LSAT. index. PrepTest REVIEW. Section 3 RC. Section 4 Args 2. Section 1 Games. Section 2 Args 1.

Transcription

1 Section Section Section Section Section 1 Games Section 2 Args Section 3 RC Section 4 Args index

2 section 1 question 1 Game One: This game involves assigning meals to individuals. Your first step should be to draw a rough diagram that would look something like this: J k L m N o Meals: p, r, s, t, v Next, go ahead and symbolize your clues and work them into your diagram: Clue #1: Jk Lm No Clue #2: J = L = N Clue #3: Mark this directly into your diagram. Clue #4: Mark this directly into your diagram. Clue #5: Mark this directly into your diagram. Deductions: N can t eat r (Clue #1). L can t eat s (Clue #1). Also, N must eat either p or v (they re the only choices left). So here s what you should have right now: s t s J k L m N o s p/v r Question 1: What can Lewis eat for dinner? According to your diagram above, anything but swordfish. The credited response is therefore (D).

3 section 1 question 2 Game One: This game involves assigning meals to individuals. Your first step should be to draw a rough diagram that would look something like this: J k L m N o Meals: p, r, s, t, v Next, go ahead and symbolize your clues and work them into your diagram: Clue #1: Jk Lm No Clue #2: J = L = N Clue #3: Mark this directly into your diagram. Clue #4: Mark this directly into your diagram. Clue #5: Mark this directly into your diagram. Deductions: N can t eat r (Clue #1). L can t eat s (Clue #1). Also, N must eat either p or v (they re the only choices left). So here s what you should have right now: s t s J k L m N o s p/v r Question 2: This question should either be answered later (if the solution isn t readily apparent), or it can be done by referring to your diagram above. (A) This cannot ever be true. Marie always eats swordfish and John never can. (B) This is the credited response. All the other options violate clues. (C) This violates clue #2. (D) This cannot ever be true. Marie always eats swordfish and Olive always eats roast beef. (E) This violates clue #1.

4 section 1 question 3 Game One: This game involves assigning meals to individuals. Your first step should be to draw a rough diagram that would look something like this: J k L m N o Meals: p, r, s, t, v Next, go ahead and symbolize your clues and work them into your diagram: Clue #1: Jk Lm No Clue #2: J = L = N Clue #3: Mark this directly into your diagram. Clue #4: Mark this directly into your diagram. Clue #5: Mark this directly into your diagram. Deductions: N can t eat r (Clue #1). L can t eat s (Clue #1). Also, N must eat either p or v (they re the only choices left). So here s what you should have right now: s t s J k L m N o s p/v r Question 3: This question, like question 2, can be answered later (after you have experimented with possible arrangements in answering questions 4-6), or it can be attempted now based on the diagram you have so far. (A) This is the credited response. Nat must order pork chops or veal cutlet. (B) No. John could order roast beef, Lewis could order tilefish, and Nat could order pork chops. (C) The only woman who could order tilefish is Kate. (D) See (B). (E) No. Kate could order roast beef, Marie must order swordfish, and Olive must order roast beef. Remember, it s only the men who cannot eat the same dish as any other man.

5 section 1 question 4 Game One: This game involves assigning meals to individuals. Your first step should be to draw a rough diagram that would look something like this: J k L m N o Meals: p, r, s, t, v Next, go ahead and symbolize your clues and work them into your diagram: Clue #1: Jk Lm No Clue #2: J = L = N Clue #3: Mark this directly into your diagram. Clue #4: Mark this directly into your diagram. Clue #5: Mark this directly into your diagram. Deductions: N can t eat r (Clue #1). L can t eat s (Clue #1). Also, N must eat either p or v (they re the only choices left). So here s what you should have right now: s t s J k L m N o s p/v r Question 4: If John orders veal cutlet, what must be true? By combining clue #2 with the observation that Nat can only order pork chops or veal cutlet, you can conclude that Nat must order pork chops. Therefore, answer choice (E) is the credited response.

6 section 1 question 5 Game One: This game involves assigning meals to individuals. Your first step should be to draw a rough diagram that would look something like this: J k L m N o Meals: p, r, s, t, v Next, go ahead and symbolize your clues and work them into your diagram: Clue #1: Jk Lm No Clue #2: J = L = N Clue #3: Mark this directly into your diagram. Clue #4: Mark this directly into your diagram. Clue #5: Mark this directly into your diagram. Deductions: N can t eat r (Clue #1). L can t eat s (Clue #1). Also, N must eat either p or v (they re the only choices left). So here s what you should have right now: s t s J k L m N o s p/v r Question 5: If nobody orders pork chops, what must be true? Nat must order veal cutlet. Further, John cannot order fish (clue #4), John cannot order pork chops (the question tells you that), and John cannot order veal cutlet (clue #2). Therefore, John must order roast beef. Next, Lewis can t order pork chops (the question tells you that), Lewis cannot order veal cutlet or roast beef (clue #2), and Lewis cannot order swordfish (clue #1). Therefore, Lewis must order tilefish (it s the only entrée remaining). The credited response is therefore (C).

7 section 1 question 6 Game One: This game involves assigning meals to individuals. Your first step should be to draw a rough diagram that would look something like this: J k L m N o Meals: p, r, s, t, v Next, go ahead and symbolize your clues and work them into your diagram: Clue #1: Jk Lm No Clue #2: J = L = N Clue #3: Mark this directly into your diagram. Clue #4: Mark this directly into your diagram. Clue #5: Mark this directly into your diagram. Deductions: N can t eat r (Clue #1). L can t eat s (Clue #1). Also, N must eat either p or v (they re the only choices left). So here s what you should have right now: s t s J k L m N o s p/v r Question 6: If Lewis orders pork chops, what can John order? If Lewis orders pork chops, then Nat must order veal cutlet (see your diagram). Next, clue #2 allows you to deduce that John cannot order pork chops or veal cutlet, and clue #4 tells you that John cannot order fish. The only entrée remaining that John can order is roast beef. The credited response is therefore (A).

8 section 1 question 7 Game One: This game involves assigning meals to individuals. Your first step should be to draw a rough diagram that would look something like this: J k L m N o Meals: p, r, s, t, v Next, go ahead and symbolize your clues and work them into your diagram: Clue #1: Jk Lm No Clue #2: J = L = N Clue #3: Mark this directly into your diagram. Clue #4: Mark this directly into your diagram. Clue #5: Mark this directly into your diagram. Deductions: N can t eat r (Clue #1). L can t eat s (Clue #1). Also, N must eat either p or v (they re the only choices left). So here s what you should have right now: s t s J k L m N o s p/v r Question 7: This is an example of a question on the test where the rules of the game are changed. First, because the couples order the same entrée as each other, you can conclude that Lewis orders swordfish and Nat orders roast beef. So, John cannot order swordfish, roast beef, or tilefish (don t forget clue #4). Therefore, John (and Kate) must both order either pork chops or veal cutlet. For this particular question, you are looking for something that could be true. (A) No. Nat orders roast beef, and clue #2 tells you that no two men order the same entrée. (B) No. Lewis orders swordfish, and clue #2 tells you that no two men order the same entrée. (C) No. For this particular question, no woman can order the same entrée as another woman. Olive always orders roast beef, so Kate cannot. (D) This is the credited response. John and Kate could order pork chops. (E) Nobody can order tilefish given the changed conditions of the game.

9 section 1 question 8 Game Two: Assign seven houses to locations on one side of a street. Your first step is to draw a rough diagram houses: K,L,M,N,O,P,R Next, go through the clues and work whatever information you can into your diagram. Clue #1: Put a R above spaces 1 and 7. Clue #2: Put a K under space 4. Clue #3: Note this above your diagram (M is either in space 3 or space 5). Clue #4: K...P...L M...P...L Deduction from clue #4: P is in either space 5 or 6. L is in either space 6 or 7. So here s what your diagram should look like now: M P L R R K Question 8: Who could be in space 7? The answer can t be R (clue #1), K (clue #2), M (clue #3), or P (because L must be east of P). This allows you to eliminate every answer choice but answer choice (C).

10 section 1 question 9 Game Two: Assign seven houses to locations on one side of a street. Your first step is to draw a rough diagram houses: K,L,M,N,O,P,R Next, go through the clues and work whatever information you can into your diagram. Clue #1: Put a R above spaces 1 and 7. Clue #2: Put a K under space 4. Clue #3: Note this above your diagram (M is either in space 3 or space 5). Clue #4: K...P...L M...P...L Deduction from clue #4: P is in either space 5 or 6. L is in either space 6 or 7. So here s what your diagram should look like now: M P L R R K Question 9: Who cannot be next to K? There are two ways to approach this problem first, you can go ahead and do all the other problems first to give yourself some solutions to refer to in determining who CAN be next to K (and this should help you eliminate some of the answer choices). Secondly, you can refer to your original diagram for guidance. This approach should lead you to note that P is always somewhere between K and L, and as a consequence K and L can never be adjacent. The credited response is therefore (A).

11 section 1 question 10 Game Two: Assign seven houses to locations on one side of a street. Your first step is to draw a rough diagram houses: K,L,M,N,O,P,R Next, go through the clues and work whatever information you can into your diagram. Clue #1: Put a R above spaces 1 and 7. Clue #2: Put a K under space 4. Clue #3: Note this above your diagram (M is either in space 3 or space 5). Clue #4: K...P...L M...P...L Deduction from clue #4: P is in either space 5 or 6. L is in either space 6 or 7. So here s what your diagram should look like now: M P L R R K Question 10: If the Muirs live west of the Kahns, then the Muirs must go in space 3. This is not enough information to allow you to place any other family, and fortunately this is not necessary for you to answer the question. What you ll need to do is find a pair of families who cannot both live adjacent to the Rutans. (A) This is possible. You could have KRP in spaces 4-6. (B) This is also possible. You could have PRL in spaces 5-7. (C) This is the credited response. Since the Muirs live west of the Kahns and the Piatts live east of the Kahns, there is no way that the Rutans can live next to both the Muirs and the Piatts. (D) This is possible. You could have ORM in spaces 1-3. (E) This is also possible. You could have NRM in spaces 1-3.

12 section 1 question 11 Game Two: Assign seven houses to locations on one side of a street. Your first step is to draw a rough diagram houses: K,L,M,N,O,P,R Next, go through the clues and work whatever information you can into your diagram. Clue #1: Put a R above spaces 1 and 7. Clue #2: Put a K under space 4. Clue #3: Note this above your diagram (M is either in space 3 or space 5). Clue #4: K...P...L M...P...L Deduction from clue #4: P is in either space 5 or 6. L is in either space 6 or 7. So here s what your diagram should look like now: M P L R R K Question 11: If the Newmans live immediately west of the Kahns, that means that the Newmans go in space 3. You can also deduce that the Muirs go in space 5 (they must go in either space 3 or space 5, and space 3 is taken). Next, by applying clue #4 you can deduce that P and L go in spaces 6 and 7 respectively. Finally, clue #1 allows you to place the Rutans in space 2, and the Owens go in space 1 because it s the only space left. So here s what you have so far O R N K M P L (A) This is the credited response. See the above diagram for more detail. (B) This must be true. You are looking for an answer that must be false. (C) This must be true. You are looking for an answer that must be false. (D) This must be true. You are looking for an answer that must be false. (E) This must be true. You are looking for an answer that must be false.

13 section 1 question 12 Game Two: Assign seven houses to locations on one side of a street. Your first step is to draw a rough diagram houses: K,L,M,N,O,P,R Next, go through the clues and work whatever information you can into your diagram. Clue #1: Put a R above spaces 1 and 7. Clue #2: Put a K under space 4. Clue #3: Note this above your diagram (M is either in space 3 or space 5). Clue #4: K...P...L M...P...L Deduction from clue #4: P is in either space 5 or 6. L is in either space 6 or 7. So here s what your diagram should look like now: M P L R R K Question 12: This question is a little easier to see if you note the diagram you made for question 11. When M is in space 5, P and L must go in spaces 6 and 7 respectively. So, if the Owens live east of the Muirs, the only way to fit the Owens in the diagram is to put the Muirs in space 3. You also know that N and R are west of M, and because R cannot be in space 1 you can place N in space 1 and R in space 2. So here s what you have so far N R M K (O,P, and L are east of K) In this case you are looking for a statement that must be true. (A) This is the credited response. See the above diagram for more detail. (B) This statement must be false. (C) There isn t sufficient information to establish where the Owens are relative to the Piatts and the Lowes. (D) There isn t sufficient information to establish where the Owens are relative to the Piatts and the Lowes. (E) There isn t sufficient information to establish where the Owens are relative to the Piatts and the Lowes.

14 section 1 question 13 Game Two: Assign seven houses to locations on one side of a street. Your first step is to draw a rough diagram houses: K,L,M,N,O,P,R Next, go through the clues and work whatever information you can into your diagram. Clue #1: Put a R above spaces 1 and 7. Clue #2: Put a K under space 4. Clue #3: Note this above your diagram (M is either in space 3 or space 5). Clue #4: K...P...L M...P...L Deduction from clue #4: P is in either space 5 or 6. L is in either space 6 or 7. So here s what your diagram should look like now: M P L R R K Question 13: This question uses the same diagram as the one you used for question 12. Since you are looking for a pair of families that must live next to each other, and since you cannot place O, P, and L with certainty, you know that the answer will not contain O, P, or L. This allows you to eliminate answer choices (A), (B), and (E). By referring to your diagram you should note that M and N do not live next to each other but N and R do. This is sufficient to allow you to select answer choice (D).

15 section 1 question 14 Game Three: In this game, a three-by-three diagram would be most appropriate. By combining the information in the first paragraph and the understanding that the floors are numbered 1-3, you should get something like this. F/S N/U P/R 3: U P 2: 1: N And now for the clues... 1) S 2) UR So the only possibilities are UP, NP, or NR. F 3) S _ R So the only possibilities are F _ P, F _ R, S _ P 4) Has been noted in the diagram above. 5) Has been noted in the diagram above. Deduction: Floor 3 features production models (see clue 2). In fact, the list of possible occupants of the floors is quite limited: F U P F N R S U P F N P S N P Question 14: If two floors display sports cars, then one floor must display family cars. This means that sports cars are displayed on floors 2 and 3 (clue 1) and that family cars are displayed on floor 1. Then floor 3 is S U P, floor 2 is S _ P, and floor 1 is F N _. Since could questions generally focus on parts of the diagram that aren t set, the answer will most likely deal with one of the blank spots. The credited response is answer choice (A).

16 section 1 question 15 Game Three: In this game, a three-by-three diagram would be most appropriate. By combining the information in the first paragraph and the understanding that the floors are numbered 1-3, you should get something like this. F/S N/U P/R 3: U P 2: 1: N And now for the clues... 1) S 2) UR So the only possibilities are UP, NP, or NR. F 3) S _ R So the only possibilities are F _ P, F _ R, S _ P 4) Has been noted in the diagram above. 5) Has been noted in the diagram above. Deduction: Floor 3 features production models (see clue 2). In fact, the list of possible occupants of the floors is quite limited: F U P F N R S U P F N P S N P Question 15: Since this clue gives you no additional information, you can either solve it now (by referring to your deductions) or you can wait until you have more examples to check this against. By using your work from the previous question, you can demonstrate that answer choice (D) could be true. The remaining answer choices are wrong for the following reasons: (A) Research models must be family cars. See your deductions from clue 3. (B) Used cars must be production models. See your deductions from clue 2. (C) Used cars must be production models. See your deductions from clue 2. (E) Production models must be displayed on floor 3. See your deduction from clue 5.

17 section 1 question 16 Game Three: In this game, a three-by-three diagram would be most appropriate. By combining the information in the first paragraph and the understanding that the floors are numbered 1-3, you should get something like this. F/S N/U P/R 3: U P 2: 1: N And now for the clues... 1) S 2) UR So the only possibilities are UP, NP, or NR. F 3) S _ R So the only possibilities are F _ P, F _ R, S _ P 4) Has been noted in the diagram above. 5) Has been noted in the diagram above. Deduction: Floor 3 features production models (see clue 2). In fact, the list of possible occupants of the floors is quite limited: F U P F N R S U P F N P S N P Question 16: This question can be answered from your initial setup. The deduction from clue 5 yields the credited response, which is answer choice (D).

18 section 1 question 17 Game Three: In this game, a three-by-three diagram would be most appropriate. By combining the information in the first paragraph and the understanding that the floors are numbered 1-3, you should get something like this. F/S N/U P/R 3: U P 2: 1: N And now for the clues... 1) S 2) UR So the only possibilities are UP, NP, or NR. F 3) S _ R So the only possibilities are F _ P, F _ R, S _ P 4) Has been noted in the diagram above. 5) Has been noted in the diagram above. Deduction: Floor 3 features production models (see clue 2). In fact, the list of possible occupants of the floors is quite limited: F U P F N R S U P F N P S N P Question 17: If there are research models on two floors, those floors must be 1 and 2 (production models are always on the third floor). Further, research models are always new, family cars (see deductions). So the only spot that is yet to be determined is whether the cars on floor 3 are either family cars or sports cars. Since this is a could question, your answer will most likely deal with this spot. The answer is therefore (E).

19 section 1 question 18 Game Three: In this game, a three-by-three diagram would be most appropriate. By combining the information in the first paragraph and the understanding that the floors are numbered 1-3, you should get something like this. F/S N/U P/R 3: U P 2: 1: N And now for the clues... 1) S 2) UR So the only possibilities are UP, NP, or NR. F 3) S _ R So the only possibilities are F _ P, F _ R, S _ P 4) Has been noted in the diagram above. 5) Has been noted in the diagram above. Deduction: Floor 3 features production models (see clue 2). In fact, the list of possible occupants of the floors is quite limited: F U P F N R S U P F N P S N P Question 18: If all new cars are research models, what else can you demonstrate? This reduces the possible arrangements to F U P, F N R (must be floor 1), and S U P (must be floor 3). The credited response is therefore (D).

20 section 1 question 19 Game Three: In this game, a three-by-three diagram would be most appropriate. By combining the information in the first paragraph and the understanding that the floors are numbered 1-3, you should get something like this. F/S N/U P/R 3: U P 2: 1: N And now for the clues... 1) S 2) UR So the only possibilities are UP, NP, or NR. F 3) S _ R So the only possibilities are F _ P, F _ R, S _ P 4) Has been noted in the diagram above. 5) Has been noted in the diagram above. Deduction: Floor 3 features production models (see clue 2). In fact, the list of possible occupants of the floors is quite limited: F U P F N R S U P F N P S N P Question 19: If all production models are used cars, what can you determine for sure? This reduces the possibilities to F U P, F N R (must be floor 1), and S U P. Answer choice (A) should be looking pretty good by now.

21 section 1 question 20 Game Four: The one element of this game that trips folks up is that people assume that each plane that is flying in the air show has one pilot and one copilot. This restriction is never made in the setup and is simply a function of your expectations of the real world. Once you have disabused yourself of that notion, this game is pretty do-able. So here s a rough diagram to start with... A d Pilots: A,B,C Copilots: d,e,f Now, since planes require a qualified pilot, you may deduce that either B or C must be flying with d in either plane 2 or plane 3 (everyone mentioned is flying in the show, and Dave needs a pilot). This means you can t use both Bob and Cindy in planes 1 and/or 2. This turns out to be the deduction that drives the game. Question 20: If Dave flies in plane 2, then either Bob or Cindy must fly with him. Answer choice (B) should look pretty good to you.

22 section 1 question 21 Game Four: The one element of this game that trips folks up is that people assume that each plane that is flying in the air show has one pilot and one copilot. This restriction is never made in the setup and is simply a function of your expectations of the real world. Once you have disabused yourself of that notion, this game is pretty do-able. So here s a rough diagram to start with... A d Pilots: A,B,C Copilots: d,e,f Now, since planes require a qualified pilot, you may deduce that either B or C must be flying with d in either plane 2 or plane 3 (everyone mentioned is flying in the show, and Dave needs a pilot). This means you can t use both Bob and Cindy in planes 1 and/or 2. This turns out to be the deduction that drives the game. Question 21: If Bob and Anna fly on the same plane (either 1 or 4), then Cindy must fly with Dave (who is either in 2 or 3). Answer choice (C) is the credited response.

23 section 1 question 22 Game Four: The one element of this game that trips folks up is that people assume that each plane that is flying in the air show has one pilot and one copilot. This restriction is never made in the setup and is simply a function of your expectations of the real world. Once you have disabused yourself of that notion, this game is pretty do-able. So here s a rough diagram to start with... A d Pilots: A,B,C Copilots: d,e,f Now, since planes require a qualified pilot, you may deduce that either B or C must be flying with d in either plane 2 or plane 3 (everyone mentioned is flying in the show, and Dave needs a pilot). This means you can t use both Bob and Cindy in planes 1 and/or 2. This turns out to be the deduction that drives the game. Question 22: If Cindy and Fran are the only ones in one of the planes, then Dave must be flying with Bob. Answer choice (D) is the credited response.

24 section 1 question 23 Game Four: The one element of this game that trips folks up is that people assume that each plane that is flying in the air show has one pilot and one copilot. This restriction is never made in the setup and is simply a function of your expectations of the real world. Once you have disabused yourself of that notion, this game is pretty do-able. So here s a rough diagram to start with... A d Pilots: A,B,C Copilots: d,e,f Now, since planes require a qualified pilot, you may deduce that either B or C must be flying with d in either plane 2 or plane 3 (everyone mentioned is flying in the show, and Dave needs a pilot). This means you can t use both Bob and Cindy in planes 1 and/or 2. This turns out to be the deduction that drives the game. Question 23: Who can fly in plane 1? First, you need to make sure that either Bob or Cindy is available to fly with Dave in either plane 2 or plane 3. This allows you to eliminate answer choices (A), (C), and (D). You can eliminate answer choice (E) because Dave must fly in either plane 2 or plane 3. The credited response is therefore (B).

25 section 1 question 24 Game Four: The one element of this game that trips folks up is that people assume that each plane that is flying in the air show has one pilot and one copilot. This restriction is never made in the setup and is simply a function of your expectations of the real world. Once you have disabused yourself of that notion, this game is pretty do-able. So here s a rough diagram to start with... A d Pilots: A,B,C Copilots: d,e,f Now, since planes require a qualified pilot, you may deduce that either B or C must be flying with d in either plane 2 or plane 3 (everyone mentioned is flying in the show, and Dave needs a pilot). This means you can t use both Bob and Cindy in planes 1 and/or 2. This turns out to be the deduction that drives the game. Question 24: To maximize the number of people in plane 4, only use the minimum possible number of folks in other planes. Dave must be in plane 2 or plane 3, and Dave needs a pilot. The remaining four people could all be in plane 4, so the credited response is (C).

26 section 2 question 1 Question 1: As far as parallel the reasoning questions go, this one is pretty straightforward. The general structure of the argument is A à B; B à C; therfore A à C. This structure is matched precisely by answer choice (C). If you attempted this question and missed it, please remember that parallel the reasoning questions are the hardest type of question on the test and should generally be done last, if at all.

27 section 2 question 2 Question 2: Identify the flaw. The argument concludes that one s astrological birth sign influences one s personality. This conclusion is based on the results of a personality test provided by folks who were born under the sign of Gemini who also volunteered to be interviewed on a television program. Because the people who took the personality test were not selected at random, you should consider what else might be responsible for the observed results of the personality test. In this case, it is certainly likely that the kinds of people who would volunteer to be interviewed on television might also be the kinds of people who are generally more sociable and extroverted than people are on average. In sum, the flaw in the argument is that a conclusion is based on a poor experimental design, and that there is an equally (if not more) viable explanation for the observed results. (A) This answer choice requires too broad an assumption (that it matters who gave the test) to be relevant to the argument. (B) Given that the argument states that one s astrological birth sign influences one s personality, it should be expected that folks born under other signs might be less sociable than Geminis are. (C) Other people are not relevant to this argument. (D) The relative proportions of people born under different astrological signs is not relevant to this argument. (E) This is the credited response. It proposes another reason for the observed experimental results.

28 section 2 question 3 Question 3: Assumption. The main point of the argument is that North American children can be made physically fit only if they participate in school calisthenics on a daily basis (if they don t participate in school calisthenics, they cannot be made phyisically fit). The author assumes both that the difference in observed fitness levels is due to the daily school calisthenics program (or lack thereof) and that the daily school calisthenics program is the only method that can achieve the goal of physical fitness (just because that s the way European children are made physically fit, that doesn t mean that similar levels of physical fitness couldn t be reached in North America by some other means). (A) No. The argument claims that children cannot be made physically fit in the absence of a daily school calisthenics program. The argument does not claim that a daily school calisthenics program guarantees physical fitness. (B) No claims are made about making anybody equally physically fit. (C) No claims are made about health. Any associations you re making between physical fitness and health are coming from your experience and not the argument. (D) This is the credited response. See the above analysis for more detail. (E) Nutrition is never discussed in the argument and is therefore not relevant.

29 section 2 question 4 Question 4: Inference. The argument begins by claiming that if a building is both inviting and functional, then it must be unobtrusive (contrapositive: if a building is not unobtrusive, then it is either not inviting or not functional). The argument also claims that modern architects have violated this precept and have produced buildings that are not functional. It follows then that architects have created buildings that are not unobtrusive (because the argument claims they have violated the precept at the beginning of the argument). (A) This is backwards. The argument does not claim that all unobtrusive architecture is both inviting and functional. Instead it claims that if a building is not unobtrusive, it cannot be both inviting and functional. (B) This is the credited response. Note the relationship to the original conditional statement. (C) Although architects who let their strong personalities take over their work cannot produce buildings that function well for public use, it is unclear whether all architects with strong personalities let their personalities take over their work. Because this issue is unresolved, you cannot properly draw this inference. (D) Although a building that takes second place to the environment is unobtrusive, that by itself is not enough to guarantee that the building functions well for public use. (E) A work of architecture that has been taken over by the strong personality of the architect cannot be both functional for public use and inviting. It is possible that the work is not inviting but is functional for public use. See the contrapositive of the original conditional statement for more detail.

30 section 2 question 5 Question 5: Flaw. Find the answer choice that constitutes the most direct attack on the argument as it is presented. The main point of the argument is that the funding of the megatelescope will benefit a much broader range of people than critics claim. The argument is supported by an appeal to the relevance of research done by Maxwell, Newton, and Einstein. The claim that these previous instances are relevant to the author s point is not supported by the argument in any way, so your answer should focus on that aspect. (A) The argument does not appeal to the authority of experts. Instead it attempts to draw an analogy by referring to the accomplishments of luminaries in their field. (B) The identity of the people opposed to the megatelescope is not relevant to the argument. (C) No personal attack is made. The point of view is attacked. (D) These types of answers are rarely, if ever, right on the. (E) This is the credited response. See the above analysis for more detail.

31 section 2 question 6 Question 6: How is the argument made? The main point is that the fare increase must be implemented. The argument is supported by a claim that not increasing the fare will have negative consequences. (A) The issue of whether the recommended course of action would have no undesirable consequences is never addressed. (B) The argument doesn t address every alternative position as far as we know. (C) This is the credited response. The main point is supported by arguing against an alternative. (D) Actually, a flaw in the argument is that it fails to do just that. That is, a 40 percent fare increase could very well result in an unacceptably large loss of ridership. (E) No appeal is made to past experience. The argument s entire focus is on the future.

32 section 2 question 7 Question 7: Inference. You are told that those who participate in local politics have an influence on the community s values; and of those people who participate in local politics, some have a genuine interest in public service and some are selfish opportunists. You may conclude then that there is at least one person who has a genuine interest in public service who has an influence on the community s values and that there is at least one person who is a selfish opportunist who has an influence on the community s values. (A) This is the credited response. Some people who participate in local politics are selfish opportunists, and all of those people (the selfish opportunists who participate in local politics) have an influence on the community s values. (B) This may or may not be true. There is nothing in the passage that gives definitive information about all people who are interested in public service. (C) This may or may not be true. There is nothing in the passage that gives definitive information about all people who have an influence on the community s values. (D) This may or may not be true. There is nothing in the passage that gives definitive information about all people who have an influence on the community s values. (E) This may or may not be true. There is nothing in the passage that gives definitive information about all people who have an influence on the community s values.

33 section 2 question 8 Questions 8-9 Nondairy coffee lighteners, which contain no cholesterol, raise the consumer s blood cholesterol more than does an equal amount of whole milk, which contains cholesterol. The argument also claims that nondairy coffee lighteners contain much more saturated fat than whole milk does. Question 8: Resolve the paradox. How can something with no cholesterol raise blood cholesterol more than something that does contain cholesterol will? (A) What nutritionists recommend makes no impact on the observed paradox. (B) This is the credited response. It explains the paradox by making an explicit link between saturated fat and blood cholesterol levels. (C) Light cream is not relevant to this argument. (D) Nondairy coffee lighteners made without coconut oil are not relevant to this argument. (E) This answer fails to address the relation between these two things and blood cholesterol levels.

34 section 2 question 9 Questions 8-9 Nondairy coffee lighteners, which contain no cholesterol, raise the consumer s blood cholesterol more than does an equal amount of whole milk, which contains cholesterol. The argument also claims that nondairy coffee lighteners contain much more saturated fat than whole milk does. Question 9: Strengthen the claim that the use of coffee lighteners based on coconut oil raise blood cholesterol levels less than whole milk does. Keep in mind that it has been established that if equal amounts of the two are used then you would expect to see the opposite of what the manufacturers claim. The only way this could be true is that if people generally use less coffee lighteners than whole milk per cup of coffee. (A) The argument is about the relative impact that two products have on blood cholesterol levels. Whether one group typically has a different level of blood cholesterol than the other is not relevant to an evaluation of this issue. (B) The argument is about the relative impact that two products have on blood cholesterol levels. Other behaviors that the two groups may engage in are not relevant to an evaluation of this issue. (C) Coffee lighteners not based on coconut oil are not relevant to the argument. (D) This is the credited response. See the above analysis for more detail. (E) What consumers believe is not relevant to the argument.

35 section 2 question 10 Question 10: Inference. Focus on the last sentence, which when translated into a conditional statement reads If you can t solve your financial problems, then you and those around you cannot be happy. The contrapositive is of course If you can be happy then you have solved your financial problems. (A) The fact that serious financial problems make people unhappy is not sufficient grounds to support a claim that trivial problems never make people unhappy. (B) This is an incorrect application of the contrapositive. (C) This is an incorrect application of the contrapositive of the first sentence of the argument. (D) This is an incorrect application of the contrapositive. (E) This is the credited response. See the above analysis for more detail.

36 section 2 question 11 Question 11: How is the argument reasoned? The argument begins by stating a principle that the compensation for doing a job should be proportionate to the effort it takes to do the job. The author undermines this principle by claiming that undesirable consequences would arise from its application (that is, people who are the least inclined or least able to do a certain job would be paid the most to do it). (A) The author is opposed to the stated principle. (B) No evidence is discussed. The argument is pure speculation about future events. (C) Nothing is demonstrated in this argument. It is pure speculation. (D) This is the credited response. Notice how there is no reference to actual events here, which is why it is referred to as an attempt to undermine a general principle. (E) It is not the application of the principle that the author finds troublesome. It is the results of the application of the principle that the author finds objectionable.

37 section 2 question 12 Question 12: Assumption. The argument concludes that photovoltaic power plants offer a less expensive approach to meeting demand for electricity than do traditional power plants. The reason provided is that the cost of producing power at photovoltaic power plants has dropped to one-tenth of what it was while the cost of producing power at traditional power plants has increased. For the main point to be true, the production costs of the two types of power plants would have to have been close enough for the cost reduction of producing power at photovoltaic power plants to cause it to end up being less expensive than the cost of producing power at traditional power plants. (A) This statement is made in the argument and as such is not a necessary assumption. (B) It s not the amount of power that is important, it s the cost of producing the power that matters. (C) This issue is never addressed and is therefore not relevant to the argument. (D) This is the credited response. See the above analysis for more detail. (E) Since the argument is about the present, answer choices that deal with predicting the future are not relevant.

38 section 2 question 13 Question 13: Parallel the reasoning. The argument has a pretty basic, yet flawed, logical structure (If A then B, B, therefore A). The credited response, although the elements are presented in a different order, is answer choice (A).

39 section 2 question 14 Question 14: Weaken Quincy s argument. Quincy attempts to undermine Pamela s argument by using the past success of the policy that Pamela argues against as evidence that the policy need not be changed. Quincy is assuming that the circumstances surrounding the success of the policy in the past have not changed so substantially as to make the past irrelevant. An effective counter that Pamela could make would undermine this assumption. (A) This would strengthen Quincy s argument by reinforcing the assumption that the past is like the present. (B) This is the credited response. It introduces a difference between today and the past and therefore causes us to question whether the fact that something has worked in the past is sufficient evidence to support a claim that it will continue to happen today. (C) This would strengthen Qunicy s argument as it provides a reason that a patient should be with the same physician for an extended period of time. (D) The fact that the workload varies from specialty to specialty casts no light on whether today and the past are comparable in the way that Quincy assumes. This answer choice is therefore irrelevant to the argument. (E) This would strengthen Qunicy s argument as it gives a rationale for the behavior he is trying to defend.

40 section 2 question 15 Question 15: Assumption. The argument begins by stating an observed correlation between viewing violent television programs and violent behavior in play by children. The argument concludes that violence can be prevented by preventing children from watching violence on television. The argument, by drawing a conclusion that there is a causal relationship between the violent programming content and actual violence, assumes that there are no other causes at work for the violent behavior that has been observed. (A) This answer is too broad. The argument is talking about one type of television content having one effect on one specific group. (B) Parents are never directly mentioned in the argument, so no assumptions will be drawn about them. (C) The author claims that they are related: one causes the other. (D) This is the credited response. When the author draws his conclusion about the causal relationship between viewing violence and violent behavior, the author assumes that there are no other contributing factors (such as one group of children being inherently more violent than the other). (E) Children who are treated violently are not relevant to this argument.

41 section 2 question 16 Question 16: Weaken. The main point is that claims that the dumping of nuclear waste pose no threat to the people living nearby aren t being made with certainty. The reason that the author gives is that nuclear waste is dumped in sparsely populated areas, and this is a sure sign that the people dumping nuclear waste have concerns about its impact on peoples health. The argument assumes that there is no other reason to dump nuclear waste in unpopulated areas, and an answer choice that will weaken the argument will bring this assumption into question. (A) Since this consideration is directly related to the questionable safety of nuclear waste, it certainly will not weaken the argument. (B) Since this consideration is directly related to the questionable safety of nuclear waste, it certainly will not weaken the argument. (C) This is the credited response. It gives another reason that nuclear waste would be dumped in sparsely populated areas. (D) Chemical waste is irrelevant to the argument. (E) Does this mean that policymakers think that nuclear waste is unsafe?

42 section 2 question 17 Question 17: Strengthen. The argument claims that although the infant mortality rate in the United States has been steadily declining, this is not necessarily a sign that babies are healthier at birth than they were in the past. For the author s argument to be true, mortality rate and health need to be viewed as separate issues. (A) Since the argument is about the United States as a whole, regional variances in infant mortality rate are not relevant to the argument. (B) The reasons that infants die does not address the author s argument that decreased infant mortality is not necessarily a sign of improved health in babies in the United States. (C) This is the credited response. The improvement in the infant mortality rate is a function of developing technology and not of the improved health of babies in the United States. (D) Since the argument is about the United States as a whole, what happens in particular states is not relevant to the argument. (E) This fact has no bearing on either infant mortality or the general health of babies in the United States at birth.

43 section 2 question 18 Question 18: Main point. Although survey data indicates that money troubles appear to be the major problem in contemporary marriages, this isn t necessarily true. The author doubts the validity of the survey data because other types of marital frustrations are often expressed in financial terms. (A) The author states that the survey data is inconclusive. This answer choice is making too strong a statement given the presentation of the argument. (B) How maritial problems might be solved is not relevant to the argument. (C) This is the credited response. The author s point is that the conclusions drawn from the survey data might not be accurate. (D) This is a reason supporting the argument that the author of the passage is challenging. Further, because this is an unsupported claim, it can t reasonably be called the main point of any argument. (E) Whether the claim is wrong or not is not addressed by the argument. The author merely states that the data doesn t necessarily support Raghnall s claim.

44 section 2 question 19 Question 19: Describe the author s reasoning. The author gives an alternative interpretation of a set of data to bring into question a conclusion drawn from that data. (A) No specfic counterexamples are provided. (B) This is the credited response. The author posits that the data may be misleading because other marital problems are often expressed in financial terms. (C) It s not that one can t prove the presence of an emotion that is the problem, it s that one can t necessarily discount other possible explanations of the data that is the problem. (D) It s not the survey that is criticized, it s the interpretation of the survey data that is questioned. (E) The fact that couples often express other types of marital frustrations in financial terms isn t necessarily the same thing as saying that couples cannot accurately describe their own problems.

45 section 2 question 20 Question 20: Find the answer that does not weaken the argument. Keep in mind that the test writers often use an irrelevant point as the credited response because they know that you are going to be looking for an answer that strengthens the argument. However, since irrelevant points do not weaken arguments, you need to allow for that outcome. The argument s main point is that there is no reason to fear that domestic honey production in the United States will decline if local honeybees are displaced by Africanized honeybees. The argument is supported by a supposedly analagous situation in Brazil. To weaken the argument, demonstrate that the supposed similarities between the two situations don t actually exist. (A) This weakens the argument by pointing out that domestic honeybees in Brazil are different than domestic honeybees in the United States. It might be that the domestic honeybees in the United States are much better honey producers than the domestic honeybees in Brazil, and a comparison between Brazilian bees and Africanized bees is not really relevant to an argument about the United States. (B) This weakens the argument by giving a reason that domestic honey production in the United States might decline if Africanized bees were introduced. (C) This is the credited response. This answer choice has nothing to do with honey production. (D) This weakens the argument by giving a reason that domestic honey production would decline. (E) This weakens the argument by demonstrating that the United States is a much less suitable environment for Africanized honeybees than Brazil is.

46 section 2 question 21 Question 21: Assumption. The argument s main point is that Western diets better protect against cerebral hemorrhage (which is caused in part by low blood cholesterol level) than do non-western diets. The author must assume that a Western diet results in higher blood cholesterol levels than do non-western diets. (A) Whether one diet is healthier than the other is not addressed. Since each diet increases the incidence of one type of stroke, you can t even draw a conclusion if you were to presume that incidence of stroke was sufficient to judge the relative health of a diet. (B) This is the credited response. See the above analysis for more detail. (C) Although low blood cholesterol weakens artery walls, you cannot say for sure that high blood cholesterol levels prevent the weakening of artery walls in all cases. There may be other reasons that artery walls could be weakened that are not addressed by this argument. (D) The relative danger of the two types of strokes are never discussed. (E) Blood pressure is never discussed and is therefore not relevant to the argument.

47 section 2 question 22 Question 22: Inference. The argument states that if the country is to remain a leading nation in an era of international competitiveness, then there is a need for better understanding of international affairs by the citizenry (A à B). Also, the argument states that if there is a need for better understanding of international affairs by the citizenry, then all new teachers must be prepared to teach their subject matter with an international orientation (B à C). Therefore, if the country is to remain a leading nation in an era of international competitiveness, then all new teachers must be prepared to teach their subject matter with an international orientation (A à C). This is why the credited response is (A).