Parallel Reasoning
Parallel reasoning questions contain an argument in the passage and five arguments in the answer choices; the question asks to "parallel" the argument in the passage. Traditionally there are two per section, one of which has a flawed argument and asks the test taker to copy that exact flaw.
Message us for private LSAT tutoring at $50 per hour!
1. While politicians who lack excellent speaking skills and have no very popular platforms are typically failures, a significant number of successful politicians will have only mediocre speaking skills while having extremely popular platforms, or vice versa. A politician thus does not need both very popular ideas and excellent speaking skills to succeed.
The pattern of reasoning in which one of the following is most similar to that in the argument above?
(A) Surgeries not performed to cure a disease or to prevent future diseases generally have no health benefits and are thus considered cosmetic surgeries. However, there are other medically valid reasons to perform surgeries, such as reconstruction after a disfiguring accident. So not all surgeries which are not performed to cure or prevent disease are cosmetic.
(B) Birdwatchers who have only mediocre binoculars and an average level of experience are unlikely to be able to spot pintails in this preserve. Some birdwatchers who spot pintails in this preserve, however, do so with mediocre binoculars, or with an average level of experience, and thus having both traits is not a requirement to do so.
(C) Athletes need not be the best at every event in the decathlon to win first place; in fact, countless athletes have won decathlons without being the best at any of the individual events. Hence, any athlete that is very good at all ten events is very likely to win.
(D) Dancers who are unable to stay in step with otherdancers and lack any sophisticated dance moves of their own will not be good dancers for the fall show. Ability to stay in step is required for both the fall and spring shows; however sophisticated dance moves are not necessary for the show in the spring. Thus, the dancers best for the spring show need not have sophisticated dance moves of their own.
(E) Poets with mediocre rhyming ability usually do not win the Raritan Poetry Contest; however, the Kitchener Poetry Contest can be won by poets with both unique ideas and excellent word choice, even if their rhyming ability is mediocre. Thus, most poetry contests are not won by poets withabove-average rhyming ability.
2. Park Ranger: The visitors smoked cigarettes while hiking along the trails and intentionally threw cigarette butts into the forest floor. Unbeknownst to them, these cigarette butts smoldered, ignited the surrounding leaves, and ultimately caused a forest fire. It is all too clear that these tourists willfully damaged the forest, since they did an act which ultimately caused damage to the forest, and this act was intentional.
The flawed reasoning in which one of the following is most similar to that in the lawyer’s argument?
(A) Andrew wanted to eat the grasshopper pie. Unbeknownst to Andrew, the grasshopper pie contained animal hooves. So, while he may not have realized it, Andrew wanted to eat animal hooves.
(B) Bianca bought a pair of shoes with the cash she had been paid. Unbeknownst to Bianca, the cash she had been paid was counterfeit money. So Bianca bought a pair of shoes with counterfeit money.
(C) Catherine wanted to take her children ice skating at the pond near her house. Unbeknownst to Catherine, the ice on the pond was very thin, and skating on it was very dangerous. So Catherine wanted her children to do something dangerous.
(D) Daryl painted his house with SureBrite paint. Unbeknownst to Daryl, SureBrite paint is generally thought to be inferior to other brands. So Daryl painted his house with an inferior brand of paint.
(E) Elise wanted to go see the new movie. The new movie was very violent. So Elise must havewanted to see a very violent movie.
3. Kenny says that, as a bowler, he knows that no bowler likes tennis. And since most bowlers like golf, it follows that at least some of the people who like tennis do not like golf.
Which one of the following is most parallel in its reasoning to the flawed reasoning above?
(A) Alexandra says that, as an experienced nutritionist, she knows that no lettuce is as healthful as the most nutritious celery. And, since most vegetable offerings at buffet restaurants consist of lettuce, at least some of the vegetable offerings at buffet restaurants are less nutritious than the most healthful celery.
(B) Lisa says that, as an expert on fashion, she knows that no red dress goes well with beige shoes. And since most red dresses are worn for formal events, at least some of the clothing worn at formal events does not go well with beige shoes.
(C) Collin says that, as an expert on opera, she knows that no opera written by Donizetti is as good as the best operas written by Bellini. Since most operas performed by the local company are ones by Donizetti, such local productions are inferior at least to the best nearby productions of works by Bellini.
(D) Monica says that, as a racecar driver, she knows that no racecar driver likes pollution regulations. And, since most racecar drivers are men, at least some of the people who like pollution regulations are women.
(E) Vivie says that, as an aristocrat, she knows that no aristocrat likes to pay estate taxes. And since most aristocrats like literature, at least some of thepeople who like to pay estate taxes like literature.
4. One cannot make cappuccino without espresso, and one cannot make espresso without boiling water through an espresso machine. Therefore, some water in cappuccino has been sterilized, since boiling the water sterilizes it.
The structure of the reasoning in the argument above is most parallel to that in which one of the following?
(A) To be considered among the best cars, a car must have an independent rear suspension. Only the best cars are featured on the show High Gear. However, cars with independent rear suspension are always very expensive. Therefore, all the cars featured on High Gear are very expensive.
(B) Irrigation is necessary for an optimal corn crop, but irrigation requires groundwater. Thus, an optimal corn crop requires groundwater.
(C) It is acceptable for society to take actions to encourage socially responsible behavior. To encourage socially responsible behavior, a society must punish criminals, such as by imprisoning them. It is therefore acceptable for society to imprison criminals.
(D) Some of the horses on this ranch require veterinary checkups to be healthy. Right now, the horses are taken to Robidoux Animal Clinic for their checkups. However, Maple Animal Clinic will eventually be closing because Dr. Robidoux is retiring. Therefore, a new place for checkups will have to be found if the horses are to be healthy in the future.
(E) It is impossible to be a champion cyclist without training hard. Training hard to be a champion cyclist is very time consuming. Thus, people do not want to be champion cyclists because people do not want to do anything that is very time consuming.
5. About one fourth of the horses at Lorimer Valley Downs that were under 3 years of age needed to be visited by the veterinarian this year. Interestingly, those over 3 years of age were less likely to need to be visited by the veterinarian, though about a fifth of them still did need such a visit.
Which one of the following statements, if true, most helps to resolve the apparent discrepancy above?
(A) Lorimer Valley Downs has its employees do basic health examinations for all its horses, regardless of their age.
(B) Riders of older horses are typically more gentle with them than they are with younger horses.
(C) The older a horse becomes, the more likely the horse will be retired from Lorimer Valley Downs due to a decrease in speed.
(D) Most younger horses at Lorimer Valley Downs tend to be of significantly different breeds than the older horses.
(E) The majority of illnesses that afflicted the younger horses could have been avoided with better regular checkups
6. The Norse Sagas describe Iceland as uninhabited when discovered by Vikings. However, works from antiquity mention a place called “Thule” – an island very far north near the frozen sea. Therefore, if the Norse Sagas are accurate, then either “Thule” did not refer to Iceland, or the inhabitants of Thule, if any, ceased to exist by Viking times.
Which one of the following arguments is most similar in its reasoning to the argument above?
(A) Mandy says that violent video games lead to aggressive behavior. In fact, violent video games probably reduce aggressive behavior because they give people a harmless outlet for their aggression.
(B) Glenn either plays the position of either center or forward on the basketball team. However, he probably plays center. Glenn is very tall, and tall people tend to play center.
(C) Christopher says that, unless a car is a manual, it cannot go unless it has transmission fluid in it. However, Zach claims to have driven his car, which is an automatic, home despite there being a large transmission fluid leak. Therefore, if Christopher is right about cars, then either Zach’s claim is mistaken, or Zach’s car still had some transmission fluid in it when he was driving it home.
(D) Sarah is either sick from the dinner at the buffet, or from some unrelated illness. While the buffet owner insists that all the food was safe to eat, everyone knows that foodstuffs can become contaminated when sitting out for long periods of time as this food did. Sarah is probably sick from eating this food, since there is no good reason to believe the buffet owner.
(E) Lisa predicts that silver prices are increasing. Likewise, Lisa says that eventually, speculators will pay more for silver than it is worth and need to sell it for much less than they bought it for. Thus if Lisa is right, silver prices will eventually stoprising.
7. A commodity broker cannot do his or her job well without training in econometrics. Being a commodity broker requires an extensive knowledge of econometrics to be able to accurately speculate on the prices of commodities. Therefore, the more educated commodity brokers are in econometrics, the better they will do their job.
Which one of the following arguments exhibits a flawed pattern of reasoning most similar to that exhibited by the argument above?
(A) People generally need vitamin C in their diet to support their immune system and protect them from disease. Therefore, it is usually the case that the more vitamin C there is a person’s diet, the healthier they will be.
(B) Since most trees grow each season, the longer a tree lives, the more seasons it has grown. Thus, for most trees, the longer the tree has lived, the taller the tree is.
(C) The main cause of building collapse among wooden buildings in this area is termites, which damage the wood with their nesting behavior. It follows that if a building is at risk of damage from termites, its risk of collapsing someday is greater.
(D) Because certain parts of a car are mounted on shafts, one cannot remove many car parts easily without a gear puller. Therefore, unless one has a gear puller, one will not be able to effectively fix cars.
(E) To properly understand utilitarianism, one must read the works of John Stewart Mill. Jorge has read the works of John Stewart Mill. Therefore,Jorge understands utilitarianism.
8. Literature built around a conflict and an ultimate resolution is invariably unentertaining after the climax of the story. However, this book is not built around a conflict and a resolution; thus, it will still be entertaining after the climax of the story.
The flawed reasoning in which one of the following is most similar to that in the argument above?
(A) Milk from Jersey cows tends to taste better than milk from Guernsey cows. Since this milk is from a Guernsey cow, it is probably not as good as the milk in the refrigerator, which is from a Jersey Cow.
(B) During the 1600s, the English Army used matchlock firearms, for which a lit “match” was used to ignite the powder in the gun. Since the English were a major European military force at the time, it follows that most European military forces used matchlock firearms similar to the English.
(C) Horses trained for barrel racing are very sensitive to the touching of their necks. However, this horse, Buster, is not trained for barrel raising. So Buster is probably not very sensitive to the touching of his neck.
(D) Generally the more money a dress costs, the better the quality of materials used to make it. This dress is the most expensive at the store, so it must have been made with the best quality materials of any dress in the store.
(E) While turkeys were unknown in pre-Columbian Europe, that does not prove that this biography of a medieval monarch is falsified simply because it mentions a turkey dinner. Later renditions of the story could have mixed up “turkey” and “chicken”while preserving the main story.
9. Elizabeth: I know that my son Austin spends too much time playing video games. However, I will not take Austin’s video games away from him. If I take away Austin’s video games, he will start hanging out with the children on our block for fun instead. These children are always up to no good and will get Austin in trouble.
The pattern of reasoning in which one to the following is most similar to that in Elizabeth’s argument?
(A) Putting straight pipes on the motorcycle will make it noisier. However, if Harold’s motorcycle becomes any noisier, he would violate local noise ordinances by riding it. Therefore, Harold should not put straight pipes on his motorcycle.
(B) While many dairy goats are harmed by parasitic worms which they ingest by eating grass too far down, Ingrid’s farm is too far north for parasitic worms to live there. Therefore, Ingrid should not stop her dairy goats from eating the grass too far down out of concern for them contracting parasitic worms.
(C) While it is true that it would be better for sick employees to always stay home than come to work and infect the office, this company should not give its employees a generous number of sick days. If the company gives workers too many sick days, employees will feign illness to skip work.
(D) While Natural Market sells organic food, the production of which is good for the environment, customers should not shop there if they want to support the environment. Natural Market is owned by a larger corporation, the activities of which do terrible environmental harm, and supporting Natural Market will support this corporation.
(E) While it is bad for Cheyenne’s health for her to smoke cigarettes, she should not quit smoking right now. Cheyenne is currently under a great deal of stress in her life and quitting smoking right now would add to her nervousness.