LSAT India Practice Set 1

Five houses stand in a row, numbered 1 to 5 from left to right. The blue house is immediately to the right of the red house. The green house is at position 5. The red house is at position 2. Which position is the blue house?

1. A.Position 1
2. B.Position 4
3. C.Position 3✓
4. D.Position 5

Correct answer: C

A committee of 3 must be selected from 5 people: P, Q, R, S, T. If P and Q cannot be on the committee together, how many valid committees of 3 are possible?

1. A.6
2. B.7✓
3. C.8
4. D.9

Correct answer: B

Four friends — J, K, L, M — each choose exactly one of two subjects: Law or Economics. J and K choose different subjects. L chooses the same subject as K. M chooses Law. If J chooses Economics, what does L choose?

1. A.Cannot be determined
2. B.Economics
3. C.Both
4. D.Law✓

Correct answer: D

In a scheduling problem, Event X must occur before Event Y. Event Y must occur before Event Z. Event W must occur immediately after Event X. If there are only these four events, which of the following orderings is valid?

1. A.X, W, Y, Z✓
2. B.W, X, Y, Z
3. C.X, Y, W, Z
4. D.Y, X, W, Z

Correct answer: A

"Public libraries provide free access to information regardless of income. Therefore, they play a vital role in reducing educational inequality." What is the main conclusion?

1. A.Public libraries provide free access to information
2. B.Income determines access to education
3. C.Libraries play a vital role in reducing educational inequality✓
4. D.Libraries should be privatized

Correct answer: C

"Switching to renewable energy will reduce the country's carbon emissions, since renewable sources produce little to no direct emissions." Which assumption is necessary for this argument?

1. A.Renewable energy is more expensive than fossil fuels
2. B.The country's overall energy consumption will not increase so much that any emissions savings are offset✓
3. C.All countries should switch to renewables
4. D.Fossil fuels will run out soon

Correct answer: B

"The new traffic signal reduced accidents at the intersection, since accidents dropped by 50% in the six months after installation." Which finding would most STRENGTHEN this argument?

1. A.Traffic volume at the intersection also decreased by 50% during the same period for unrelated reasons
2. B.The signal was installed six months ago
3. C.Accidents are generally rare at this intersection
4. D.No other change (road construction, enforcement, etc.) occurred at the intersection during this period, and comparable intersections without new signals saw no such drop✓

Correct answer: D

"If it rains, the ground gets wet. The ground is wet. Therefore, it rained." This argument is flawed because it:

1. A.Commits the fallacy of affirming the consequent — the ground could be wet for other reasons✓
2. B.Correctly applies modus ponens
3. C.Uses a false premise
4. D.Is circular reasoning

Correct answer: A

Argument: "All effective managers communicate clearly. Ravi communicates clearly. Therefore, Ravi is an effective manager." Which of the following has a parallel (equally flawed) reasoning structure?

1. A.All squares are rectangles. This shape is a square. Therefore, this shape is a rectangle.
2. B.No squares are triangles. This shape is a triangle. Therefore, it is not a square.
3. C.All squares are rectangles. This shape is a rectangle. Therefore, this shape is a square.✓
4. D.All squares have four sides. This shape has four sides but is not a square, so it's not a rectangle.

Correct answer: C

"Ice cream sales and drowning incidents both rise in summer months." What is the most reasonable interpretation of this correlation?

1. A.Ice cream sales cause drowning
2. B.A third factor (hot weather, leading to more swimming and more ice cream consumption) likely explains both✓
3. C.Drowning causes people to buy ice cream
4. D.There is no explanation possible

Correct answer: B

"All members of the committee are lawyers. No lawyer on the committee has fewer than 10 years of experience." If Priya is a member of the committee, which must be true?

1. A.Priya has more than 20 years of experience
2. B.Priya is the most experienced lawyer
3. C.Priya is not a member of any other committee
4. D.Priya is a lawyer with at least 10 years of experience✓

Correct answer: D

Principle: "A promise made without consideration is not enforceable, except when made on account of natural love and affection between near relatives, in writing and registered." Facts: A father, in a registered written document, promises to gift property to his son out of natural love and affection, without any payment from the son. Is this promise enforceable?

1. A.Yes, because it falls within the stated exception for near relatives with a written, registered document based on natural love and affection✓
2. B.No, because there was no consideration
3. C.No, because gifts must always involve payment
4. D.Yes, but only if the son pays a token amount

Correct answer: A

Person A: "The new policy will boost employment because it incentivizes small businesses." Person B: "The policy will not boost employment because small businesses already operate near capacity and cannot expand hiring." What is the central point of dispute?

1. A.Whether small businesses are important to the economy
2. B.Whether the government should have a policy at all
3. C.Whether the policy will actually cause increased employment✓
4. D.Whether small businesses pay adequate taxes

Correct answer: C

A study claims "Students who drink coffee before exams score higher, proving coffee improves exam performance." Which question would be most useful to evaluate this claim?

1. A.What brand of coffee did the students drink?
2. B.Did the study control for confounding variables such as prior study habits or sleep patterns among coffee drinkers vs non-drinkers?✓
3. C.How much did the coffee cost?
4. D.Was the exam held in the morning or afternoon?

Correct answer: B

In the argument: "Some critics claim that stricter emissions standards will harm the economy. However, countries that adopted such standards have seen both cleaner air and continued economic growth, showing the two goals are not mutually exclusive," what role does the statement "Some critics claim that stricter emissions standards will harm the economy" play?

1. A.It is the main conclusion of the argument
2. B.It is irrelevant to the argument
3. C.It is unsupported evidence for the author's conclusion
4. D.It presents an opposing view that the argument goes on to rebut with evidence✓

Correct answer: D

A passage on sociology argues that "social norms, though unwritten, exert as much regulatory power over behavior as formal laws, because violation invites social sanction even absent legal sanction." What is the passage's main point?

1. A.Unwritten social norms can regulate behavior as effectively as formal laws through social sanction✓
2. B.Formal laws are unnecessary
3. C.Social norms are always superior to laws
4. D.Legal sanctions are more severe than social sanctions

Correct answer: A

A historian writes: "The interpretation of colonial-era records requires caution, since such records reflect the perspective and interests of the colonizers, not necessarily an objective account of events." The author's attitude toward colonial-era records as historical sources is best described as:

1. A.Wholly dismissive
2. B.Entirely trusting
3. C.Cautiously skeptical, recognizing their inherent bias while not fully rejecting their use✓
4. D.Indifferent

Correct answer: C

A passage states: "Economic development and environmental conservation are often framed as opposing goals, but sustainable development models show they can be pursued jointly." What is the passage primarily about?

1. A.Economic development is impossible
2. B.The compatibility of economic development and environmental conservation through sustainable models✓
3. C.Environmental conservation should be abandoned
4. D.Sustainable development has failed

Correct answer: B

A passage explains that "antibiotic resistance arises when bacteria are exposed to antibiotics at sub-lethal doses, allowing resistant strains to survive and multiply, eventually dominating the population." Based on this passage, incomplete courses of antibiotics would most likely:

1. A.Have no effect on resistance
2. B.Eliminate all bacteria including resistant ones
3. C.Prevent future infections entirely
4. D.Increase the likelihood of resistant bacteria surviving and proliferating✓

Correct answer: D

A passage on climate science notes: "Positive feedback loops, such as melting ice reducing surface reflectivity and thereby increasing heat absorption, can accelerate warming beyond what initial forcing alone would predict." What does this passage primarily explain?

1. A.How certain feedback mechanisms can amplify warming beyond initial causes✓
2. B.Why ice melts in summer
3. C.That climate change is a myth
4. D.The exact temperature at which ice melts

Correct answer: A

A passage argues: "Judicial activism, when it fills genuine gaps left by legislative inaction on pressing rights issues, can be justified; but when courts routinely substitute their policy preferences for that of elected legislatures, it risks undermining separation of powers." What is the passage's overall stance on judicial activism?

1. A.Judicial activism is always wrong
2. B.Judicial activism is always right
3. C.Judicial activism is conditionally justified — appropriate to fill genuine gaps but problematic when it substitutes for legislative policy-making✓
4. D.Courts should never be involved in rights issues

Correct answer: C

A passage on legal theory states: "Positivists separate the question 'what is the law' from 'what the law ought to be,' whereas natural law theorists insist an unjust law is not truly law at all." Which of these best captures the fundamental disagreement described?

1. A.Whether laws should be written down
2. B.Whether legal validity is independent of moral content✓
3. C.Whether courts should punish crimes
4. D.Whether judges should be elected

Correct answer: B

A passage states: "A written constitution serves not only as the supreme law but also as a symbol of a nation's foundational values." According to the passage, a written constitution serves how many functions?

1. A.One
2. B.Three
3. C.Four
4. D.Two✓

Correct answer: D

A passage traces the evolution of the right to privacy in Indian law from an unrecognized interest to a fundamental right under Article 21, as affirmed in Justice K.S. Puttaswamy v. Union of India (2017). Which title best fits the passage?

1. A."The Recognition of Privacy as a Fundamental Right in India"✓
2. B."The History of Article 21"
3. C."Puttaswamy: A Biography"
4. D."The Decline of Personal Liberty in India"

Correct answer: A

A passage discusses multiple perspectives on federalism — some emphasizing strong central authority for national unity, others emphasizing state autonomy for local governance — without endorsing either view, and instead surveys how different constitutional models balance these tensions. What is the primary purpose of the passage?

1. A.To argue that federalism should be abolished
2. B.To advocate strongly for centralization
3. C.To survey and present differing approaches to balancing central and state authority within federal systems✓
4. D.To argue that state governments are always superior to central government

Correct answer: C

A passage states: "No country has achieved sustained high economic growth over multiple decades without also investing heavily in public education." What can be most reasonably inferred?

1. A.Public education alone guarantees economic growth
2. B.Investment in public education is likely a significant contributing factor to sustained long-term economic growth✓
3. C.Countries without public education cannot grow at all
4. D.Economic growth causes investment in education, not the other way around

Correct answer: B

A passage notes: "While the treaty was signed by all member states, only a fraction have ratified it domestically, and without ratification, the treaty's provisions are not binding on those states under their national law." What can be inferred about the treaty's current enforceability across all member states?

1. A.It is fully enforceable everywhere since all signed it
2. B.Signing has no legal significance whatsoever
3. C.The treaty is void
4. D.It is not uniformly enforceable, since binding force domestically depends on ratification, which most states have not completed✓

Correct answer: D

A passage begins by describing the benefits of a policy, then devotes its latter half to detailing significant risks and calling for stronger safeguards before implementation. What best describes the passage's overall structure?

1. A.Presents benefits first, then shifts to a critical examination of risks and calls for caution✓
2. B.Simple chronological narrative
3. C.Purely persuasive with no counterpoints
4. D.A single continuous argument with no shift in focus

Correct answer: A

A passage describes a scientific breakthrough using words like "remarkable," "promising," and "significant step forward." The author's tone toward the breakthrough is best described as:

1. A.Skeptical
2. B.Hostile
3. C.Optimistic and appreciative✓
4. D.Indifferent

Correct answer: C

A passage states: "While the reform was marketed as revolutionary, closer examination reveals it merely repackages existing provisions under a new name, offering little substantive change." The author's attitude toward the reform is best described as:

1. A.Enthusiastically supportive
2. B.Critically skeptical of its claimed novelty✓
3. C.Completely neutral
4. D.Uninterested

Correct answer: B