fact that" is a long winded way of saying "here comes evidence for the conclusion in the previous sentence." The author concludes that native speakers' perception of sentences as a string of individual words is an illusion, based on evidence that traveling non-speakers don't hear it that way. But who's to say that the travelers have it right? Maybe this perception is not illusory, and those who don't speak the local language are simply unable to perceive sentences as sequences of separate words. The author takes for granted, without providing any justification, that the travelers' perception in this area is somehow more valid than that of the native speakers. Option [Native speakers' perceptions of their...] captures the gist of this assumption. If we deny this option, and say that the native speakers' take on the situation is the more accurate one, then the conclusion that their perception is illusory would not be supported at all by the evidence given.

Question 10 Single choice

A new bank has decided to stay open only on weekends - all day Saturday and Sunday - and no other days. The bank has hired two managers (U and V), Four tellers (W,X,Y, and Z), and two operation officers (S and T), for a total of exactly eight full-time employees.

No part-time employees are hired.
Each employee works a complete day when working.
A manager must be on duty each day.
The managers cannot work on the same day.
At least two tellers must be working on the same day.
W and X will not work on the same day.
S and Z will only work on Saturday.
No employee can work on consecutive days, but each employee must work on Saturday or Sunday.

What is the greatest number of employees that can work on Saturday?

A
2
B
3
C
4
D
5
E
6

Show answer and explanation

Correct answer: D

Explanation

Five employees, U or V, X or W, Z,S, and T are the greatest number to work on Saturday