LSAT Logical Reasoning › Determining which answer most strengthens the argument
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.
Psychologist: Intelligence cannot be adequately captured by a single number, such as an IQ score. There are different types of intelligence, including social, emotional, and kinesthetic. Indeed, these forms of intelligence may be even more important than IQ when it comes to everyday functioning and life satisfaction. Humans face different types of challenges, many of which cannot be expressed or measured in a standardized test. It is, therefore, likely that IQ scores are overvalued in our society, and should be de-emphasized.
Which one of the following, if true, lends the most support to the psychologist’s argument?
One longitudinal study found that participants, who were statistically indistinguishable with regard to their IQ scores, reported being happier and more financially successful when they were skilled at managing their social and family relationships.
Studies have shown that persons with high IQ scores tend to succeed more in white collar rather than blue collar jobs.
Some psychologists have devised testing regimes to measure social and kinesthetic intelligence, which involve hands-on assessments rather than the usual standardized testing format.
Most adults in our society have never taken an IQ test and do not know what their IQ score is.
Some scientists have criticized IQ scores for being unreliable over time, due to the possibility of test takers being able to “study” for them by focusing on specific mathematical and verbal subjects between assessments.
The key phrases in the psychologist’s conclusion are “everyday functioning and life satisfaction.” A study which shows that skills not measured by IQ (relationship management) may lead to greater happiness and financial success is strong evidence of an IQ score’s limitations.
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.
Contrary to what many people believe, living in the city provides for a healthier lifestyle than living in the suburbs. This is due in large part to the fact that people who live in the city are often encouraged to walk more than people living in the suburbs.
Which of the following, if true, best supports the argument?
Walking has been shown to be beneficial to a person's cardiovascular health.
Food in cities tends to be healthier than food in the suburbs.
While there is more air pollution in the city, there are also more measures taken to purify the air that is circulated indoors.
Suburban areas tend to experience more crime than cities.
Due to the higher frequency of traffic collisions in suburban areas than in cities, it is safer to live in cities.
The argument hinges on the fact that cities are healthier than suburban areas due to the fact that people walk more. Therefore, information that would strengthen this argument would support the fact that walking is in fact healthy. Therefore, the answer is:
Walking has been shown to be beneficial to a person's cardiovascular health.
Residents of a local community started a night watch to reduce crime in their neighborhood. Due in large part to their efforts, no crimes occurred in the neighborhood within the next two months.
Which of the following most strengthens the argument above?
Potential criminals in the neighborhood were aware of the night watch.
In the two months prior to the night watch, there were ten crimes in the neighborhood, half of which were violent.
The night watch was featured in the local newspaper.
The night watch membership grew each week during the two month period.
The founder of the night watch was known to everyone in the neighborhood and was a well-respected community leader.
The answer choice that most strengthens the overall argument is the choice stating that potential criminals were aware of the night watch. If potential criminals were not even aware of the night watch, they would probably not be deterred from attempting to commit crimes. If they were aware, they most certainly would not attempt to commit crimes in that neighborhood. In that case, the efforts of the night watch could be said to largely account for the absence of crime. The answer choice discussing the awareness of potential criminals strengthens the overall argument more than the choice discussing the publicity the night watch received in the local newspaper.
A new government report claims that the current administration has curtailed its domestic surveillance program. However, the report maintains that specific programs within the domestic surveillance infrastructure the government maintains will remain classified. In the past when the government has kept information classified, the visible reforms the government has performed have been negated by secret expansions. Thus, we know that the current administration has failed to curtail its domestic surveillance program.
Each of the following strengthens the argument presented in the paragraph above EXCEPT
The current report is the first the current administration has released.
The current administration has released several reports with classified information.
The government tends to hide its most significant acts of surveillance in classified reports.
Classified reports set future precedents for expansion of surveillance.
The only way to curtail the domestic surveillance program is by eliminating secrete expansions in the program.
The correct answer does not strengthen the argument and in fact weakens the argument by showing that the relationship presented that has occurred in the past may not be applicable. The new administration has never released a report with classified information before so we do not know if it will maintain a similar strategy to past administrations. The other answers strengthen the argument presented in the stimulus.
It is immoral for a government to enter a war unless its own citizens have been attacked. To avoid taking immoral action, governments should receive international approval before entering a war in another country, no matter the cost.
Which of the following, if true, provides the most support for the argument?
A government will not receive international approval to join a war when its citizens have not been attacked
Governments often save lives by entering wars in other countries
Governments increase casualties by joining wars in other countries
Some governments have caused international turmoil by entering wars without international approval
There is usually international approval for a government that goes to war after its citizens are attacked
An apparent weakness of the argument is that a government might receive international approval for going to war even when its citizens have not been attacked. If a government could never receive international approval for such a war, then this would no longer be a weakness.