Free LSAT Analytical Reasoning Questions and Answers — Questions and Answers
Question 1: For a new project, a landscape architect is choosing trees. Seven different tree species are available for the architect to select from: a Maple, a River Birch, an Oak, a Sycamore, a Chestnut, a Blue Spruce, and a Pine. There are two separate areas, named area 1 and area 2, in which the trees will be planted. The trees must be planted in accordance with the following constraints: <br> <br> ‥ Each area contains three different types of trees, and there are only three types of trees in each area. <br> ‥ The same type of tree cannot be planted more than once in either area. <br> ‥ If an area contains a river birch, then the area cannot contain either a blue spruce or a pine. <br> ‥ If an area has a sycamore tree, it must also contain either a river birch or an oak. <br> ‥ Any area that contains an oak must also contain a maple. <br> <br> Which of the following tree options is suitable for both areas?
- (Area 1: Oak, Sycamore, Maple) (Area 2: Blue Spruce, Pine, River Birch)
- (Area 1: Maple, Sycamore, River Birch) (Area 2: Blue Spruce, Chestnut, Oak)
- (Area 1: Maple, River Birch, Chestnut) (Area 2: Sycamore, Oak, Blue Spruce)
- (Area 1: Sycamore, River Birch, Maple) (Area 2: Blue Spruce, Pine, Chestnut) (Correct answer)
- (Area 1: Chestnut, Maple, Oak) (Area 2: Sycamore, River Birch, Chestnut)
Correct answer: (Area 1: Sycamore, River Birch, Maple) (Area 2: Blue Spruce, Pine, Chestnut)
Human blood is red, and under the renaming scheme that color's label is traced through the substitution list to 'green,' so green is the answer the puzzle intends. The other options do not match the result of applying the renaming chain to blood's true color.
Question 2: For a new project, a landscape architect is choosing trees. Seven different tree species are available for the architect to select from: a Maple, a River Birch, an Oak, a Sycamore, a Chestnut, a Blue Spruce, and a Pine. The trees will be planted in two different locations, designated as area 1 and area 2, respectively. The following restrictions must be followed while planting the trees: <br> <br> ‥ There are only three distinct tree species in each area, and there are three different species in each area. <br> ‥ In any location, no more than one tree of the same kind may be planted. <br> ‥ If a river birch is present, neither a blue spruce nor a pine may grow there. <br> ‥ A river birch or an oak must also be present where there is a sycamore tree. <br> ‥ Where there is an oak, there must also be a maple. <br> <br> Which of the following CANNOT be true?
- A pine is not selected.
- A Sycamore and a Maple are planted in area 2.
- A river birch is not selected.
- A blue spruce is in area 1 and a Pine is in area 2. (Correct answer)
- An oak and a chestnut tree are both in area 1.
Correct answer: A blue spruce is in area 1 and a Pine is in area 2.
Area 1 (Sycamore, River Birch, Maple) is valid: the sycamore is paired with a river birch as required, and the river birch's presence is fine since no blue spruce or pine joins it. Area 2 (Blue Spruce, Pine, Chestnut) breaks no rule since it has no river birch, sycamore, or oak. Every other option violates a constraint—e.g., a river birch sharing an area with blue spruce/pine, or an oak with no maple.
Question 3: For a new project, a landscape architect is choosing trees. Seven different tree species are available for the architect to select from: a Maple, a River Birch, an Oak, a Sycamore, a Chestnut, a Blue Spruce, and a Pine. The trees will be planted in two different locations, designated as area 1 and area 2, respectively. The following restrictions must be followed while planting the trees: <br> <br> ‥ There are only three distinct tree species in each area, and there are three different species in each area. <br> ‥ In any location, no more than one tree of the same kind may be planted. <br> ‥ If a river birch is present, neither a blue spruce nor a pine may grow there. <br> ‥ A river birch or an oak must also be present where there is a sycamore tree. <br> ‥ Where there is an oak, there must also be a maple. <br> <br> If a Chestnut is planted in area 1, and a River Birch is in area 2 which of the following could be true?
- A sycamore is planted in area 1.
- Neither a blue spruce nor a pine is planted in area 1.
- A maple is not planted in area 2.
- An oak is planted in area 1.
- An oak is not planted in area 2. (Correct answer)
Correct answer: An oak is not planted in area 2.
If blue spruce is in area 1 and pine in area 2, neither area can hold a river birch alongside them, which leaves no legal way to fill the third slots: a sycamore needs a river birch or oak, and an oak demands a maple, and you run out of compatible species. So this combination cannot be satisfied. The other choices can each be built into a valid arrangement.
Question 4: For a new project, a landscape architect is choosing trees. Seven different tree species are available for the architect to select from: a Maple, a River Birch, an Oak, a Sycamore, a Chestnut, a Blue Spruce, and a Pine. The trees will be planted in two different locations, designated as area 1 and area 2, respectively. The following restrictions must be followed while planting the trees: <br> <br> ‥ There are only three distinct tree species in each area, and there are three different species in each area. <br> ‥ In any location, no more than one tree of the same kind may be planted. <br> ‥ If a river birch is present, neither a blue spruce nor a pine may grow there. <br> ‥ A river birch or an oak must also be present where there is a sycamore tree. <br> ‥ Where there is an oak, there must also be a maple. <br> <br> Which of the following CANNOT be true?
- A river birch is selected but a blue spruce is not.
- A chestnut is in area 2 and river birch is not selected.
- A sycamore is not selected.
- An oak and maple in area 1.
- A river birch and sycamore are in area 1 and a chestnut is not selected. (Correct answer)
Correct answer: A river birch and sycamore are in area 1 and a chestnut is not selected.
With chestnut in area 1 and river birch in area 2, area 2 can be completed as river birch + sycamore (satisfied by the birch) + maple or chestnut, leaving oak out entirely, so 'an oak is not planted in area 2' could be true. The other options are forced to be false—e.g., area 2's river birch bars blue spruce/pine and the conditional rules block the alternatives they assert.
Question 5: In preparation for a new project, a landscape architect is choosing trees. A Maple, a River Birch, an Oak, a Sycamore, a Chestnut, a Blue Spruce, and a Pine are the 7 tree kinds the architect must select from. The planting of the trees will take place in two distinct locations, designated as area 1 and area 2, respectively. In order to plant the trees, the following restrictions must be followed: <br> <br> ‥ There are only three distinct tree species in each area, and there are three different species in each area. <br> ‥ In any location, no more than one tree of the same kind may be planted. <br> ‥ If a river birch is present, neither a blue spruce nor a pine may grow there. <br> ‥ A river birch or an oak must also be present where there is a sycamore tree. <br> ‥ Where there is an oak, there must also be a maple. <br> <br> If a sycamore is not selected, which of the following must be true?
- A river birch and a maple are not planted in the same area.
- A chestnut is planted in the same area as a blue spruce, but not in the same area as a pine.
- A chestnut is planted in the same area as a blue spruce, but not in the same area as a pine.
- An oak is planted with a blue spruce.
- A blue spruce and pine are in the same area. (Correct answer)
Correct answer: A blue spruce and pine are in the same area.
If river birch and sycamore fill area 1 with chestnut excluded, the remaining six species must exactly fill all six slots, forcing blue spruce and pine into area 2 (they can't share with the river birch). That leaves area 2 needing oak without a maple, which violates the oak-requires-maple rule, so this scenario cannot be true. The other options can all be realized in a legal layout.
Question 6: A new project's trees are being chosen by a landscape architect. Seven different tree species must be chosen by the architect: a Maple, a River Birch, an Oak, a Sycamore, a Chestnut, a Blue Spruce, and a Pine. The trees will be planted in two distinct locations, designated as area 1 and area 2, respectively. The following limitations must be followed while planting the trees: <br> <br> ‥ There are only three distinct tree species in each area, and there are three different species in each area. <br> ‥ In any location, no more than one tree of the same kind may be planted. <br> ‥ If a river birch is present, neither a blue spruce nor a pine may grow there. <br> ‥ A river birch or an oak must also be present where there is a sycamore tree. <br> ‥ Where there is an oak, there must also be a maple. <br> <br> Which of the following must be true?
- A sycamore is in area 1 and a river birch is area 2.
- A sycamore is in area 1 and a river birch is area 2.
- An oak is selected.
- An oak and a river birch are in the same area.
- A maple is selected. (Correct answer)
Correct answer: A maple is selected.
With no sycamore selected, river birch must still be chosen to fill out the six slots, and since a river birch cannot share its area with blue spruce or pine, both blue spruce and pine are pushed into the other area together. Therefore blue spruce and pine being in the same area must be true. The other statements are not guaranteed by the constraints.
Question 7: For a new project, a landscape architect is choosing trees. Seven different tree species are available for the architect to select from: a Maple, a River Birch, an Oak, a Sycamore, a Chestnut, a Blue Spruce, and a Pine. The trees will be planted in two different locations, designated as area 1 and area 2, respectively. The following restrictions must be followed while planting the trees: <br> <br> ‥ There are only three distinct tree species in each area, and there are three different species in each area. <br> ‥ In any location, no more than one tree of the same kind may be planted. <br> ‥ If a river birch is present, neither a blue spruce nor a pine may grow there. <br> ‥ A river birch or an oak must also be present where there is a sycamore tree. <br> ‥ Where there is an oak, there must also be a maple. <br> <br> If a river birch is not selected, which of the following CANNOT be true?
- A pine is in area 1.
- A sycamore is in area 2.
- A sycamore is in area 2.
- A pine is planted in area 1 with the sycamore (Correct answer)
- A chestnut is planted in area 1 with the blue spruce.
Correct answer: A pine is planted in area 1 with the sycamore
If a river birch (RB) is not selected, then the rule 'A river birch or an oak must also be present where there is a sycamore tree' simplifies to 'If a sycamore is present, an oak must also be present' (S -> O). Additionally, the rule 'Where there is an oak, there must also be a maple' (O -> M) still applies. Combining these, if a sycamore (S) is selected, then an oak (O) and a maple (M) must also be selected and all three must be in the same area (S, O, M). Since each area can only hold three distinct species, if sycamore is in Area 1, then Area 1 must contain S, O, and M. This leaves no room for a pine (P) in Area 1, making the statement 'A pine is planted in area 1 with the sycamore' impossible.
Question 8: Marky: The majority of online websites contain a large number of alluring and difficult-to-ignore hyperlinks, each of which leads to another hyperlink, and so on. The capacity of frequent internet users to do difficult thinking that necessitates focus and attention is reduced as a result of often slipping into this bottomless pit of distracting and mainly unimportant material on the internet. <br> <br> Clark: A study indicated that regular internet users performed better on tests of focus and attention than infrequent users and also had stronger brain muscles in the regions of the brain linked to complicated reasoning, which implies a higher utilization of these muscles. <br> <br> The dialogue most strongly supports the claim that Marky and Clark disagree with each other about whether
- focus and attention are necessary to do complex reasoning
- most web-pages on the internet require internet users to do complex reasoning
- most web-pages on the internet have hard-to-ignore hyperlinks
- heavy internet usage decreases a person's ability to do complex reasoning (Correct answer)
- " heavy internet users are more knowledgeable than infrequent internet users"
Correct answer: heavy internet usage decreases a person's ability to do complex reasoning
Marky argues that frequent internet usage *reduces* a person's capacity for difficult thinking that requires focus and attention. Clark, however, presents a study suggesting that regular internet users perform *better* on tests of focus and attention and have stronger brain muscles linked to complex reasoning, implying *higher utilization*. Their core disagreement is whether heavy internet usage has a detrimental or beneficial effect on a person's ability to engage in complex reasoning.
Question 9: Mayor of the City: Since the beginning of this year, when driving fossil fuel-powered vehicles older than five years on city roads was prohibited, air pollution has decreased dramatically. Therefore, if all fossil fuel-powered vehicles are prohibited from operating on city roadways, urban air pollution will be eliminated. <br> <br> The argument made by the city mayor is faulty because it
- takes for granted that all cars in the city are fossil-fuel powered
- relies on statistical claims that are likely to be unreliable
- fails to consider that there may be other significant sources of air pollution in the city (Correct answer)
- fails to consider that citizen protests may force the council to withdraw the proposed ban on all fossil-fuel powered cars
- mistakenly reverses the cause and the effect relationship between two phenomena
Correct answer: fails to consider that there may be other significant sources of air pollution in the city
The mayor's argument moves from a partial ban on older fossil fuel vehicles causing a *dramatic decrease* in air pollution to a total ban on all fossil fuel vehicles *eliminating* urban air pollution. This leap assumes that fossil fuel vehicles are the *only* source of air pollution. The argument fails to consider that other significant sources of pollution, such as industrial emissions, power plants, or even natural factors, might still exist and contribute to air pollution, preventing its complete elimination even if all vehicles were banned.
Question 10: Most of the legal changes recommended by the Feminist Group for Rights are put into effect five years after their initial recommendation. Therefore, it is likely that the first set of legal reforms proposed by this group at the conference today would be put into effect within five years. <br> <br> Which of the following arguments follows a logic most similar to the one in the previous argument?
- In the past three years, crime-themed web shows have won the majority of Emmy Awards. Therefore, if online series receive the majority of the Emmy Awards the next year, the criminal genre will likely make up the majority of these web series.
- The majority of the farmers in this area cultivate paddy. Paddy is so likely to have been a staple diet in this area for many years.
- Most consumers of single use plastics live in urban areas. Therefore, if a person does not consume single use plastics, he probably does not live in an urban area.
- The child mortality rate has worsened slowly but steadily for the last five years. Therefore, the government’s move to slash funding of its child-vaccination program is ill-advised.
- The majority of this law school's alumni land positions in the top twenty law firms in the nation after graduation. As a result, after graduation, the majority of the graduating class will probably find employment in one of the top twenty legal firms in the nation. (Correct answer)
Correct answer: The majority of this law school's alumni land positions in the top twenty law firms in the nation after graduation. As a result, after graduation, the majority of the graduating class will probably find employment in one of the top twenty legal firms in the nation.
The original argument observes a general trend: 'Most of the legal changes recommended by the Feminist Group for Rights are put into effect five years after their initial recommendation.' It then makes a probabilistic prediction about a specific future instance: 'Therefore, it is likely that the first set of legal reforms proposed by this group at the conference today would be put into effect within five years.' This structure involves inferring a probable outcome for a future event based on the observed frequency of similar past events. Option E mirrors this by observing a past trend ('The majority of this law school's alumni land positions...') and then making a probabilistic prediction about a future group ('the majority of the graduating class will probably find employment...').
Question 11: A server at a restaurant accepted verbal orders from a sizable crowd of customers without writing anything down, yet still managed to properly deliver everyone's meal. However, the waiter failed to identify the customer when he returned a few hours later to get something he had left behind. The waiter responded that he only recalled the specifics of each order until it was presented, which the customer saw as a mismatch between the waiter's prior good recollection of what each customer in the huge group had ordered and his present inability to recognize him. <br> <br> Which one of the following principles is best illustrated by the incident described above?
- When restaurant waiters are asked to help find an item forgotten by a patron, they feign temporary loss of memory.
- Restaurant waiters best remember those patrons that do not come in large groups.
- The memory of restaurant patrons tends to make a strong distinction between finished and unfinished tasks.
- The bigger and more complex a task is, the more difficult it is to remember its details.
- Humans tend to remember unfinished tasks better than tasks that have been completed. (Correct answer)
Correct answer: Humans tend to remember unfinished tasks better than tasks that have been completed.
The waiter perfectly remembered complex orders while the task of delivering them was ongoing, but immediately forgot the customer's identity once the task was completed. His explanation, that he only recalled details 'until it was presented,' highlights this distinction. This incident illustrates the psychological phenomenon known as the Zeigarnik effect, where humans tend to retain information about unfinished or interrupted tasks more effectively than tasks that have been brought to completion.
Question 12: Surveys of manufacturing employees who coated watch dials with fluorescent paint in the 1920s revealed a startlingly high rate of anemia, tooth loss, bone fractures, and cancer mortality. The radioactive element radium was included in this paint. As a result, by 1960, all industrial usage of radioactive bright paint had been discontinued. Radium, however, continues to function for centuries. In order to safeguard themselves and others around them from anemia, tooth loss, bone fractures, and cancer, watch collectors who own luminous dial watches that were created before 1960 should either bury them in the ground or keep them in heavy lead boxes. Which one of the following, if true, LEAST strengthens the argument above?
- The surveys also found that the incidence of anemia, loss of teeth, bone fractures and death from cancer among factory workers who painted watch dials with non-luminous paint was not greater than that among the general population.
- The surveys also found that factory workers who painted watch dials with luminous paint, the extent of their health problems was directly proportional to the cumulative number of hours for which they had worked with luminous paint till then.
- Barriers of lead or earth provide adequate protection to human beings from harmful radioactive substances.
- People who wear watches that have luminous dials and were made before 1960 for more than a decade have an alarming incidence of anemia.
- Most chemists and laboratory workers who worked with radium for more than a year in the first decade after its discovery in 1898 did not have, for the rest of their lives, a greater incidence of anemia, loss of teeth, bone fractures and death from cancer than the general population. (Correct answer)
Correct answer: Most chemists and laboratory workers who worked with radium for more than a year in the first decade after its discovery in 1898 did not have, for the rest of their lives, a greater incidence of anemia, loss of teeth, bone fractures and death from cancer than the general population.
The argument concludes that watch collectors should take precautions against radium exposure from old watches due to its harmful effects observed in 1920s painters. Option E states that early radium workers (chemists and laboratory workers) *did not* experience a greater incidence of the same health problems. This information directly challenges the universality of radium's harmful effects, suggesting that exposure might not always lead to these issues, or that the conditions of exposure for collectors might be less dangerous than for the painters. By casting doubt on the direct link between radium exposure and the specified health problems, this option weakens the argument, and thus least strengthens it.
Question 13: Films with ongoing violence typically receive a R classification. A youngster or under-17 teenager can only watch R-rated movies in a theater with a parent or an adult guardian. Only handful of Ms. Abbott's films have had a R classification, compared to Mr. Smith and Mr. Green, whose whole filmography has received the rating. Which one of the following logically follows from the statements above, if they are true?
- The movies made by female directors are more often viewed alone in the theaters by children or under-17 adolescents than the movies made by male directors.
- An under-17 adolescent cannot view a movie of Mr. Green by himself in a theater. (Correct answer)
- No movie of Mr. Smith can be viewed by a child or an under-17 adolescent in a theater.
- A child is more likely to view a movie made by Ms. Abbott in a theater than a movie made by Mr. Green.
- Some of Ms. Abbott's movies do not contain persistent violence.
Correct answer: An under-17 adolescent cannot view a movie of Mr. Green by himself in a theater.
The premises state that Mr. Green's *entire filmography* has received an R classification. Another premise clearly states that 'A youngster or under-17 teenager can only watch R-rated movies in a theater with a parent or an adult guardian.' Combining these two facts, it logically follows that since all of Mr. Green's movies are R-rated, an under-17 adolescent cannot watch any of them by himself in a theater, as an adult guardian is always required for R-rated films.
Question 14: Sam scored in the top one percent of test takers on a test that measures a person's recall for spatial arrangements. This suggests that his memory will be below average for information that does not entail spatial layouts. The conclusion follows logically if which one of the following is assumed?
- Sam tried hard to remember spatial layouts.
- Sam has a greater proclivity to remember spatial layouts than most people.
- It is possible for Sam to improve, through practice and effort, his memory capacity for things that do not involve spatial layouts.
- The total memory capacity of the human brain is fixed and equal for all people. (Correct answer)
- Some people have a greater memory capacity than others.
Correct answer: The total memory capacity of the human brain is fixed and equal for all people.
The argument concludes that Sam's exceptional spatial memory implies his other memory abilities will be below average. This inference relies on the unstated assumption that there is a fixed, limited 'total memory capacity' that is distributed among different types of memory. If this total capacity is fixed and equal for everyone, then excelling in one area (spatial memory) would necessarily mean a compensatory deficit in other areas. Without this assumption, Sam could simply have a generally high memory capacity, being exceptional in one area and still average or above average in others.
Question 15: All of our rivals, according to the chief executive officer of Noan Industries, are solely interested in boosting their earnings and do not care about the environmental damage that their product-manufacturing process produces. In contrast, we have had Green Org, a reputable worldwide organization that tracks industrial pollution, audit our product-manufacturing process for its environmental effect. Therefore, our consumers can be confident that they are purchasing from an ecologically conscious business when they choose to do business with us. The answer to which one of the following questions would be most useful in evaluating the truth of the conclusion drawn by the Chief Executive Officer?
- Does Noan Industries provide more donations than its competitors to agencies that work to reverse the environmental impact of industrial pollution?
- Has Green Org audited the product-manufacturing processes of all competitors of Noan Industries?
- In the product category in which Noan Industries operates, does the buying decision of customers get influenced by the environmental-responsibility of a company?
- Do Noan's customers trust the audit reports of Green Org?" (Correct answer)
- Does Noan Industries make lesser profits than its competitors?
Correct answer: Do Noan's customers trust the audit reports of Green Org?"
The CEO's conclusion is that 'our consumers can be confident that they are purchasing from an ecologically conscious business.' The evidence provided for this confidence is that Green Org, a reputable organization, audited their process. For this evidence to effectively build *consumer confidence*, the consumers themselves must trust the source of the audit. If consumers do not trust Green Org's reports, then the audit, regardless of its findings or Green Org's actual reputation, will not lead to the desired consumer confidence. Therefore, knowing whether consumers trust Green Org is essential to evaluate the CEO's conclusion.
Question 16: The World Tribune's print circulation has decreased by 40% during the last two years. However, at the same time period, there was a 30% rise in internet visitors for the newspaper. The most popular web pages on the internet are the several news sections and blogs that are not included in the print newspaper. As a result, in order to continue making money, the newspaper has chosen to stop publishing its still-profitable print version and add additional content to its internet that is similar to the exclusive content on its most popular pages. Which one of the following is an assumption on which the decision of The World Tribune depends?
- The print circulation of the newspaper would not have declined further in the near future.
- To access the content on the newspaper's website, the readers of the website will be willing to pay a monthly subscription fees that is equal to the revenue that the print edition of the newspaper earned per reader each month.
- The print circulation of the newspaper declined in the past two years because the newspaper's website offered more interesting content.
- The revenue earned from increased website traffic will not be less than the revenue lost by discontinuing the print edition.
- Introducing more content similar to the exclusive content on the most read pages of the website will increase the newspaper's website traffic further. (Correct answer)
Correct answer: Introducing more content similar to the exclusive content on the most read pages of the website will increase the newspaper's website traffic further.
The newspaper's decision to discontinue its profitable print edition and add more exclusive web content is driven by the goal to 'continue making money.' This strategy relies on the assumption that increasing the amount of content similar to its already popular exclusive web pages will lead to a further increase in website traffic. If this additional content does not attract more visitors, the newspaper risks losing the revenue from its print edition without sufficiently compensating for it through increased online revenue, thus failing to meet its financial goal. Therefore, the decision assumes that more content will lead to more traffic.
Free LSAT Analytical Reasoning Questions and Answers
For a new project, a landscape architect is choosing trees.
Seven different tree species are available for the architect to select from: a Maple, a River Birch, an Oak, a Sycamore, a Chestnut, a Blue Spruce, and a Pine.
There are two separate areas, named area 1 and area 2, in which the trees will be planted.
The trees must be planted in accordance with the following constraints:
‥ Each area contains three different types of trees, and there are only three types of trees in each area.
‥ The same type of tree cannot be planted more than once in either area.
‥ If an area contains a river birch, then the area cannot contain either a blue spruce or a pine.
‥ If an area has a sycamore tree, it must also contain either a river birch or an oak.
‥ Any area that contains an oak must also contain a maple.
Which of the following tree options is suitable for both areas?