Logical Reasoning Sample Questions 4 – 6
These sample questions are typical of the Logical Reasoning questions you’ll find on the LSAT. Each question in this section is based on the reasoning presented in a brief passage. In answering the questions, you should not make assumptions that are by common-sense standards implausible, superfluous, or incompatible with the passage. For some questions, more than one of the choices could conceivably answer the question. However, you are to choose the best answer; that is, choose the response that most accurately and completely answers the question.
Question 4
The supernova event of 1987 is interesting in that there is still no evidence of the neutron star that current theory says should have remained after a supernova of that size. This is in spite of the fact that many of the most sensitive instruments ever developed have searched for the tell-tale pulse of radiation that neutron stars emit. Thus, current theory is wrong in claiming that supernovas of a certain size always produce neutron stars.
Which one of the following, if true, most strengthens the argument?
A. Most supernova remnants that astronomers have detected have a neutron star nearby.
B. Sensitive astronomical instruments have detected neutron stars much farther away than the location of the 1987 supernova.
C. The supernova of 1987 was the first that scientists were able to observe in progress.
D. Several important features of the 1987 supernova are correctly predicted by the current theory.
E. Some neutron stars are known to have come into existence by a cause other than a supernova explosion.
Explanation for Question 4
Question 5
Political scientist: As a political system, democracy does not promote political freedom. There are historical examples of democracies that ultimately resulted in some of the most oppressive societies. Likewise, there have been enlightened despotisms and oligarchies that have provided a remarkable level of political freedom to their subjects.
The reasoning in the political scientist’s argument is flawed because it
A. confuses the conditions necessary for political freedom with the conditions sufficient to bring it about
B. fails to consider that a substantial increase in the level of political freedom might cause a society to become more democratic
C. appeals to historical examples that are irrelevant to the causal claim being made
D. overlooks the possibility that democracy promotes political freedom without being necessary or sufficient by itself to produce it
E. bases its historical case on a personal point of view
Explanation for Question 5
Question 6
Journalist: To reconcile the need for profits sufficient to support new drug research with the moral imperative to provide medicines to those who most need them but cannot afford them, some pharmaceutical companies feel justified in selling a drug in rich nations at one price and in poor nations at a much lower price. But this practice is unjustified. A nation with a low average income may still have a substantial middle class better able to pay for new drugs than are many of the poorer citizens of an overall wealthier nation.
Which one of the following principles, if valid, most helps to justify the journalist’s reasoning?
A. People who are ill deserve more consideration than do healthy people, regardless of their relative socioeconomic positions.
B. Wealthy institutions have an obligation to expend at least some of their resources to assist those incapable of assisting themselves.
C. Whether one deserves special consideration depends on one’s needs rather than on characteristics of the society to which one belongs.
D. The people in wealthy nations should not have better access to health care than do the people in poorer nations.
E. Unequal access to health care is more unfair than an unequal distribution of wealth.
Explanation for Question 6
Questions 1-3
Brief passages, each followed by a question and its explanation
Questions 7-10
Brief passages, each followed by a question and its explanation
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