Before taking the LSAT, it is recommended that you do as many sample and practice items as possible. Try these logical reasoning sample questions to see the types of questions you will encounter.
Counselor: People should always pick their battles. By bringing up only the issues that truly matter to them and ignoring the ones that don’t, they maximize chances of getting what they want and avoid antagonizing friends and relatives unnecessarily.
Which one of the following provides the best illustration of the counselor’s proposition?
(A)A brother and sister have to share a car. The brother never fills the tank with gasoline, always driving it until it is nearly empty and then waiting for his sister to fill it up. She yells at him every time she has to visit a gas station.
(B)A wife wants her husband to wash the dishes, take out the garbage, and make the bed in the morning, but she knows he will not do all three. She most dislikes taking out the garbage herself, so she makes a point of asking him to do that many times and ignores the dishes and bed.
(C)A test-prep teacher teaching an LSAT course wants to improve her students’ scores in both logical reasoning and analytical reasoning, but she does not have time to do a thorough job on both, so she spends half her time on logical reasoning and half on analytical reasoning.
(D)A bride’s mother wants her to have a big wedding in a church followed by a large reception, but the bride wants a small, less-formal wedding with just a few guests. They cannot agree, so the bride and groom decide to elope instead.
(E)A father wants his son to win an athletic scholarship and insists that his son spend hours every afternoon working out and practicing sports. Despite the son’s strenuous efforts, he fails to win an athletic scholarship. Because he is a good student, though, he does win an academic scholarship.
People who live in poverty often have little money to spend on food, and as a result are often afflicted with malnutrition. Ironically, these same people have very high rates of obesity.
Which one of the following best resolves this apparent paradox?
(A)Obesity is becoming a serious problem all over the world and at all levels of income.
(B)People who live in poverty do not understand the basic rules of nutrition.
(C)American citizens have gotten out of the habit of cooking family meals, and as a result, fewer and fewer people know how to prepare healthy foods such as vegetables.
(D)The cheap foods that make up the majority of the diets of poor people are full of calories but devoid of essential nutrients.
(E)Recent statistics show that processed foods and fast food make up almost half the diet of a large number of people in the United States.
Most players of video games are male. Therefore, video game manufacturers should not bother making any games aimed at girls or women.
Which one of the following employs a flawed argumentative strategy that is most closely parallel to this flawed argumentative strategy?
(A)Most avid cyclists are male. Therefore, bicycle manufacturers should make most of their bike frames to fit men.
(B)Most Americans have cellular telephones. Therefore, most Americans should not bother to maintain normal land-based telephones.
(C)Most people use Windows computers. Therefore, software producers should not bother to make any software for Macintosh computers.
(D)Most lawyers need glasses or contact lenses. Therefore, optometrists should aim some of their advertising at the legal profession.
(E)Most Labrador retrievers are easy to train. Therefore, a person who wants an obedient dog should consider getting a Labrador retriever.
The legislature is considering a law banning the use of cellphones by people who are driving a moving car. Drivers talking on cellphones are distracted by their phone conversations and can’t give their full attention to driving their vehicles. Banning the use of cellphones by drivers will make the roads safer.
The argument depends on assuming which one of the following?
(A)A study by a sociologist has shown that the use of cellphones is occasionally a contributing factor in traffic accidents.
(B)The proper role of the legislature is to enact laws that protect the safety of drivers and passengers in automobiles.
(C)Drivers who hold their cellphones in their hands are more distracted than drivers who use a hands-free headset or speakerphone while driving.
(D)Because drivers talking on cellphones are distracted, they are more prone to get into accidents.
(E)Many drivers engage in behavior that distracts them from their driving, such as eating, adjusting the radio, reading maps, and talking on cellphones.
Answer Key
B. A wife wants her husband to wash the dishes, take out the garbage, and make the bed in the morning, but she knows he won’t do all three. She most dislikes taking out the garbage herself, so she makes a point of asking him to do that many times and ignores the dishes and bed.
D. The cheap foods that make up the majority of the diets of poor people are full of calories but devoid of essential nutrients.
C. Most people use Windows computers. Therefore, software producers should not bother to make any software for Macintosh computers.
D. Because drivers talking on cellphones are distracted, they are more prone to get into accidents.