Free LSAT Section 1 Logical Reasoning: Section One Logical Reasoning Exam Questions and Answers

Critic: Many people insist that a film adaptation of a novel is always inferior to the novel. This view rests on judging the two by the same standard, but they are different art forms. A novel can spend hundreds of pages on a character's inner thoughts, whereas a film must convey a story in about two hours, mostly through what can be seen and heard. Thus, the common complaint about adaptations reflects a mistaken standard of comparison rather than a real shortcoming of films. The claim that a film must convey a story in about two hours, mostly through what can be seen and heard, figures in the critic's argument as

• AA. support for the claim that the two forms should not be judged by one standard
• BB. a concession to the view that the critic goes on to reject
• CC. support for the claim that adaptations are always inferior to novels
• DD. the main conclusion of the argument
• EE. an illustration of a real shortcoming that the critic attributes to films

Any restaurant that earns a top rating from the health inspectors has a spotless kitchen. The Harbor Grill has a spotless kitchen. Therefore, the Harbor Grill must have earned a top rating from the health inspectors. The flawed pattern of reasoning in the argument above is most similar to that in which one of the following?

• AA. If a pipe freezes, the basement floods. The basement did not flood. Therefore, the pipe did not freeze.
• BB. Every candidate who passes the bar examination has studied for several months. Ruiz has studied for several months. Therefore, Ruiz must have passed the bar examination.
• CC. No one without a ticket is admitted to the hall. Chen was not admitted to the hall. Therefore, Chen must not have had a ticket.
• DD. Every lawyer at the firm has passed the bar examination, and some people who have passed it are partners. Therefore, some lawyers at the firm are partners.
• EE. Every skilled climber has trained on rock faces. Wu has never trained on rock faces. Therefore, Wu cannot be a skilled climber.

The leak in the roof must come from the flashing, the skylight seal, or a cracked tile. The inspectors found the flashing intact and the skylight seal watertight. Therefore, the leak must come from a cracked tile. The pattern of reasoning in the argument above is most closely paralleled in which one of the following?

• AA. Fossils in layer A are older than fossils in layer B, and fossils in layer B are older than fossils in layer C. Therefore, fossils in layer A are older than fossils in layer C.
• BB. All three tenants who complained about the noise live on the third floor. Gomez lives on the third floor. Therefore, Gomez must have complained about the noise.
• CC. The bridge will close if it fails inspection or if its funding lapses. The bridge failed inspection. Therefore, the bridge will close.
• DD. The power failure was caused by a storm, a faulty transformer, or sabotage. Investigators found no sign of sabotage. Therefore, the failure must have been caused by a storm.
• EE. The missing file was deleted by Ito, moved by Brandt, or misfiled by Sosa. Ito was out of the office all week, and Brandt has no access to the archive. Therefore, Sosa must have misfiled it.

Researchers tracked 600 office workers for a year. The workers who commuted by bicycle took, on average, fewer sick days than the workers who drove or used public transit. The cyclists were also, on average, younger than the other workers, and previous research has shown that, among adults, the number of sick days taken per year tends to rise with age. Which one of the following is most strongly supported by the information above?

• AA. Workers who use public transit take more sick days in a year than workers who drive to work.
• BB. Commuting by bicycle reduces the number of sick days that an office worker takes in a year.
• CC. Age is the only factor that accounts for differences in the number of sick days taken by the 600 workers.
• DD. Among workers of the same age, those who commute by bicycle take fewer sick days than those who drive to work.
• EE. Part of the difference in sick days between the cyclists and the other workers may be due to age.

Ruth: The city should not spend public money on a new stadium. Studies of other cities show that stadiums rarely generate the tax revenue that supporters promise. Kwame: Supporters' revenue forecasts are indeed often inflated. But revenue is the wrong test. A stadium is a public amenity, like a library, and nobody expects a library to turn a profit. The dialogue provides the most support for the claim that Ruth and Kwame agree that

• AA. stadiums in other cities have generated no tax revenue
• BB. the city should build the new stadium
• CC. a stadium is comparable to a library as a public amenity
• DD. public money should not be spent on projects that fail to turn a profit
• EE. stadium supporters' forecasts of tax revenue tend to be overstated

Museum director: The tidal-energy exhibit will cost no more than $150,000 to build. Any exhibit that includes interactive displays costs more than $200,000 to build. Therefore, the exhibit will not attract many school groups. Which one of the following, if assumed, enables the museum director's conclusion to be properly drawn?

• AA. The tidal-energy exhibit would attract many school groups if its budget were larger.
• BB. Most exhibits that include interactive displays attract many school groups.
• CC. School groups are the visitors who are most interested in exhibits about energy topics.
• DD. No exhibit that costs more than $200,000 to build fails to attract many school groups.
• EE. An exhibit attracts many school groups only if it includes interactive displays.

Principle: A professional who stands to profit from a client's decision should tell the client about that financial interest before giving advice on the decision, unless the client already knows of it. Which one of the following judgments most closely conforms to the principle above?

• AA. An architect told a client about her payments from a supplier before recommending that supplier. She acted improperly.
• BB. A financial planner earns a commission on a particular fund. Her client had read the commission schedule and knew of the commission when asking about the fund, and she did not mention it again. She acted improperly.
• CC. An accountant recommended a software package sold by a firm in which she owns stock, and told her client of her holdings only after the client had bought the package. She acted improperly.
• DD. A mechanic recommended a repair shop owned by his cousin without mentioning the relationship, though he earns nothing from the shop. He acted improperly.
• EE. An attorney owns a stake in a title company and recommended it to a client without mentioning the stake. The company's work proved excellent, so her silence was acceptable.

Economist: Last year the town of Alder Falls eliminated its parking fees downtown, and over the following twelve months the number of new businesses opening downtown doubled. Clearly, free parking attracts new businesses. Which one of the following, if true, most seriously weakens the economist's argument?

• AA. Several downtown property owners had opposed eliminating the parking fees when the town council first proposed doing so.
• BB. Neighboring towns that kept their parking fees saw smaller increases in new downtown businesses over the same period.
• CC. A large insurance company moved its headquarters downtown soon afterward, and most new businesses opened to serve its employees.
• DD. Parking in downtown Alder Falls had already been free on Sundays and holidays before the fees were eliminated.
• EE. The revenue from the parking fees had covered only a small part of the cost of maintaining the downtown streets.

Every applicant to the apprenticeship program who had prior welding experience was interviewed. Only applicants who were interviewed were offered a place in the program. Some applicants who were offered a place had no prior welding experience. Which one of the following must be true on the basis of the statements above?

• AA. Some applicants who were interviewed had no prior welding experience.
• BB. Some applicants with prior welding experience were not offered a place in the program.
• CC. Every applicant who was interviewed was offered a place in the program.
• DD. Fewer than half of the applicants to the program were offered a place in it.
• EE. No applicant without prior welding experience was interviewed for the program.

Renata: The public pool on Calder Street is rarely more than a quarter full on weekday mornings. The city should therefore stop opening it then and spend the savings on longer weekend hours. Deshawn: But the people who swim on weekday mornings, mostly retirees and parents of infants, have no other time to swim. Low attendance alone is no reason to close the pool during those hours. Renata and Deshawn disagree over whether

• AA. longer weekend hours would be used by more swimmers than weekday morning hours are
• BB. the pool is rarely more than a quarter full on weekday mornings
• CC. retirees and parents of infants make up most of the pool's weekday morning swimmers
• DD. most weekday morning swimmers could swim at another time if they had to
• EE. low attendance during certain hours is by itself a sufficient reason to stop opening the pool then