LSAC LSAT-TEST Online Practice Questions and Exam Preparation

LSAC LSAT-TEST Online Questions & Answers

• Question 441:

  The quarterly food inspection, performed by the local health team observes the customer reactions to fast food restaurants and family dining restaurants. However, during each inspection they discover that there are more reports of food poisoning found in the family dining restaurants than in the fast food restaurants.

  Of the following statements, which one best clarifies the apparent paradox?

  A. Customers are most likely to connect the illness they've experienced to their most recent meal if the illness has suddenly struck all of the people they ate with.
  B. Customers complain less about the food poisoning they experience in fast food restaurants, because they expect it.
  C. More people choose fast food restaurants over family dining restaurants.
  D. Food poisoning cases are not related to the time customers ate at the family dining restaurants, or the number of people who all ate the same meal.
  E. The family dining restaurants microwaves certain food items instead of cooking them on the stove.
  A. Customers are most likely to connect the illness they've experienced to their most recent meal if the illness has suddenly struck all of the people they ate with.

• Question 442:

  A crew of up to five workers is to install a partition in at most three days. The crew completes five tasks in this order: framing, wallboarding, taping, sanding, priming. The crew is selected from the following list, which specifies exactly the tasks

  each person can do:

  George: taping

  Helena: sanding, priming

  Inga: framing, priming

  Kelly: framing, sanding

  Leanda: wallboarding, taping

  Maricita: sanding

  Olaf: wallboarding, priming

  The following conditions must apply:

  At least one task is done each day.

  Taping and priming are done on different days.

  Each crew member does at least one task during the installation, but no more than one task a day.

  Each task is done by exactly one worker, completed the day it is started and before the next task begins.

  If the installation takes three days, and if the sanding is done on the third day, then which one of the following could be a list of all the crew members who work on the second day?

  A. Inga
  B. Kelly
  C. Olaf
  D. George and Helena
  E. Leanda and Olaf
  E. Leanda and Olaf

  ---

  Time for a new sketch. It's a three-day job, so we can set up three columns; and sanding (task #4) is on day 3, and task#5, priming, must be as well. Task #3, taping, must be on day 2 (Rules 1 and 2). And day 1, of course, begins with framing. So in terms of the assignment of tasks to days, the only open question is whether wallboarding, task #2, will be on day 1 or day 2.The focus of the question is on day 2: A complete list of workers for that day is sought. And our sketch should reveal that the tasks for day 2 are "wallboarding + taping," or "taping only." As your final step, you can come up on your own with workers who fit those assignments, or simply check the choices against the list. "George only" or "Leanda only" would fit the bill -- either of them could work on a taping-only day 2. But neither of those appears, so we need to look to a day 2 involving wallboarding plus taping. On day 2, Olaf could wallboard and then Leanda could tape. (Note that "George + Olaf" or "George + Leanda" could also serve as the right answer here.)

• Question 443:

  The process by which nylon is manufactured releases large amounts of the gas nitrous oxide, which is harmful to the environment. Since the processing of cotton fiber does not release environmentally harmful gases, there would be less environmental damage done if cotton fiber rather than nylon were used to make products such as thread and rope.

  Which one of the following, if true, would weaken the argument?

  A. Even if the quantity of nitrous oxide released into the environment decreased, many environmental problems would remain unsolved.
  B. Even if only some of the thread and rope that is currently being made from nylon were instead made from cotton fiber, some environmental damage would be avoided.
  C. If cotton fiber replaced nylon in the production of thread and rope, there would be a resulting increase in the amount of nylon used in other manufactured products.
  D. If the quantity of nylon manufactured annually decreased substantially, the volume of several pollutants that are released into the environment during its manufacture would be reduced.
  E. If thread and rope continue to be made from nylon, the production of cotton fiber will not increase as rapidly as it would if all thread and rope were to be made from cotton fiber.
  C. If cotton fiber replaced nylon in the production of thread and rope, there would be a resulting increase in the amount of nylon used in other manufactured products.

  ---

  Now we're out to weaken an argument, so it pays to note its components while looking for gaps and possible alternatives.

  Making nylon involves the release of a gas that damages the environment. Making cotton fiber doesn't release gases that harm the environment, so the author concludes that there would be less environmental damage if cotton were used for

  certain products instead of nylon. To weaken this, we're looking for something that suggests that switching to cotton for certain products would not necessarily be a boon for the environment.

• Question 444:

  A hundred students of Midtown college were asked to pick their preference for one of three genres of movies: romantic, drama, and tragedy. Each of them picked one of the three genres. More than half picked romantic, more than a quarter picked drama and at least one picked tragedy. When asked about the genre of the movie Titanic, however, more than three quarter viewed it as a romantic movie.

  If all of the statements above are true, which one of the following must also be true?

  A. Only the students whose preferences were romantic and drama genres of movies viewed Titanic as a romantic movie.
  B. Only the students whose preferences were romantic and tragedy genres of movies viewed Titanic as a romantic movie.
  C. At least one student from each genre of movies viewed Titanic as a romantic movie.
  D. Some students whose preference was romantic genres of movies viewed Titanic as a romantic movie.
  E. Some students whose preference was tragedy genres of movies viewed Titanic as a romantic movie.
  D. Some students whose preference was romantic genres of movies viewed Titanic as a romantic movie.

  ---

  Argument construction

  The survey covers 100 students in Midtown college. They were asked to pick their preference for one of the three genres of movies: romantic, drama, and tragedy. More than 50% picked romantic, more than 25% picked drama and at least 1

  student picked tragedy. When asked about the movie Titanic, however, more than 75% viewed it as a romantic movie.

  Predict an Inference

  Presenting the information mathematically will help.

  Say R represents Romantic genre; D represents Drama genre; and T represents Tragedy genre.

  Let's first find out the minimum values of R, D and T.

  It is given that there are 100 students, thus, the percent figures represent the actual numbers.

  We know that

  More than 50% picked romantic, thus R ≥ 51;

  More than 25% picked drama, thus D ≥ 26;

  At least 1 student picked tragedy, thus T ≥1

  Let's now find out the maximum values of R, D and T. Remember that a student could choose only one of the three genres, and every student did choose one of these three genres. So, the sum of R, D and T would be 100.

  We know that

  Maximum value of R would happen when the values of D and T are minimum. So, it would be 100 − 26 − 1 = 73

  Likewise, Maximum value of D would be 100 −51 − 1 = 48

  Maximum value of T would be 100 − 51 − 26 = 23

  51 ≤ R ≤ 73

  26 ≤ D ≤ 48

  1 ≤ T ≤ 23

  We have to see in how many ways the number of votes for Titanic viewed as a romantic movie can be more than 75%.

  Since there can be many inferences, we need to see the option statements to get the correct answer.

  Answer choices explanation:

  [Only the students whose preferences were romantic and drama genres of movies viewed Titanic as a romantic movie.] This is incorrect. This is not necessarily true. Even some students from each genre can make the figure more than 75%.

  For example, 60 students who voted R, 30 students who voted D and 5 students who voted T could have viewed Titanic as a romantic movie. Further, since 'more than 75%' can stretch up to 100%, even all the 100 students covered in the

  survey can view Titanic as a romantic movie.

  [Only the students whose preferences were romantic and tragedy genres of movies viewed Titanic as a romantic movie.] This is incorrect. For the same reasoning, as with option [Only the students whose preferences were romantic and

  drama genres …] this option is incorrect.

  [At least one student from each genre of movies viewed Titanic as a romantic movie.] This is incorrect. This is not necessarily true. If the maximum number of students (73) whose preference is romantic movies and the minimum number of

  students (26) whose preference is drama movies view Titanic as a romantic movie, the total number of students equals 73 + 26 = 96 number of students > 75%. So, even if none of the students whose preference is tragedy movies viewed

  Titanic as a romantic movie, the given survey fact - more than 75% of students view Titanic as a romantic movie – can still hold.

  [Some students whose preference was romantic genres of movies viewed Titanic as a romantic movie.] This is correct. The minimum number of students whose preference is Romantic movies is 51. This means that the maximum number of

  students whose preference is drama or tragedy movies is 100 −51= 49. This is less than 75% of all surveyed students. Since the number of students who view Titanic as a romantic movie is more than 75%, some students whose preference

  is romantic movies must view Titanic as a romantic movie.

  [Some students whose preference was tragedy genres of movies viewed Titanic as a romantic movie] This is incorrect. This is not necessarily true. With the same reasoning as used in option C, this is incorrect.

• Question 445:

  Critic: Most chorale preludes were written for the organ, and the greatest chorale preludes written for the organ were written by J. S. Bach. One of Bach's chorale preludes dramatizes one hymn's perspective on the year's end. This prelude is agonizing and fixed on the passing of the old year, with its dashed hopes and lost opportunities. It does not necessarily reveal Bach's own attitude toward the change of the year, but does reflect the tone of the hymn's text. People often think that artists create in order to express their own feelings. Some artists do. Master artists never do, and Bach was a master artist.

  If the critic's statements are true, then on the basis of them which one of the following CANNOT be true?

  A. Bach believed that the close of the year was not a time for optimism and joyous celebration.
  B. In composing music about a particular subject, Bach did not write the music in order to express his own attitude toward the subject.
  C. In compositions other than chorale preludes, Bach wrote music in order to express his feelings toward various subjects.
  D. Most of Bach's chorale preludes were written for instruments other than the organ.
  E. Most of the great chorale preludes were written for instruments other than the organ.
  C. In compositions other than chorale preludes, Bach wrote music in order to express his feelings toward various subjects.

  ---

  This would be a good one to postpone, as some of the later questions were less involved than this one. The question stem asks you to find the choice that must be false, so the best approach is to read through the stimulus once but be prepared to check back with it when you consult the choices. (There's far too much detail to expect to be able to handle the choices without checking back.) As it turns out, the correct answer comes from the last few sentences. Master artists never create in order to express their own feelings. Bach is a master artist, so he never created works (chorale preludes or not) to express his feelings.

• Question 446:

  The autobiographical narrative Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, Written by Herself (1861), by Harriet A. Jacobs, a stave of African descent, not only recounts an individual life but also provides, implicitly and explicitly, a perspective on the larger United States culture from the viewpoint of one denied access to it. Jacobs, as a woman and a slave, faced the stigmas to which those statuses were subject. Jacobs crafted her narrative, in accordance with the mainstream literary genre of the sentimental domestic novel, as an embodiment of cherished cultural values such as the desirability of marriage and the sanctity of personal identity, home, and family. She did so because she was writing to the free women of her day ?the principal readers of domestic novels ?in the hopes that they would sympathize with and come to understand her unique predicament as a female slave. By applying these conventions of the genre to her situation, Jacobs demonstrates to her readers that family and domesticity are no less prized by those forced into slavery, thus leading her free readers to perceive those values within a broader social context.

  Some critics have argued that, by conforming to convention, Jacobs shortchanged her own experiences; one critic, for example, claims that in Jacobs's work the purposes of the domestic novel overshadow those of the typical slave narrative. But the relationship between the two genres is more complex: Jacobs's attempt to frame her story as a domestic novel creates a tension between the usual portrayal of women in this genre and her actual experience, often calling into question the applicability of the hierarchy of values espoused by the domestic novel to those who are in her situation. Unlike the traditional romantic episodes in domestic novels in which a man and woman meet, fall in love, encounter various obstacles but eventually marry, Jacobs's protagonist must send her lover, a slave, away in order to protect him from the wrath of her jealous master. In addition, by the end of the narrative, Jacobs's protagonist achieves her freedom by escaping to the north, but she does not achieve the domestic novel's ideal of a stable home complete with family, as the price she has had to pay for her freedom is separation from most of her family, including one of her own children. Jacobs points out that, slave women view certain events and actions from a perspective different from that of free women, and that they must make difficult choices that free women need not. Her narrative thus becomes an antidomestic novel, for Jacobs accepts readily the goals of the genre, but demonstrates that its hierarchy of values does not apply when examined from the perspective of a female slave, suggesting thereby that her experience, and that of any female slave, cannot be fully understood without shedding conventional perspectives.

  With which one of the following statements would the author of the passage be most likely to agree?

  A. Some authors of slave narratives allowed the purposes of the genre to overshadow their own experiences.
  B. The slave narrative, no less than the domestic novel, constitutes a literary genre.
  C. Authors who write in a particular genre must obey the conventions of that genre.
  D. An autobiography, no less than a novel, should tell a powerful story.
  E. Autobiographies should be evaluated not on their literary merit but on their historical accuracy.
  B. The slave narrative, no less than the domestic novel, constitutes a literary genre.

  ---

  No way to predict an answer here. The author may or may not agree with option [Some authors of slave narratives allowed the...], but certainly Jacobs's book is emphatically not an example of the phenomenon. Option [The slave narrative, no less than...] on the other hand, is justified, where the author explicitly refers to "the domestic novel" and "the typical slave narrative" as "the two genres." Since Jacobs does just the opposite of option [Authors who write in a particular genre...]. when she has her protagonist fail to achieve the ideals of the domestic novel, and does so to the author's approbation, this option is the opposite of what we want. Option [An autobiography, no less than a novel...] is a plausible sentiment ? who goes out of his or her way to cherish a limp story? ?but the author never gets into a detailed comparison of autobiographies and novels, so there's no support for that option. As for option [Autobiographies should be evaluated not...], the author is throughout far more concerned with the book's literary (and social) merit than any historical accuracy.

• Question 447:

  Detective: Because the embezzler must have had specialized knowledge and access to internal financial records, we can presume that the embezzler worked for XYZ Corporation as either an accountant or an actuary. But an accountant would probably not make the kind of mistakes in ledger entries that led to the discovery of the embezzlement. Thus it is likely that the embezzler is one of the actuaries.

  Each of the following weakens the detective's argument EXCEPT:

  A. The actuaries' activities while working for XYZ Corporation were more closely scrutinized by supervisors than were the activities of the accountants.
  B. There is evidence of breaches in computer security at the time of the embezzlement that could have given persons outside of XYZ Corporation access to internal financial records.
  C. XYZ Corporation employs eight accountants, whereas it has only two actuaries on its staff.
  D. An independent report released before the crime took place concluded that XYZ Corporation was vulnerable to embezzlement.
  E. Certain security measures at XYZ Corporation made it more difficult for the actuaries to have access to internal financial records than for the accountants.
  D. An independent report released before the crime took place concluded that XYZ Corporation was vulnerable to embezzlement.

  ---

  Not too swift this detective, if the stem is any clue. Four weakeners means there are lots of ways to attack this argument, so hopefully you kept your eye out for possible loopholes. This nasty business of embezzlement is an inside job, states the detective. Because the embezzler must have had special knowledge and access to certain records, the detective thinks the perpetrator must be either an XYZ accountant or actuary. Then she rules out the accountants on account of the fact that they're not likely to make the kind of mistake found in the ledger, and the conclusion is predictable: The embezzler is probably an actuary. Well, there are a lot of possible holes here, and hopefully one or two "But what if...?" scenarios flitted through your mind. Any number of things can foil this argument, and maybe you came up with some on your own. You're not likely to prephrase all four weakeners, but you should at least have a general idea of what you're looking for before hitting the choices -- something that makes it more likely that the embezzler is not really an XYZ actuary.

• Question 448:

  Seven friends, Abe, Bob, Chad, Dolly, Elisa, Frank, and Gregory sit in a VIP enclosure of a stadium to watch a football match. The seats in the enclosure form a 3 x 3 matrix, i.e. 3 rows (front, middle and last) with 3 seats in each row. The following information is known: Chad sits immediately beside Dolly Dolly sits in a row immediately behind the row in which Abe is sitting There is no one sitting on one side of Chad None of Elisa or Gregory sits immediately beside Abe Bob sits in the last row

  Which of the following statements is/are necessary to uniquely determine the seating arrangement of the seven friends?

  A. Abe sits in the same column as Chad and Bob with no one to his right
  B. There is no person sitting in front of Dolly
  C. There is no person sitting in front of Elisa
  D. Abe sits in the same column as Chad and Bob with no one to his right and Elisa has no person sitting in front of her
  E. Abe sits in the same column as Chad and Bob with no one to the right of Abe or Dolly
  D. Abe sits in the same column as Chad and Bob with no one to his right and Elisa has no person sitting in front of her

  ---

  Working with the options, we have:

  Option: Abe sits in the same column as Chad and Bob with no one to his right

  Since A is in the middle of the front row, E and G must be sitting in the last row. Thus, F must be sitting in the front row, to the left of A. Thus, we have the following arrangement:

  

  However, the position of D, E and G are not fixed. ?Insufficient Option: There is no person sitting in front of Dolly There is no information about the seating positions of A, B, E, G or F. ?Insufficient Option: There is no person sitting in front of Elisa This is possible if either E sits in the front row, or, E sits in the last row with no one in front of her. ?Insufficient Option: Abe sits in the same column as Chad and Bob with no one to his right and Elisa has no person sitting in front of her We observe that this is essentially the combination of 'Option Abe sits in the same column as Chad and Bob with no one to his right ' and 'Option There is no person sitting in front of Elisa'. Abe sits in the same column as Chad and Bob with

  no one to his right ' we already have:

  

  Since A has no one to his right, E must be sitting at the right end of the last row so that no one sits in front of her. Also, as a result, D must be sitting to the left of C.

  

  Thus, the seating arrangement can be completely defined. ?Sufficient

  Though we have the answer, let us still verify Option: Abe sits in the same column as Chad and Bob with no one to the right of Abe or Dolly.

  Since A is in the middle of the front row, E and G must be sitting in the last row. Thus, F must be sitting in the front row, to the left of A.

  Also, since there is no one sitting to the right of D, D must be on the extreme right of the middle row.

  Thus, we have the following arrangement:

  

  However, the position of E and G are not fixed. ?Insufficient

  General

  Let us name the people Abe, Bob, Chad, Dolly, Elisa, Frank, and Gregory as A, B, C, D, E, F, and G, respectively. We can see that there are 3 ?3 = 9 seats, but there are only 7 people. Thus, the only possible way of distributing the 7 people

  across the 3 rows is that 2 rows would have 2 members each and one row would have 3 members. However, the exact number of people in a particular row is not yet known and further analysis of the statements needs to be done.

  1st statement: C and D sit beside each other ... (i)

  3rd statement: The row in which C and D are sitting, has exactly 2 people sitting in it (since there is no one sitting on the other side of C) ... (ii)

  2nd statement: Since D sits in the row just behind A's row, the row where D (and C) sits must be either the middle or the last row

  5th statement: Since B sits in the last row and the row where C and D sits has only 2 people, C and D must be in the middle row ... (iii) Thus, it also follows that A must be in the front row ... (iv)

  4th statement: We know that neither E nor G sits beside A. Thus, there are 2 possible scenarios:

  If A is in the middle of the front row, none of E or G can sit in the front row; thus, they would sit in the last row ... (v)

  If A is at either end of the front row, only in that scenario can one of E or G also sits in the front row ... (vi)

  Thus, we have:

  

  Also, in the middle row, since C has D on one side and a vacant seat on the other, C must be in the middle position. Thus, we finally have:

  

  This is all that can be deduced from the main stem.

  To answer the questions, we need to use the additional information contained in each question.

• Question 449:

  In the sixteenth century, an age of great marine and terrestrial exploration, Ferdinand Magellan led the first expedition to sail around the world. As a young Portuguese noble, he served the king of Portugal, but he became involved in the quagmire of political intrigue at court and lost the king's favor. After he was dismissed from service to the king of Portugal, he offered to serve the future Emperor Charles V of Spain. A papal decree of 1493 had assigned all land in the New World west of 50 degrees W longitude to Spain and all the land east of that line to Portugal. Magellan offered to prove that the East Indies fell under Spanish authority. On September 20, 1519, Magellan set sail from Spain with five ships. More than a year later, one of these ships was exploring the topography of South America in search of a water route across the continent. This ship sank, but the remaining four ships searched along the southern peninsula of South America. Finally, they found the passage they sought near a latitude of 50 degrees S. Magellan named this passage the Strait of All Saints, but today we know it as the Strait of Magellan. One ship deserted while in this passage and returned to Spain, so fewer sailors were privileged to gaze at that first panorama of the Pacific Ocean. Those who remained crossed the meridian we now call the International Date Line in the early spring of 1521 after ninety-eight days on the Pacific Ocean. During those long days at sea, many of Magellan's men died of starvation and disease. Later Magellan became involved in an insular conflict in the Philippines and was killed in a tribal battle. Only one ship and seventeen sailors under the command of the Basque navigator Elcano survived to complete the westward journey to Spain and thus prove once and for all that the world is round, with no precipice at the edge.

  The sixteenth century was an age of great ______________ exploration.

  A. cosmic
  B. land
  C. mental
  D. common man
  E. none of the above
  B. land

• Question 450:

  All actions are motivated by self-interest, since any action that is apparently altruistic can be described in terms of self-interest. For example, helping someone can be described in terms of self-interest: the motivation is hope for a reward or other personal benefit to be bestowed as a result of the helping action.

  Which one of the following most accurately describes an error in the argument's reasoning?

  A. The term "self-interest" is allowed to shift in meaning over the course of the argument.
  B. The argument takes evidence showing merely that its conclusion could be true to constitute evidence showing that the conclusion is in fact true.
  C. The argument does not explain what is meant by "reward" and "personal benefit."
  D. The argument ignores the possibility that what is taken to be necessary for a certain interest to be a motivation actually suffices to show that that interest is a motivation.
  E. The argument depends for its appeal only on the emotional content of the example cited
  B. The argument takes evidence showing merely that its conclusion could be true to constitute evidence showing that the conclusion is in fact true.

  ---

  Getting the right answer to this question requires you to spot a scope shift. The author concludes that all actions are motivated by self-interest. Why? Because any action that is apparently altruistic can be described in terms of self-interest. As additional support, the author then gives an example of an altruistic act, and proceeds to describe it in terms of self-interest. Do you see how this is a subtle scope shift? The author is using evidence of how an action might be described to support a conclusion of what is actually motivating the action. These two things are not identical. Option [The argument takes evidence showing merely that...] gets at this discrepancy. Just because it could be true that helping someone was motivated by self-interest, (in other words, you could describe it that way) doesn't mean that it is in fact true that the action was motivated by self-interest.