LSAT Logical Reasoning › LSAT Logical Reasoning
Teacher: While standardized testing is appropriate for adults and high school students, it should not be used with younger children. The variety of curricula, as well as the fact that many elementary school-aged children are home schooled or attend private schools, make a single standard of measurement nearly impossible at that age. While some would argue that children’s innate abilities can be isolated from their learned knowledge, experience shows that these distinctions are nearly impossible to make until children reach their teenage years.
Which one of the following, if true, would most support the teacher’s argument?
By the time they reach their junior year of high school, nearly all students have taken a class in algebra, though some take such classes as early as the seventh grade.
Most elementary school children who attend private schools are taught the same subjects as those who attend public schools.
Standardized IQ tests, which are crafted to take age into account, are commonly given to children as young as three years old.
Many believe that the human brain’s capacity for learning does not fully develop until a person is at least sixteen years old.
Standardized tests are becoming increasingly important for college admission, often outweighing a student’s high school grade point average.
Since the argument explicitly listed varying curricula as a reason to delay standardized testing, showing that nearly all high school juniors have taken algebra by then (and not all in the same grade) directly supports the argument. Giving a standardized test containing algebra is, in fact, more appropriate when all the students taking the test are familiar with it. The remaining answer choices either provide little relevant support or weaken the argument rather than strengthening it.
Students that drink green tea while studying have higher test scores than those that drink soda while studying. Tea manufacturers emphasize that students who reported drinking green tea while preparing for a test achieved consistently higher test scores than those students who reported drinking soda while preparing for the same test. If this claim is true, then if the students who drink soda switched to drinking green tea, their test scores will rise.
The reasoning in this argument is flawed because the argument
ignores the possibility that students who drink green tea may have other characteristics besides their drink preference that yield to higher test scores than those students who prefer to drink soda
accepts the conjecture without challenge that green tea is healthier for students than soda
utilizes an unsupported assumption that soda lowers the IQ of students
fails to consider the cost difference between a cup of green tea and a can of soda
does not provide the precise percentage rise in scores of drinking green tea
The author, here, makes the mistake of assuming that drinking green tea raises test scores or that conversely, drinking soda yields lower test scores. Therefore, the author ignores the possibility that there may be other characteristics besides drink preference that determines a test taker’s score. Thus, the correct choice is “ignores the possibility that students who drink green tea may have other characteristics besides their drink preference that yield to higher test scores than those students who prefer to drink soda.”
In Southern California, a small newspaper company has doubled its sales of newspapers this quarter, compared to the previous quarter. However, it is bringing in significantly less revenue.
Which of the following, if true, offers the best explanation for the situation described above?
The newspaper company has lowered the prices of the paper in order sell more; however, the increase in sales does not offset the lower price point.
Given the accessibility that the general public has to newspapers online, the need for physical newspapers has diminished.
Key members of the executive leadership quit from the company.
The increased sales were not enough to help the company to generate more revenue.
Although newspaper sales increased, there were reports of low customer satisfaction.
The correct answer is:
The newspaper company has lowered the prices of the paper in order sell more; however, the increase in sales does not offset the lower price point.
This is because lowering the price of a product will only increase revenue if a sufficient amount of the product is sold. If the newspaper company did not sell enough of its product, then it follows that revenue would decrease.
For about thirty years, government intelligence departments have spent resources equally between domestic and foreign activities. For about the same amount of time, intelligence departments have conducted covert operations in addition to intelligence gathering. This conduct has raised public concern that intelligence departments wield too much authority. In the end, though, domestic spending and covert operations may be simply a consequence of ineptness.
Which of the following, if true, most strengthens the argument?
Intelligence departments have been less powerful over the last thirty years than they were previously
Intelligence departments have conducted fewer covert operations over the last fifteen years than they did over the fifteen years prior to that
Intelligence departments must be powerful in order to address international threats
Intelligence departments were inept before they began covert operations or spending on domestic intelligence
The public has been concerned that intelligence departments are too powerful for more than thirty years
No answer choice provides substantial support for the author. The correct answer here, however, provides some support for the author's skepticism about whether the conduct of departments indicates that they wield too much power. If departments were more powerful before they began covert operations and domestic spending, then it is somewhat less likely that this conduct indicates too much power.
A rock band has seen recent declines in their concert attendance. To combat the decline in attendance, the rock band included more new music in their performance because a pop band recently included more new music in their live performances and saw an increase of attendance.
Which of the following most supports the rock band’s reasoning?
Rock bands and pop bands have similar patterns of attendance.
People who go to see pop bands also go to see rock bands.
People always want to hear a new song.
Rock bands are more popular than pop bands.
Some of the drop in attendance was due to a pop band releasing several new songs.
If rock bands and pop bands have similar patterns of attendance, then it would follow for the rock band to mimic the pop band’s means to increasing attendance. Just because people want to hear a new song does not mean they will necessarily go to a concert to hear it.
As a society, we have no excuse for the prevalence of chronic dehydration. The remedy is simply too obvious and accessible. Those who suffer from the condition seek doctors’ opinions and medications, suffer from unexplained dizziness and other symptoms, and are susceptible to sickness. To solve these problems and to increase energy and focus, these people need only to drink more water—either by itself or as a primary ingredient in other beverages.
The information above provides the most support for which of the following statements?
Those who suffer from chronic dehydration could increase their energy and focus by drinking more water
Those who suffer from dizziness can adequately address the problem by drinking more water
Most people in the society at issue suffer from chronic dehydration
One can obtain all the health benefits of water by consuming it either by itself or as a primary ingredient in another beverage
Doctors do not advise chronically dehydrated patients to drink more water even though that would be the best remedy
The passage does not speak generally to the health benefits of water, the number of people affected by dehydration, or the impacts of dehydration. We can draw some conclusions, however, about the effects of drinking more water for those who are chronically dehydrated. Those who are chronically dehydrated will increase energy and focus by drinking more water.
For about thirty years, government intelligence departments have spent resources equally between domestic and foreign activities. For about the same amount of time, intelligence departments have conducted covert operations in addition to intelligence gathering. This conduct has raised public concern that intelligence departments wield too much authority. In the end, though, domestic spending and covert operations may be simply a consequence of ineptness.
Which of the following, if true, most strengthens the argument?
Intelligence departments have been less powerful over the last thirty years than they were previously
Intelligence departments have conducted fewer covert operations over the last fifteen years than they did over the fifteen years prior to that
Intelligence departments must be powerful in order to address international threats
Intelligence departments were inept before they began covert operations or spending on domestic intelligence
The public has been concerned that intelligence departments are too powerful for more than thirty years
No answer choice provides substantial support for the author. The correct answer here, however, provides some support for the author's skepticism about whether the conduct of departments indicates that they wield too much power. If departments were more powerful before they began covert operations and domestic spending, then it is somewhat less likely that this conduct indicates too much power.
Teacher: While standardized testing is appropriate for adults and high school students, it should not be used with younger children. The variety of curricula, as well as the fact that many elementary school-aged children are home schooled or attend private schools, make a single standard of measurement nearly impossible at that age. While some would argue that children’s innate abilities can be isolated from their learned knowledge, experience shows that these distinctions are nearly impossible to make until children reach their teenage years.
Which one of the following, if true, would most support the teacher’s argument?
By the time they reach their junior year of high school, nearly all students have taken a class in algebra, though some take such classes as early as the seventh grade.
Most elementary school children who attend private schools are taught the same subjects as those who attend public schools.
Standardized IQ tests, which are crafted to take age into account, are commonly given to children as young as three years old.
Many believe that the human brain’s capacity for learning does not fully develop until a person is at least sixteen years old.
Standardized tests are becoming increasingly important for college admission, often outweighing a student’s high school grade point average.
Since the argument explicitly listed varying curricula as a reason to delay standardized testing, showing that nearly all high school juniors have taken algebra by then (and not all in the same grade) directly supports the argument. Giving a standardized test containing algebra is, in fact, more appropriate when all the students taking the test are familiar with it. The remaining answer choices either provide little relevant support or weaken the argument rather than strengthening it.
In Southern California, a small newspaper company has doubled its sales of newspapers this quarter, compared to the previous quarter. However, it is bringing in significantly less revenue.
Which of the following, if true, offers the best explanation for the situation described above?
The newspaper company has lowered the prices of the paper in order sell more; however, the increase in sales does not offset the lower price point.
Given the accessibility that the general public has to newspapers online, the need for physical newspapers has diminished.
Key members of the executive leadership quit from the company.
The increased sales were not enough to help the company to generate more revenue.
Although newspaper sales increased, there were reports of low customer satisfaction.
The correct answer is:
The newspaper company has lowered the prices of the paper in order sell more; however, the increase in sales does not offset the lower price point.
This is because lowering the price of a product will only increase revenue if a sufficient amount of the product is sold. If the newspaper company did not sell enough of its product, then it follows that revenue would decrease.
Intellectual property rights are essential to providing incentives for pharmaceutical companies to innovate and create new medicines. Despite this, the government should be willing to curtail some intellectual property rights. Millions of people are dying of various diseases and the fact that some pharmaceutical companies have exclusive rights to produce certain drugs means many people are unable to purchase those drugs.
Which of the following, if true, most strengthens the argument presented in the stimulus.
Many of the innovations necessary to help fight against various diseases that are killing millions of people have already occurred and have been patented.
Some diseases have a long incubation period before they begin to show their symptoms.
Many pharmaceutical companies would not innovate if they did not have large monetary incentives to do so.
Various countries across the world already violate intellectual property rights.
Many drugs that are produced by companies other than the ones that initially invented them are defective.
The correct answer will help strengthen the argument presented in the stimulus. One way to strengthen this stimulus is by showing that the reduction in innovation produced by curtailing intellectual property rights will not make it harder to help the millions of people across the world dying of various diseases. The correct answer does this by showing that the innovations to help cure the disease have already occurred.