LSAT Inference from Passages 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A passage states: 'All mammals are warm-blooded. Whales are mammals.' Which conclusion is most strongly supported?
- Whales are warm-blooded (Correct answer)
- Whales breathe air
- Whales are the largest mammals
- Warm-blooded animals live in water
Correct answer: Whales are warm-blooded
The two premises logically entail that whales, as mammals, must be warm-blooded.
Question 2: A passage notes that sales of electric vehicles rose 40% when gas prices increased, and fell 10% when gas prices stabilized. What can most reasonably be inferred?
- Electric vehicles are becoming cheaper to produce
- Consumer demand for EVs is sensitive to gas price fluctuations (Correct answer)
- Gas prices will continue to rise in the future
- Electric vehicles will eventually replace gas-powered cars
Correct answer: Consumer demand for EVs is sensitive to gas price fluctuations
The correlation between gas price changes and EV sales strongly suggests demand sensitivity to fuel costs.
Question 3: A passage describes a study where participants who slept fewer than six hours scored lower on memory tests than those who slept eight hours. Which inference is best supported?
- Sleep deprivation permanently damages memory
- Adequate sleep may be important for memory performance (Correct answer)
- Eight hours is the optimal sleep duration for all people
- Poor memory causes people to sleep less
Correct answer: Adequate sleep may be important for memory performance
The study supports a link between sleep duration and memory performance without establishing causation or permanence.
Question 4: A passage states that a city's crime rate fell after a new policing program began, but also notes that unemployment dropped during the same period. What can best be inferred?
- The policing program caused the crime rate to fall
- Multiple factors may have contributed to the crime rate decline (Correct answer)
- Unemployment is the primary driver of crime rates
- The policing program should be expanded to other cities
Correct answer: Multiple factors may have contributed to the crime rate decline
The presence of two concurrent changes means the crime drop cannot be attributed solely to one factor.
Question 5: A passage argues that classical music education improves spatial reasoning in children. The author mentions that students in music programs also tend to have higher math scores. What can most reasonably be inferred?
- Music education directly causes higher math scores
- Spatial reasoning and math performance may be related (Correct answer)
- Children with higher math scores prefer classical music
- Music education is the best way to improve academic performance
Correct answer: Spatial reasoning and math performance may be related
The co-occurrence of improved spatial reasoning and math scores supports a possible relationship between the two abilities.
Question 6: A legal passage states: 'No contract formed under duress is enforceable. The defendant signed the agreement under duress.' Which conclusion follows?
- The agreement is unenforceable (Correct answer)
- The defendant had no intent to contract
- Duress is a common defense in contract cases
- The plaintiff acted illegally
Correct answer: The agreement is unenforceable
Applying the general rule directly to the specific case yields the conclusion that the agreement is unenforceable.
Question 7: A passage states that species diversity in a forest increased after controlled burns were introduced, while it had been declining for decades before. What is the most reasonable inference?
- Controlled burns are harmful to forest ecosystems
- The absence of fire may have contributed to declining diversity (Correct answer)
- Controlled burns increase tree density
- Declining diversity was caused by climate change
Correct answer: The absence of fire may have contributed to declining diversity
The reversal in diversity trend after introducing burns suggests fire absence may have played a role in the prior decline.
LSAT Inference from Passages 2
A passage states: 'All mammals are warm-blooded.
Whales are mammals.' Which conclusion is most strongly supported?