LSAT Inference from Passages 5 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A passage notes that in a blind taste test, 60% of participants preferred the generic brand over the name brand of a soft drink. What can most safely be inferred?
- The generic brand has superior ingredients
- Name brand loyalty among consumers may be influenced by factors other than taste (Correct answer)
- The name brand will lose market share to the generic brand
- Most consumers cannot distinguish between soft drink brands
Correct answer: Name brand loyalty among consumers may be influenced by factors other than taste
When taste preferences don't match purchasing behavior, non-taste factors like branding must be influencing consumer choices.
Question 2: A legal passage states that a contract is void if one party lacked mental capacity at the time of signing. The plaintiff argues she was mentally incapacitated when she signed. If true, what follows?
- The contract is voidable at the plaintiff's option
- The contract is void (Correct answer)
- The defendant must prove the plaintiff had capacity
- The contract remains valid unless a court rules otherwise
Correct answer: The contract is void
The passage states directly that such contracts are void, not merely voidable, so the condition renders the contract void.
Question 3: A passage describes two countries with identical poverty rates but very different distributions of wealth. Country A has wealth concentrated among 1% of residents; Country B has it spread across the middle class. What can be inferred?
- Country A has a higher GDP than Country B
- Poverty rate alone does not capture a society's economic inequality (Correct answer)
- Country B residents are happier than those in Country A
- Wealth concentration causes higher poverty rates
Correct answer: Poverty rate alone does not capture a society's economic inequality
Identical poverty rates but divergent wealth distributions show that poverty rate is an incomplete measure of economic equity.
Question 4: A passage states that a historian's account of a battle is the only surviving primary source from that era. A critic argues the account may be biased. What can most reasonably be inferred?
- The historian's account is false
- Historians should not use biased primary sources
- The account may be the best available evidence despite potential bias (Correct answer)
- Primary sources are generally less reliable than secondary sources
Correct answer: The account may be the best available evidence despite potential bias
Being the sole surviving source means it retains evidential value even if bias must be accounted for in analysis.
Question 5: A passage explains that an employee was terminated for violating company policy, but notes the policy was never clearly communicated to employees. What can most reasonably be inferred?
- The termination was illegal
- The fairness of the termination is questionable given the lack of clear communication (Correct answer)
- The employee knew the policy and violated it anyway
- Company policies do not require explicit communication to be enforceable
Correct answer: The fairness of the termination is questionable given the lack of clear communication
Without clear communication of the policy, the employee's ability to comply was undermined, raising fairness concerns.
Question 6: A passage states that a river's fish population declined after upstream industrial development, then partially recovered after a factory installed filtration systems. What inference is best supported?
- The factory's waste was the sole cause of the fish population decline
- Reducing industrial pollution into the river likely aided the fish population's recovery (Correct answer)
- Complete ecosystem recovery is possible if all factories install filtration
- The fish population will continue recovering indefinitely
Correct answer: Reducing industrial pollution into the river likely aided the fish population's recovery
The recovery following filtration installation supports a causal link between reduced industrial pollution and improved fish population.
Question 7: A passage notes that a philosopher's later writings contradict positions taken in her early career. A biographer describes this as intellectual growth. What can be inferred about the biographer's interpretation?
- The biographer believes changing one's views reflects positively on a thinker (Correct answer)
- The biographer thinks the philosopher's early work was wrong
- The biographer has no opinion on the philosopher's views
- Intellectual growth requires abandoning all earlier beliefs
Correct answer: The biographer believes changing one's views reflects positively on a thinker
Framing contradictions as 'intellectual growth' implies the biographer views evolving positions as a positive intellectual trait.
LSAT Inference from Passages 5
A passage notes that in a blind taste test, 60% of participants preferred the generic brand over the name brand of a soft drink.
What can most safely be inferred?