LSAT-TEST Online Practice Questions and Answers

Joseph: My encyclopedia says that the mathematician Pierre de Fermat died in 1665 without leaving behind any written proof for a theorem that he claimed nonetheless to have proved. Probably this alleged theorem simply cannot be proved, since ?as the article points out ?no one else has been able to prove it. Therefore, it is likely that Fermat was either lying or else mistaken when he made his claim. Laura: Your encyclopedia is out of date. Recently someone has in fact proved Fermat's theorem. And since the theorem is provable, your claim ?that Fermat was lying or mistaken ?clearly is wrong.

Joseph's statement that "this alleged theorem simply cannot be proved" plays which one of the following roles in his argument?

A. an assumption for which no support is offered

B. a subsidiary conclusion on which his argument's main conclusion is based

C. a potential objection that his argument anticipates and attempts to answer before it is raised

D. the principal claim that his argument is structured to refute

E. background information that neither supports nor undermines his argument's conclusion

The organizer of a reading club will select at least five and at most six works from a group of nine works.

The group consists of three French novels, three Russian novels, two French plays, and one Russian play.

The organizer's selection of works must conform to the following requirements:

No more than four French works are selected.

At least three but no more than four novels are selected.

At least as many French novels as Russian novels are selected.

If both French plays are selected, then the Russian play is not selected.

If the works selected include three French novels, which one of the following could be a complete and

accurate list of the remaining works selected?

A. one Russian novel

B. two French plays

C. one Russian novel, one Russian play

D. one Russian novel, two French plays

E. two Russian novels, one French play

Editorial: The premier's economic advisor assures her that with the elimination of wasteful spending the goal of reducing taxes while not significantly decreasing government services can be met. But the premier should not listen to this advisor, who in his youth was convicted of embezzlement. Surely his economic advice is as untrustworthy as he is himself, and so the premier should discard any hope of reducing taxes without a significant decrease in government services.

Which one of the following is a questionable argumentative strategy employed in the editorial's argument?

A. rejecting a proposal on the grounds that a particular implementation of the proposal is likely to fail

B. trying to win support for a proposal by playing on people's fears of what could happen otherwise

C. criticizing the source of a claim rather than examining the claim itself

D. taking lack of evidence for a claim as evidence undermining that claim

E. presupposing what it sets out to establish

The same task triggers different levels of awareness of one's surroundings, called environmental awareness, in different individuals. Mathematical puzzles, for example, cause most people to increase such an awareness. Some people -- those who formulate the answer visually, imagining the numbers in their mind's eye -- will, in an attempt to freeze the picture, experience a decrease in environmental awareness while solving the puzzle. Other people's environmental awareness may rise during the exercise, because their brains are signaling a rest at the end of every stage of problem solving.

Which one of the following is most strongly supported by the information above?

A. There are some people for whom mathematical puzzles do not cause an increase in their level of environmental awareness.

B. People who visually formulate answers differ from other problem solvers in that the former are aware of their surroundings.

C. People tend to be more aware of their surroundings when solving mathematical problems than when solving nonmathematical problems.

D. Mathematical problem solvers who rely on visual techniques become aware of their surroundings only during periods of rest.

E. Mathematical problem solving requires frequent periods of rest in the form of increased awareness of the problem solver's surroundings.

Raphaela: Forcing people to help others is morally wrong. Therefore, no government has the right to redistribute resources via taxation. Anyone who wants can help others voluntarily. Edward: Governments do have that right, insofar as they give people the freedom to leave and hence not to live under their authority.

Raphaela and Edward disagree about the truth of which one of the following?

A. Any government that does not permit emigration would be morally wrong to redistribute resources via taxation.

B. Any government that permits emigration has the right to redistribute resources via taxation.

C. Every government should allow people to help others voluntarily.

D. Any government that redistributes resources via taxation forces people to help others.

E. Any government that forces people to help others should permit emigration.

Each of seven television programs -- H, J, L, P, Q, S, V -- is assigned a different rank: from first through seventh (from most popular to least popular). The ranking is consistent with the following conditions:

J and L are each less popular than H.

J is more popular than Q.

S and V are each less popular than L.

P and S are each less popular than Q.

S is not seventh.

Which one of the following could be the order of the programs, from most popular to least popular?

A. J, H,L, Q, V, S,P

B. H, L, Q, J, S, P, V

C. H, J, Q,L, S.V.P

D. H, J, V,L, Q, S,P

E. H, L, V, J, Q, P, S

Conflict had existed between Spain and England since the 1570s. England wanted a share of the wealth that Spain had been taking from the lands it had claimed in the Americas. Elizabeth I, Queen of England, encouraged her staunch admiral of the navy, Sir Francis Drake, to raid Spanish ships and towns. Though these raids were on a small scale, Drake achieved dramatic success, adding gold and silver to England's treasury and diminishing Spain's omnipotence. Religious differences also caused conflict between the two countries. Whereas Spain was Roman Catholic, most of England had become Protestant. King Philip II of Spain wanted to claim the throne and make England a Catholic country again. To satisfy his ambition and also to retaliate against England's theft of his gold and silver, King Philip began to build his fleet of warships, the Armada, in January 1586. Philip intended his fleet to be indestructible. In addition to building new warships, he marshaled one hundred and thirty sailing vessels of all types and recruited more than nineteen thousand robust soldiers and eight thousand sailors. Although some of his ships lacked guns and others lacked ammunition, Philip was convinced that his Armada could withstand any battle with England.

The martial Armada set sail from Lisbon, Portugal, on May 9,1588, but bad weather forced it back to port. The voyage resumed on July 22 after the weather became more stable. The Spanish fleet met the smaller, faster, and more maneuverable English ships in battle off the coast of Plymouth, England, first on July 31 and again on August 2. The two battles left Spain vulnerable, having lost several ships and with its ammunition depleted. On August 7, while the Armada lay at anchor on the French side of the Strait of Dover, England sent eight burning ships into the midst of the Spanish fleet to set it on fire. Blocked on one side, the Spanish ships could only drift away, their crews in panic and disorder. Before the Armada could regroup, the English attacked again on August 8. Although the Spaniards made a valiant effort to fight back, the fleet suffered extensive damage. During the eight hours of battle, the Armada drifted perilously close to the rocky coastline. At the moment when it seemed that the Spanish ships would be driven onto the English shore, the wind shifted, and the Armada drifted out into the North Sea. The Spaniards recognized the superiority of the English fleet and returned home, defeated.

Sir Francis Drake added wealth to the treasury and diminished Spain's __________.

A. unlimited power

B. unrestricted growth

C. territory

D. treaties

E. answer not available in article

The Trojan War is one of the most famous wars in history. It is well known for the ten year duration, for the heroism of a number of legendary characters, and for the Trojan horse. What may not be familiar, however, is the story of how the war began. According to Greek myth, the strife between the Trojans and the Greeks started at the wedding of Peleus, King of Thessaly, and Thetis, a sea nymph. All of the gods and goddesses had been invited to the wedding celebration in Troy except Eris, goddesses of discord. She had been omitted from the guest list because her presence always embroiled mortals and immortals alike in conflict. To take revenge on those who had slighted her, Eris decided to cause a skirmish. Into the middle of the banquet hall, she threw a golden apple marked "for the most beautiful." All of the goddesses began to haggle over who should possess it. The gods and goddesses reached a stalemate when the choice was narrowed to Hera, Athena, and Aphrodite. Someone was needed to settle the controversy by picking a winner. The job eventually fell to Paris, son of King Priam of Troy, who was said to be a good judge of beauty. Paris did not have an easy job. Each goddess, eager to win the golden apple, tried aggressively to bribe him. "I'll grant you vast kingdoms to rule," promised Hera. "Vast kingdoms are nothing in comparison with my gift," contradicted Athena. "Choose me and I'll see that you win victory and fame in war." Aphrodite outdid her adversaries, however. She won the golden apple by offering Helen, Zeus' daughter and the most beautiful mortal, to Paris. Paris, anxious to claim Helen, set off for Sparta in Greece. Although Paris learned that Helen was married, he accepted the hospitality of her husband, King Menelasu of Sparta, anyway. Therefore, Menelaus was outraged for a number of reasons when Paris departed, taking Helen and much of the king's wealth back to Troy. Menelaus collected his loyal forces and set sail for Troy to begin the war to reclaim Helen.

Eris was known for ________________ both mortals and immortals.

A. scheming against

B. involving in conflict

C. feeling hostile toward

D. ignoring

E. comforting

China wants to avoid financial collapse of their economy. In order to do this, China must raise their gross national product rate by 33%. China's economy is structured so that if the 33% increase in GNP is reached, then it is possible for a 50% GNP increase.

Of the following statements listed below, which one must be true if we are to assume the above statements are also true?

A. China's economy will fall, if China's 50% increase in GNP is unattainable.

B. China's GNP will not have a 50% increase, if its economy falls.

C. The economy of China will not fall, if it can obtain an increased GNP of 50%.

D. A 17% GNP increase will be unattainable, if China continues to suffer national conflict.

E. A 71% increase is possible, if the 33% brink is achieved, and the 50% GNP increase is attainable.

In a school, 9 students, Andrew, Bach, Caesar, Drew, Elena, Fischer, Grant, Hughes, and Ileana are selected to form 3 debate teams – Team A, Team B and Team C - to participate in interschool competitions. The following information is known: Each team will have exactly 3 students and no student can be a part of more than one team Caesar cannot be selected in Team A if Ileana is not selected in Team A as well Andrew and Bach are in the same team and so are Elena and Grant Andrew and Caesar are not in the same team Bach and Ileana are not in the same team Drew and Elena are not in the same team

In the previous question, in how many possible ways can the members of the other two teams be decided?

A. One

B. Two

C. Three

D. Four

E. Six