Free LSAT drill for Logical Reasoning (Necessary Assumption):
1) Using public transportation reduces carbon emissions. However, public transportation can be less convenient than driving a personal vehicle. Therefore, to minimize carbon emissions, cities should invest in making public transportation more convenient.
Which one of the following is an assumption required by the argument?
A) People will not use public transportation if it is less convenient than driving.
B) Reducing carbon emissions is the primary concern for city planners.
C) Public transportation can be made as convenient as personal vehicles.
D) People prioritize convenience over reducing carbon emissions.
E) Investment in public transportation does not require reducing other city services.
2) Online education allows for flexible scheduling, which can benefit working students. However, online courses may lack the interactive elements of traditional classroom settings. Therefore, working students should choose a mix of online and traditional courses to maximize their educational experience.
Which one of the following is an assumption required by the argument?
A) Working students cannot succeed in an entirely online course setup.
B) Interactive elements are crucial for a comprehensive educational experience.
C) Traditional courses can provide flexibility similar to online courses.
D) A mix of online and traditional courses offers the best of both worlds for working students.
E) Working students value interactive elements as much as flexibility.
3) Only economics can analyze market behavior in terms of supply and demand interactions; sociology and psychology can provide insights into individual behaviors and social influences but cannot explain the overall market dynamics. Similarly, only linguistics can analyze language structure in terms of syntax and semantics; sociology and psychology can offer perspectives on language use and development but cannot explain the structural principles.
Which one of the following is an assumption required by the analogy?
A) Market behavior and language structure follow similar analytical principles.
B) Sociology and psychology are essential for understanding individual behaviors in both markets and languages.
C) The structural principles of markets and languages are irreducible to social or psychological analysis.
D) Economics and linguistics provide the only frameworks for understanding market and language dynamics.
E) Individual behaviors in markets and languages cannot be fully explained without understanding social influences.
4) Both solar panels and wind turbines can significantly reduce carbon emissions when used to generate electricity. However, a recent study shows that installing wind turbines instead of solar panels on a certain type of land would reduce carbon emissions by an additional 10 tons per year. Wind turbines, however, cost $100,000 more per installation than solar panels. Therefore, policymakers must decide whether the additional carbon reduction is worth the extra $100,000 per installation.
Which one of the following is an assumption on which the argument relies?
A) Wind turbines require less maintenance than solar panels.
B) The additional carbon reduction achieved by wind turbines is not attainable by any other means.
C) There is no significant difference in the energy output of solar panels and wind turbines on the specified type of land.
D) Wind turbines do not cause more environmental disruption than solar panels.
E) The technology used in wind turbines is more advanced than that used in solar panels.
5) Only geology can analyze rock formations in terms of their historical development; chemistry and physics can describe the properties of minerals but cannot explain their formation processes. Similarly, only history can analyze human events in terms of cause and effect relationships; sociology and psychology can provide context but cannot explain the sequence of events.
Which one of the following is an assumption required by the analogy?
Answer choices:
A) The formation processes of rocks and the sequence of human events require specialized historical analysis.
B) Chemistry and physics are fundamental to understanding mineral properties.
C) The properties of rocks and human behaviors are not the main focus of historical analysis.
D) Geology and history can provide insights into developments that other sciences cannot fully explain.
E) Sociology and psychology offer limited explanations for both rock formations and human events.
Answers:
1) (A). The argument claims that improving convenience is necessary to increase public transportation use. This assumes that people choose their mode of transportation based on convenience and will avoid public transportation if it is less convenient than driving.
2) (B). The argument concludes that educational software must include interactive elements to be comprehensive. This relies on the assumption that interactive elements are indeed necessary for a comprehensive educational experience.
3) (C). The argument hinges on the idea that certain disciplines (economics and linguistics) can analyze structures and dynamics that sociology and psychology cannot fully explain on their own. This assumes that the structural principles of markets and languages cannot be reduced to social or psychological factors alone.
4) (C). The argument assumes that the additional cost is justified solely by the additional carbon reduction and does not consider differences in energy output. If wind turbines produced significantly less energy than solar panels, the additional cost might not be justifiable even with the extra carbon reduction.
5) (A). The argument draws an analogy between the specialized analysis provided by geology for rock formations and history for human events. This assumes that the processes and sequences in both fields need specialized historical analysis that other sciences cannot provide.
