Sample LSAT Critical Reasoning Section Answered with Complete Explanation

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One of the truisms of the advertising industry is that it is rarely necessary to say something of substance in an advertisement in order to boost sales. Instead, one only needs to attract the potential customer’s attention; memory does the rest, for it is more important for sales that people know of a product than that they know something about it.

Which of the following is assumed by the argument?

(A) People can remember a product without having much information about it.

(B) Advertisements, in their own way, function to improve people’s memories.

(D) The advertising industry knows little of substance about the products it promotes.

(E) Advertisements seldom tell the truth about a product.

Explanation:

The passage discusses how advertising usually need only draw people’s attention to a product and need not provide any substance for people to remember the product. Thus, the passage implies that people can remember a product without having much information about it, and A is the correct answer.

B is incorrect. The passage suggests that if advertisements draw people’s attention to a product, the people are more apt to remember the product. The advertisement is not said to improve people’s memories, only to draw people’s attention so they will use their existing memories.

C is also incorrect. The passage says that all one usually needs to do is attract a potential customer’s attention. It does not say how easy or difficult that is.

The fourth answer choice is incorrect. The passage says that it is rarely necessary to say something of substance in an advertisement but does not suggest that the advertising industry knows little of substance about the product.

The last answer choice is incorrect. The passage does not suggest that advertisements make false claims about products.

2.Why save endangered species? For the general public, endangered species appear to be little more than biological oddities. A very different perception is gained from considering the issue of extinction in a wider context. The important point is that many major social advances have been made on the basis of life forms whose worth would never have been perceived in advance. Consider the impact of rubber-producing plants on contemporary life and industry: approximately two-thirds of the world’s rubber supply comes from rubber producing plants and is made into objects as diverse as rubber washers and rubber boots.

The point of the passage is made chiefly by

(A) acknowledging the validity of two opposing points of view

(B) appealing to the emotions of the audience rather than to their intellects

(D) trying to discredit the view of an opponent without presenting an alternative hypothesis

(E) generalizing from similar to dissimilar cases.

Explanation:

The passage suggests that considering the possibility of extinction with an eye toward the possible utility of a previously unvalued species will lead to a different answer to the question than considering the possibility of extinction from a more general perspective. C describes the author’s procedure of suggesting a new perspective and is thus the correct answer.

The first choice is incorrect. The author argues that it is important to preserve endangered species without endorsing any opposing point of view. The view attributed to the general public is not accepted; rather, an argument is given to show what that view misses. B is incorrect. The author uses an approach that is primarily factual, and does not seek to arouse the emotions of its audience. D is also incorrect. The author tries to undermine an opposing position by presenting an alternative to it. The last answer choice is incorrect. The generalization about the potential value of life forms whose value was not perceived in advance is supported by an example of a similar case, namely that of rubber plants.

3.Only a member of the Regionalist party would oppose the bill for a new recycling law that would protect the environment from industrial interests. Ellen cannot be a member of the Regionalist party because she supports the bill.

Which of the following statements points out why the conclusion is invalidly drawn?

(A) Regionalist party members have organized to oppose industrial interests on several other issues.

(B) Industrial interests need not oppose the protection of the environment.

(D) It is possible that some Regionalist party members may not oppose the bill for a new recycling law.

(E) Ellen has attended programs and distributed literature prepared by the Regionalist party.

Explanation:

The fact that only a member of the Regionalist party would oppose the bill does not imply that all members of the Regionalist party would oppose the bill. Based on the initial statement, Ellen may or may not be a member of the Regionalist party if she supports the bill. For the conclusion to be valid, the initial statement would have to read, “All members of the Regionalist party would oppose the bill for a new recycling law…” Thus, the choice of D makes the relevant logical point.

The first three answer choices are incorrect. Each presents at best a piece of background information without being specifically related to the question of whether all Regionalist party members would oppose the bill. The last answer choice is also incorrect. Ellen’s attending programs and distributing literature prepared by the Regionalist party might appear to make it likely that the conclusion is false. But suggesting that the conclusion might be false does not help show why the conclusion is invalidly drawn.

4.Roberta was born in 1967, and so in 1976 she was nine years old. It is clear from this example that the last two digits of a person’s birth year will be the same as the last two digits of the year of that person’s ninth birthday, except that the position of the digits will be reversed.

Which of the following is the best criticism of the assertions made?

(A) The generalization is valid only for those birth years that do not end in two zeroes.

(B) The example does not exhibit the same principle as is expressed in the generalization based on it.

(C) The generalization is valid only for those birth years in which the last digit is one greater than the second-to-last digit.

(D) The example cannot be shown to be correct unless the truth of the generalization is already presupposed.

(E) The generalization is valid only for those birth years in which the last digit is greater than five.

Explanation:

The generalization is only true for some birth years. A good criticism of the generalization would show when the generalization is not true. C does just that and thus is the correct answer.

A is incorrect. It is false that the generalization holds for all years that do not end in two zeros. For example, 1970 is a birth year that does not end in two zeros. However, 1970 plus nine equals 1979, and hence this is a case for which the generalization is not valid. Since this answer choice is false, it cannot be a good criticism of the assertions.

The second answer choice is also incorrect. In the example, the last two digits of the person’s birth year-67-are the same as the last two digits of the year of the person’s ninth birthday-76-except reversed. Thus, the example does in fact exhibit the same principle as the generalization.

The fourth answer choice is incorrect. The difference between 1976 and 1967 is nine. The correctness of the first statement depends only on this fact and the fact that Roberta was born in 1967 and was still alive in 1976. Thus, the truth of the generalization is not presupposed.

The last answer choice is also incorrect. Consider birth year 1923. a person born in 1923 would have been nine in 1932 and the generalization holds. So E is false.

5.The greatest chance for the existence of extraterrestrial life is on a planet beyond our solar system. The Milky Way galaxy alone contains 100 billion other suns, many of which could be accompanied by planets similar enough to Earth to make them suitable abodes of life.

The statement presupposes which of the following?

(A) Living creatures on another planet would probably have the same appearance as those on Earth.

(B) Life cannot exist on other planets in our solar system.

(D) More than one of the suns in the galaxy is accompanied by an Earth-like planet.

(E) It is likely that life on another planet would require conditions similar to those on Earth.

Explanation:

In stating that planets may exist that are similar enough to Earth to make them suitable for supporting life, the author implicitly rules out planets dissimilar to Earth as likely to support life. The assumption underlying the statement is that life on another planet is likely to require conditions similar to those on Earth. Therefore, E is the correct answer.

A is not correct. The statement presupposes nothing about the appearance of extraterrestrial life. B is incorrect. The statement implies that it is relatively unlikely that life exists on other planets in our solar system, but it makes no presupposition absolutely ruling out the possibility that such life exists. The answer choice of C is incorrect. Although the statement suggests that there is the greatest chance for life when physical conditions are appropriate, it leaves open the possibility that no life will exist even with appropriate conditions. D is also incorrect. The statement says that it is possible that more than one of the suns in the galaxy is accompanied by an Earth-like planet, but it does not presuppose that there are actually any such suns.

6.The state with the greatest fraction of its population in urban areas, if the urban areas are considered to include the suburbs, is California. The West is highly urbanized, but California is exceptional even in that region: 91 percent of its population lives in urban areas. Geographically, however, California is rural: 96 percent of its land is outside urban areas.

If all of the statements are true, which of the following is best supported on the basis of them?

(A) No state has a smaller fraction of its population in rural areas than California has.

(B) The current rate of population growth in California’s urban areas exceeds that current rate of population growth in California’s rural areas.

(D) No state has a smaller area devoted to urban settlement than California has.

(E) California’s population density is among the highest of all states in the United States.

Explanation:

The passage states that of all the states, California has the greatest fraction of its population (91 out of 100) living in urban areas. That means only 9 out of every 100 California residents live in rural areas. The greatest fraction of any other states’ population living in urban areas, to be smaller than California’s fraction, must be 90 or fewer out of every 100. That means that, in every other state, 10 or more out of every 100 residents live in rural areas. Since 9 out of every 100 is smaller than 10 or more out of every 100, so A is the correct answer.

B is incorrect. In order to decide whether this statement is true, it is necessary to know about rates of population growth. No such information is provided in the passage. The third answer choice is also incorrect. Since 96 percent of the land is outside urban areas, 4 percent is inside urban areas. Thus, 91 percent of the population lives on 4 percent of the land. The fourth answer choice is incorrect. The passage does not provide enough information to determine whether this statement is true or false. No comparison is made between the amount of land area in California devoted to urban settlement and the amount of land area in other states devoted to urban settlement. E is incorrect. The passage does not provide sufficient information to determine whether this statement is true or false. Information on the actual size of the population as compared to total land area of California and other states would be necessary to make a judgment about population density in these states.

7.A ten-year comparison between the countries of Arudia and Cazonia in terms of crop yields per acre revealed that when only planted acreae is compared, Cazonian yields are equal to 68 percent of Arudian yields. When total agricultural acreage (planted acreage plus fallow acreage) is compared, however, Cazonia’s yield is 114 percent of Arudia’s yield.

From the information above, which of the following can be most reliably inferred about Arudian and Cazonian agriculture during the ten-year period?

(A) A higher percentage of total agricultural acreage was fallow in Arudia than in Cazonia.

(B) Arudia had more fallow acreage than planted acreage.

(D) Cazonia had more planted acreage than fallow acreage.

(E) Cazonia produced a greater volume of crops than Arudia produced.

Explanation:

If crop yield per planted acre was less in Cazonia than it was in Arudia, yet crop yield per total (planted plus fallow) agricultural acreage was greater in Cazonia than it was in Arudia, there must have been a lower percentage of the total acreage that was left fallow in Cazonia than there was in Arudia. Therefore, the correct answer is A.

B is incorrect. From the information in the passage, it is impossible to tell whether Arudia had more or less fallow acreage than planted acreage. C is not correct. Since the comparisons made in the passage are based on crop yields per acre, it is impossible to tell whether there was more or less fallow acreage in Cazonia than in Arudia. D is also incorrect. From the information in the passage, it is impossible to tell whether Cazonia had more or less planted acreage than fallow acreage. The last answer choice is incorrect. Since the comparisons made in the passage are based on crop yields per acre, it is impossible to tell whether Cazonia produced a greater volume of crops than Arudia produced.

8.In the United States between 1850 and 1880, the number of farmers continued to increase, but at a rate lower than that of the general population.

Which of the following statements directly contradicts the information presented above?

(A) The number of farmers in the general population increased slightly in the thirty years between 1850 and 1880.

(B) The rate of growth of the United States labor force and the rate of growth of the general population rose simultaneously in the thirty years between 1850 and 1880.

(C) The proportion of farmers in the United States labor force remained constant in the thirty years between 1850 and 1880.

(D) The proportion of farmers in the United States labor force decreased from 64 percent in 1850 to 49 percent in 1880.

(E) The proportion of farmers in the general population increased from 68 percent in 1850 to 72 percent in 1880.

Explanation:

The passage indicates that the proportion of farmers in the general population decreased from 1850 to 1880. the fifth answer choice says exactly the opposite-that this proportion increased; therefore, it contradicts the passage and is the correct response.

A is incorrect. The passage also indicates that the number of farmers increased between 1850 and 1880, and thus agrees with this choice. B is also incorrect. The passage does not tell us about the rate of growth of the labor force. It can be inferred from the passage that the general population grew, but this choice agrees with, rather than contradicts, this conclusion. The choice of C is not the correct answer. We cannot draw any conclusions about the proportion of farmers in the labor force from the passage alone. The fourth is also incorrect. We cannot draw any conclusions about the proportion of farmers in the labor force from the passage alone.

9.The 38 corporations that filed United States income tax returns showing a net income of more than $100 million accounted for 53 percent of the total taxable income from foreign sources reported on all tax returns. Sixty percent of the total taxable income from foreign sources came from the 200 returns reporting income from 10 or more countries.

If the statements above are true, which of the following must also be true?

(A) Most of the total taxable income earned by corporations with net income above $ 100 million was earned from foreign sources.

(B) Wealthy individuals with large personal incomes reported 47 percent of the total taxable income from foreign sources.

(D) Some of the corporations with net income above $ 100 million reported income from 10 or more countries.

(E) Most of the tax returns showing income from 10 or more countries reported net income of more than $ 100 million.

Explanation:

If 38 tax returns in one category account for 53 percent of the total taxable income from foreign sources, and if 200 tax returns in another category account for 60 percent of the same amount, then the two categories must overlap to some extent. Only if the two percentages, added together, amounted to 100 percent or less is there not necessarily any overlap. Here, the two percentages add up to 113 percent. The answer choice that expresses an overlap between the category of corporations with a net income of above $ 100 million and that of corporations with income from 10 or more countries is D, which is thus the correct answer.

A is not correct. Whereas corporations with net incomes of above $ 100 million account for more than half of the total taxable income from foreign sources, we cannot tell from the information given what proportion of their own total incomes from all sources is derived from incomes from foreign sources. The second answer choice is incorrect. All we can infer is that 47 percent was reported by taxpayers other than corporations with net incomes above $ 100 million. These taxpayers could be other corporations with somewhat lower incomes. C is not the correct answer choice. The figures of 53 and 60 percent refer to percentages of total taxable income from foreign sources. Neither these nor any other figures in the passage refer to or imply any percentages of all reported taxable income. E, the last choice, is also incorrect. Since there are only 38 corporations with reported net incomes of more than $ 100 million, but 200 taxpayers with income from 10 or more countries, at the very most somewhat less than 20 percent of those 200 taxpayers could report net incomes of more than $ 100 million.

10.The greater the division of labor in an economy, the greater the need for coordination. This is because increased division of labor entails a larger number of specialized producers, which results in a greater burden on managers and, potentially, in a greater number of disruptions of supply and production. There is always more division of labor in market economies than in planned economies.

If all of the statements given are true, the which of the following must also be true?

(A) Disruptions of supply and production are more frequent in planned economies than in market economies.

(B) There are more specialized producers in planned economies than in market economies.

(D) A manager’s task is easier in a market economy than in a planned economy.

(E) Division of labor functions more effectively in market economies than in planned economies.

Explanation:

C is the correct answer. If, as the first statement claims, greater division of labor entails a greater need for coordination and if, as the second statement claims, there is always more division of labor in market economies than in planned economies, then it must be true that the need for coordination in market economies is greater than in planned economies.

The first choice is incorrect. If the statements are true, then it is possible, and even expected, that disruptions of supply and production are NOT more frequent in planned economies than in market economies. The statements suggest that since there is always more division of labor in market economies than in planned economies, there is potentially a greater number of disruptions in market economies than in planned economies. B is not correct. One would expect there to be fewer, not more, specialized producers in planned economies than in market economies, other things being equal. This is because, according to the statements, there is always more division of labor in market economies than in planned economies and because increased division of labor entails a larger number of specialized producers. The fourth answer choice is incorrect. The statement lead to the conclusion that a manager’s task would be harder, not easier, in a market economy than in a planned economy. This is because the increased division of labor that exists in a market economy entails a larger number of specialized producers. The last answer choice, E is also incorrect. The statement that division of labor functions more effectively in market economies than in planned economies does not follow from the statements given. The statements imply that such effectiveness is dependent on the amount of coordination available, but no information concerning that amount is given.

11.Therapists find that treatment of those people who seek help because they are unable to stop smoking or overeating is rarely successful. From these experiences, therapists have concluded that such habits are intractable, and success in breaking them is rare.

As surveys show, millions of people have dropped the habit of smoking, and many people have successfully managed a substantial weight loss.

If all of the statements are correct, an explanation of their apparent contradiction is provided by the hypothesis that

(A) there have been some successes in therapy, and those successes were counted in the surveys

(B) it is easier to stop smoking than it is to stop overeating

(D) the group of people selected for the survey did not include those who failed to break their habits even after therapy

(E) those who succeed in curing themselves do not go for treatment and so are not included in the therapists’ data

Explanation:

If, as this choice suggests, the very people who would lead the therapists to view such habits as more tractable do not come for treatment, it is quite understandable why therapists persist in their pessimistic view. At the same time, E is consistent with the survey results. Therefore, the last choice is the correct answer.

A is incorrect. Even assuming that this choice is true, no light is shed on why successes should be so rare in therapy, and yet, if the surveys are to be believed, so common overall. B is also incorrect. Since the comparative strength of habits is not an issue in the therapists’ findings or the surveys, it cannot have anything to do with the apparent contradiction; consequently, information about it cannot help resolve that contradiction. C is also not the correct answer choice. If C were true, the survey results would appear rather unremarkable, but the therapists’ findings would be baffling. The apparent contradiction would not be diminished but underscored. The fourth answer choice is incorrect. The survey results as reported focus on the numbers of people who have successfully fought a habit, not on the proportion of those who tried to break their habits who succeeded. This answer choice pertains only to the latter and so is essentially irrelevant.

12.”On the whole,” Ms. Dennis remarked, “engineering students are lazier now than they used to be. I know because fewer and fewer of my students regularly do the work they are assigned.”

Which of the following identifies a flaw in Ms. Dennis’ reasoning?

(A) Plenty of people besides engineering students do not work as hard as they should.

(B) Ms. Dennis does not consider the excuses her students may have for being lazy.

(D) The argument assumes that Ms. Dennis’ students are representative of engineering students in general.

(E) Ms. Dennis does not seem sympathetic to the problems of her students.

Explanation:

Since the constantly decreasing work output of Ms. Dennis’ students could stem from causes specific to those students, Ms. Dennis is not logically justified in extending her judgment about her own students to engineering students in general. D is a concise statement of the logically flawed assumption Ms. Dennis must be making in so extending her judgment. Thus, this answer choice is the correct answer.

A is incorrect. Whether or not other groups resemble engineering students has no bearing on whether or not certain conclusions about engineering students follow logically from certain observations about some engineering students. Thus, Ms. Dennis’ lack of attention to people who are not engineering students is not a flaw in her reasoning. B is also incorrect. Any excuses offered for laziness do not alter it, though they might help us understand it. Ms. Dennis is only concerned with establishing that the laziness of engineering students is a fact; she does not inquire into possible explanations. It is not a flaw of her reasoning as it stands that it addresses the particular concerns it addresses. C is not the correct answer choice. Ms. Dennis’ reasoning is involved in reaching a conclusion on the basis of certain evidence. It does not go beyond that. This choice concerns itself with matters beyond the ones Ms. Dennis reasons about, and thus cannot be considered a flaw in her reasoning. The last answer choice is also incorrect. The logical merits or flaws of an argument are independent of the emotional attitudes of the person making the argument. Since this choice describes an emotional attitude, it cannot identify a reasoning flaw.

13.The overall operating costs of many small farms are reduced when the farmers of small farms eliminate expensive commercial chemical fertilizers and pesticides in favor of crop rotation and the twice-yearly use of manure as fertilizer. Therefore, farmers of large farms should adopt the same measures. They will then realize even greater total savings than do the small farmers.

The argument assumes that

(A) it is more cost-effective for small farm farmers to eliminate the use of commercial fertilizers and pesticides than it is for large farm farmers to do so

(B) a sufficient amount of manure will be available for the fields of large farm farmers

(C) large farm farmers would not realize similar cost benefits by using treated sewage sludge instead of commercial chemical fertilizers

(D) large farm farmers generally look to small farm farmers for innovative ways of increasing crop yields or reducing operating costs

(E) the smaller the farm, the more control the farmer has over operating costs

Explanation:

B is the correct answer choice.

It would be impossible to argue reasonably that large farmers should use manure as fertilizer because they would realize even greater savings than the small farmers without also assuming that there is a sufficient amount of manure available for the fields of large farmers.

A is not the correct answer choice.

The argument implies that it would be more cost effective for large farmers to eliminate commercial fertilizers and pesticides than it would be for small farmers to do so. The third answer is incorrect. No statements are made in the argument concerning treated sewage sludge and no assumption is made about it. D is not the correct answer choice. This statement is not assumed because if it were false—if large farmers seldom or never looked to small farmers for innovative ways of increasing crop yields or reducing operating costs—this would not affect anything relevant to the argument about the total savings that large farmers might gain by adopting new farming practices. E is also not the correct answer choice. It may well be true that the smaller the farm, the more control the farmer has over operating costs. However, with respect to control, the argument only that large farmers have enough control over their farming methods to adopt the recommended measures.

14.Factory workers in Beltania are guaranteed lifetime jobs, bonuses paid on the basis of productivity and corporate profits, and a wage rate that is not attached to a particular job. Paradoxically, these guarantees do not discourage factory owners from introducing labor-saving machinery. Such innovations are to the factory owners’ advantage despite the fact that the owners must protect the wages of their workers.

Which of the following, if true, most helps to explain why the introduction of labor-saving machinery is advantageous to factory owners?

(A) Before a Beltanian Factory worker is hired, he or she must present a record of his or her previous productivity.

(B) Labor-saving machinery increases productivity, thus yielding profits that more than cover the cost of retraining workers for other jobs.

(D) Factory workers demand a change of procedure in the routine tasks they perform.

(E) Limited competition exists among Beltanian factories for consumer markets.

Explanation:

If the second answer choice is true, introducing labor-saving machinery results in additional profits even if it also requires the retraining of workers. Hence, this answer choice demonstrates the advantages to the factory owners of labor-saving machinery. Thus, B is the correct answer.

The first answer choice is incorrect. Productivity in a previous job may relate to productivity in the job for which a worker is hired. However, if the worker’s job is eliminated by new machinery, the factory owner loses the advantage of having been able to select a highly productive worker for that job. There is no indication in this answer choice of what advantage, if any, the owner gains. C is incorrect. Since increased costs, other things being equal, mean decreased profits, this answer choice suggests the change is disadvantageous to the factory owners. D is also incorrect. Changes of procedure may result for those employees whose jobs are eliminated by the introduction of machinery, but would not necessarily result for a substantial number of factory workers. The owners have an advantage only if a substantial number of workers have been satisfied. Thus, this fourth answer choice cannot explain why the change is advantageous. The last answer choice is incorrect. Limited competition might imply that the factory owners will be able to sell their products, even if the price must be raised to cover new machinery as well as wages. Although this does not harm the factory owners, it does not suggest an advantage either.

15.During the day in Lake Constance, the zooplankton D. hyaline departs for the depths where food is scarce and the water cold. D. galeata remains near the warm surface where food is abundant. Even though D. galeata grows and reproduces much faster, its population is often outnumbered by D. hyaline.

Which of the following, if true, most helps to resolve the apparent paradox?

(A) The number of species of zooplankton living at the bottom of the lake is twice that of species living at the surface.

(B) Predators of zooplankton, such as whitefish and perch, live and feed near the surface of the lake during the day.

(D) D. galeata clusters under vegetation during the hottest part of the day to avoid the Sun’s rays.

(E) D. galeata produces twice as many offspring per individual in any given period of time as does D. hyaline.

Explanation:

The presence of predators of zooplankton, feeding near the surface during the day, would suggest that D. galeata is consumed at a higher rate than D. hyaline.

Therefore, if this choice were true, it would help resolve the apparent paradox that D. galeata grows and reproduces faster than D. hyaline, yet D. hyalian has the greater population.

A is incorrect. Nothing is said in the paragraph to show the relevance of the presence of other species of zooplankton to the relative population size of the two species. C is not correct. This information explains the slower growth and reproduction of D. hyaline, which is one aspect of the paradox; but it does nothing to show how D. hyaline can grow and reproduce more slowly and yet have the greater population. D is incorrect. Nothing is said in the paragraph to show the relevance to the paradox of D. galeata’s clustering under vegetation. E is also incorrect. More information on the faster reproduction of D. galeata does not show how, despite faster growth and reproduction, D. galeata has the lesser population.

16.A study attitudes toward prime-time television programs showed that programs with identical rating sin terms of number of people watching received highly divergent marks for quality from their viewers. This additional piece of information could prove valuable for advertisers, who might be well advised to spend their advertising dollars for programs that viewers feel are of high quality.

Which of the following, if true, supports the claim that information about viewers’ perceptions of the quality of television programs could be valuable to advertisers?

(A) The number of programs judged to be of high quality constituted a high percentage of the total number of programs judged.

(B) Many of the programs judged to be of high quality were shown on noncommercial networks.

(C) Television viewers more frequently remember the sponsors of programs they admire than the sponsors of programs they judge mediocre.

(D) Television viewers tend to watch new programs only when those programs follow old, familiar programs.

(E) Television viewers report that the quality of a television advertisement has little effect on their buying habits.

Explanation:

C is the correct answer, because advertisers are interested in having their products remembered favorably. By linking viewer perception of program quality with this goal, this choice gives advertisers a reason to care about the quality of programs they sponsor.

A is incorrect. That a large portion of programs are judged to be of high quality does not bolster the conclusion that information about viewer perception of program quality will be useful to advertisers. Rather, if a large portion of programs are judged to be of high quality, an advertiser may feel relatively safe in looking only at the ratings. B is incorrect. Programs on noncommercial networks cannot contain ads. Information as to their quality will not help advertisers place ads with programs judged to be of high quality. D is incorrect. This answer makes no mention of either program quality or viewer buying habits and thus neither strengthens nor weakens the connection between the two. The idea expressed in the answer thus has nothing to do with the importance of program quality to advertisers. The last answer choice is also incorrect. This answer connects the perception of the quality of advertisements to buying habits. It does not determine a connection between perception of the quality of programs and buying habits and thus is irrelevant to any interest advertisers may have in program quality.

17.Each year, fires in the United States cause $ 12 billion in property losses, insurance costs, fire-fighting expenses, and loss of worker productivity. These fire losses are seven times those in Japan on a per capita basis.

Which of the following, if true, would be LEAST likely to be a factor contributing to the difference between fire losses in Japan and those in the United States?

(A) Significantly more money per capita is spent each year on fire-prevention efforts in the United States than is spent on such efforts in Japan.

(B) The rate of arson, a major contributor to fire statistics in the United States, is almost negligible in Japan.

(C) Most Japanese homes, unlike those in the United States, are equipped with specially designed and effective fire-extinguishing equipment.

(D) Foam-based and plastic furniture, less popular in Japan than in the United States, ignites readily and releases twice the heat energy of equivalent weights of natural fibers.

(E) Japanese fire departments devote proportionately more personnel time to inspection, training, and public education than do United States fire departments.

Explanation:

The fact that more money per capita is spent on fire-prevention in the United States than in Japan would be a factor likely to contribute to greater fire loss in Japan than in the United States. Therefore, this factor would be very unlikely to contribute to lesser fire loss in Japan, and A is the correct answer.

B is incorrect. A greater incidence of arson in the United States would indeed be likely to contribute to greater fire loss in the United States. C is also incorrect. More effective fire extinguishing equipment in more Japanese homes would indeed be likely to contribute to lesser fire loss in Japan. D is incorrect. The greater popularity of foam based and plastic furniture in the United States would indeed be likely to be a factor contributing to greater fire loss in the United States, since such furniture is a greater fire hazard than furniture of natural fibers. E is also incorrect. Greater attention to prevention and training by Japanese fire departments would indeed be likely to contribute to lesser fire loss in Japan.

18.Some would have you believe that the economic problems of Western Europe in the 1980s were caused by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) oil cartel. This is nonsense. After all, Great Britain was not dependent on OPEC oil and yet Great Britain suffered from the same economic problems that afflicted France and West Germany.

The author’s point is made primarily by

(A) offering Great Britain as a counterexample

(B) analyzing the economic difficulties of France and West Germany

(D) proposing an alternative Explanation

(E) drawing an analogy between France and West Germany

Explanation:

The author argues that the economic problems of Western Europe are not caused by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) oil cartel. This point is made by using Great Britain as an example of a Western European country that is not dependent on OPEC oil but has the same economic problems as France and West Germany. Thus, the first answer choice is the correct answer.

B is incorrect. The author’s point (that the economic problems of Western Europe are not caused by the OPEC oil cartel) is made by stating that the economic problems of France and West Germany are the same as those of Great Britain and by pointing out that Great Britain does not depend on OPEC oil as France and West Germany do. This in no way implies what the nature of the economic problems of France and West Germany is. C is also incorrect. The author does not present or discuss the reasoning used to arrive at the conclusion that the OPEC oil cartel has caused the economic problems of Western Europe. Rather, the author presents evidence suggesting that the conclusion cannot be true. The fourth answer choice is not the correct answer. The author presents evidence that the economic problems of Western Europe are not caused by the OPEC oil cartel, but no suggestion is given about the true cause of those economic problems. This last answer choice is also incorrect. The author’s point is made by comparing Great Britain with France and West Germany.

19.Why save endangered species? For the general public, endangered species appear to be little more than biological oddities. A very different perception is gained from considering the issue of extinction in a wider context. The important point is that many major social advances have been made on the basis of life forms whose worth would never have been perceived in advance. Consider the impact of rubber-producing plants on contemporary life and industry: approximately two-thirds of the world’s rubber supply comes from rubber-producing plants and is made into objects as diverse as rubber washers and rubber boots.

Any of the following facts could be used as illustrative examples in addition to the example of rubber-producing plants EXCEPT:

(A) The discovery of the vaccine for smallpox resulted from observing the effect of the cowpox virus on the hands of dairy workers.

(B) The major source of our pharmaceutical supplies is plants, some of them commonly thought of as weeds.

(D) Plastic is a unique product derived from petroleum and petroleum by-products.

(E) Hamsters and other rodents have played an important role in laboratory tests of medicine for use on humans.

Explanation:

Examples that would serve the same function as rubber producing plants must involve a situation in which an organism previously thought to be useless is seen to be extremely beneficial for some human endeavor. Petroleum is not an organism and is useful itself and thus is not such an example. Thus, the fourth choice is the correct answer.

Responses one, two, three and five are incorrect. They are examples of situations in which an organism previously thought to be useless is seen to be extremely beneficial for some human endeavor.

20.Superficially, college graduates in 1982 resembled college graduates of 1964; they were fairly conservative, well dressed, and interested in tradition; they respected their parents. But there was a deep-seated difference: a majority of the members of the class of 1982 who were surveyed in their freshman year stated that making a good income was an important reason for their decision to go to college.

The statements in the passage, if true, best support which of the following conclusions?

(A) The concerns of college graduates of 1964 were superficial compared to the financial worries of college graduates of 1982.

(B) Fewer than half the students of the class of 1964 declared as freshmen that they entered college in order to increase their earning potential.

(D) A majority of the members of the class of 1964 revised their reasons for attending college between their freshman year and college graduation.

(E) College graduates of 1964 were actually less conservative than college graduates of 1982.

Explanation:

The passage claims that 1982 and 1964 college graduates were similar except that a majority of the 1982 graduates stated during their freshman year that making a good income was an important reason for going to college. This implies that fewer than half of the 1964 class, as freshmen, stated that making a good income was an important reason for going to college. B states a consequence of this implication and is the correct answer.

A is incorrect. The passage discusses differences in financial reasons for attending college, as expressed by freshmen in the two classes. Nothing is stated about the financial worries of either class as graduates. Neither is it clear from the passage that financial worries are necessarily implied by the desire to make a good income. C is also incorrect. The passage implies that desire for a good income was a more important reason for the members of the class of 1982 to decide to go to college than for the members of the class of 1964. However, the passage does not provide information on whether a college education provides more, less, or the same impact on income for the 1964 graduates as compared to the 1982 graduates. This fourth choice is incorrect. The passage does not describe or imply any difference in the reasons for attending college between freshman year and college graduation for either class. The last answer choice is also incorrect. The passage states that the 1964 and 1982 college graduates were both firmly conservative. Thus, the passage does not support any conclusion that the two classes differed in degree of conservatism.

21.The Supreme Court is no longer able to keep pace with the tremendous number of cases it agrees to decide. The Court schedules and hears 160 hours of oral argument each year, and 108 hours of next year’s term will be taken up by cases left over from this year. Certainly the Court cannot be asked to increase its already burdensome hours. The most reasonable long-range solution to this problem is to allow the Court to decide many cases without hearing oral argument; in this way the Court might eventually increase dramatically the number of cases it decides each year.

Which of the following, if true, could best be used to argue against the feasibility of the solution suggested?

(A) The time the Court spends hearing oral argument is only a small part of the total time it spends deciding a case.

(B) The Court cannot legitimately avoid hearing oral argument in any case left over from last year.

(D) Even now the Court decides a small number of cases without hearing oral argument.

(E) In many cases, the delay of a hearing for a full year can be extremely expensive to the parties involved.

Explanation:

The passage suggests that the number of cases heard by the Supreme Court each year might eventually be increased dramatically if the Supreme Court were allowed to decide many cases without the customary oral argument. If A is true, however, then the number of cases decided by the Supreme Court is primarily determined by time other than the time spent hearing oral argument. Thus, the time spent hearing oral argument does not constitute a significant bottleneck. So this choice could be used rather well to argue against the proposal made in the passage.

B is incorrect. This argues not against the feasibility of the proposed solution; it merely warns that the benefits from it would be delayed. The fact that, in view of this answer choice, there would probably not be any significant immediate relief from the burdens of hearing oral argument is irrelevant: the passage expressly concerns itself with finding a long-range solution. C is also incorrect. The thrust of the proposal is to make the 160 hours available for hearing oral argument go farther. The person making the proposal accepts the 160 hours as an upper limit. Thus, this statement supports rather than argues against the proposed solution. The fourth answer choice is incorrect. From a knowledge of the information in this answer choice no further conclusions regarding the proposal follow. This information is simply part of the current state of affairs that the proposal is designed to improve. The last choice is also incorrect. The concern of the choice-the cost to the parties involved—plays no part whatever in the argument developed in the passage; the passage is concerned solely with time-related limitations on the number of cases the Supreme Court is able to decide.

22.Some insects are able to feed on the leaves of milkweed, a toxic plant, by first cutting and draining the vein that secretes the toxin. This method of detoxification guarantees that some insects will always be able to eat milkweed, because the plant could never evolve to produce a toxin that is lethal in the trace amounts left after the vein is cut.

The argument depends on which of the following assumptions?

(A) The insects that successfully detoxify milkweed are not able to undergo the evolutionary changes necessary to allow them to detoxify other plants.

(B) Unlike milkweed, other kinds of toxic plants would be able to overcome their vulnerabilities to predators through evolutionary changes.

(D) The method of detoxification used by insect predators of mildewed would not successfully detoxify other kinds of toxic plants.

(E) There are insects that use means other than draining the toxin in order to feed on toxic plants.

Explanation:

C is the correct answer. It is impossible to argue logically that the insects’ method of detoxification by cutting and draining guarantees that some insects will always be able to eat milkweed without assuming that for some reason that toxin-carrying veins of the milkweed can never evolve to become so strong that they would thwart the insects’ attempts to cut through them.

A is incorrect. The passage does not make any claims about plants other than mildewed. The insects that detoxify mildewed by cutting veins might evolve an ability to detoxify other plants without this affecting anything relevant to the argument offered about their ability to eat mildewed. The second answer choice is incorrect. The passage is not concerned with other types of toxic plants and makes no assumption about them. The fourth answer choice is also incorrect. The method of detoxification used by the insects on milkweed might also be used to detoxify other plants without this affecting anything relevant to the argument offered about the insects’ ability to eat milkweed. The fifth answer choice is incorrect. It may be true that there are insects that use means other than draining toxins in order to feed on toxic plants, but the conclusion drawn in the passage does not depend on there being any such insects.

23.”On the whole,” Ms. Dennis remarked, “engineering students are lazier now than they used to be. I know because fewer and fewer of my students regularly do the work they are assigned.”

Ms. Dennis’ conclusion depends on which of the following assumptions?

(A) Engineering students are working less because, in a booming market, they are spending more and more time investigating different job opportunities.

(B) Whether or not students do the work they are assigned is a good indication of how lazy they are.

(D) Ms. Dennis’ students are doing less work because Ms. Dennis is not as effective a teacher as she once was.

(E) Laziness is something most people do not outgrow.

Explanation:

The conclusion that engineering students are lazier now than they used to be does not follow from the stated observation that fewer and fewer of Ms. Dennis’ students regularly do the work they are assigned. In fact, the conclusion is not in any way supported by the reported observation unless it is also true that failure to do the assigned work indicates laziness. That latter proposition must therefore be one of the tacit assumptions underlying the conclusion. B best expresses this assumption and is thus the correct answer.

A is incorrect. Ms. Dennis concludes that her students are lazy on the basis of what she sees as a consequence of that laziness. This choice suggests a cause of that laziness. But Ms. Dennis does not have to make any assumptions about the causes of that laziness in order to draw her conclusion. C is also incorrect. This comparison between the work demands on engineering students and those on other students is irrelevant to the question of whether the work habits of engineering students have changed over time. The fourth answer choice is incorrect. If Ms. Dennis believed that the reason for her own students’ decreasing performance was her own declining effectiveness, she would not think of her students as exemplifying trends among engineering students in general. The last answer choice is also incorrect. Whether laziness is outgrown is irrelevant to the question of whether work habits of engineering students have changed over time.

In recent years shrimp harvests by commercial fishermen in the South Atlantic have declined dramatically in total weight. The decline is due primarily to competition from a growing number of recreational fishermen, how are able to net young shrimp in the estuaries where they mature.

Which of the following regulatory actions would most help increase the weight of shrimp harvests by commercial fishermen?

(A) Requiring commercial fishermen to fish in estuaries

(B) Limiting the total number of excursions per season for commercial fishermen

(D) Putting an upper limit on the size of the shrimp recreational fishermen are allowed to catch

(E) Allowing recreational fishermen to move out of estuaries into the South Atlantic

Explanation:

If recreational fishermen were required to use large-mesh nets when fishing, fewer young shrimp would be trapped in those nets (making the reasonable assumptions, of course, that young, immature shrimp are smaller than mature shrimp and that by “large-mesh nets” is meant net with spaces big enough for young shrimp to pass through them). Thus, there is a strong likelihood that such a requirement would help increase commercial shrimp harvests. This makes C the best answer, and thus the correct answer.

A is incorrect. This requirement is most unlikely to bring relief; if anything, it will exacerbate the problem if commercial fishermen, too, start netting young shrimp. The second answer choice is also incorrect. This requirement would presumably make sense if the problem were caused by commercial fishermen catching too many mature shrimp. But the passage clearly indicates that the main problem is that too many young shrimp are netted before they reach maturity. D is not the correct answer choice. Since the problem lies mainly in the numbers of immature, and thus presumably small, shrimp that recreational fishermen catch, preventing those fishermen from catching large shrimp above a certain size is unlikely to provide an effective solution. The last answer choice is also incorrect. Nothing in the passage suggests that recreational fishermen are not already free to move into the open ocean if they own ocean-going craft. And if they are not already free to move into the open ocean, there is still nothing to suggest that they are interested in doing so in large enough numbers to relieve the over-fishing of young shrimp in estuaries.

Veteran screenwriters, aiming at creating a 120-page screenplay for a film, usually turn in 1 135-page first draft. As one screenwriter put it, “That gives those in charge of the movie a chance to be creative when they get the script: at the very least, they can cut 15 pages.”

The screenwriter’s statement cited above conveys which of the following propositions?

(A) Screenwriters for a film are generally not involved in any aspects of filmmaking besides providing the script.

(B) Seasoned screenwriters are resigned to, and make allowance for, draft scripts being altered by those evaluating them.

(D) It takes a special kind of creativity to recognize what is best left out of a film script.

(E) Even experienced screenwriters cannot be expected to write scripts of consistently high quality throughout.

Explanation:

The screenwriter’s statement implies an acknowledgement that those evaluating screenplays will want to alter them, and it implies that screenwriters adjust the length of a first draft in order to allow evaluators to make alterations. The second answer choice restates these implications and is the correct answer.

A is incorrect. The statement says nothing about whether screenwriters do more than provide a script. C is not correct. The statement says nothing about the temperament of screenwriters, and it gives a reason other than temperament for the length of first drafts. D is incorrect. The statement does not imply that the cuts made by evaluators are always the best cuts that could have been made. The last answer choice is also incorrect. The statement says nothing about the quality of first draft and so does not imply that they are of uneven quality.

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