LOGICAL REASONING (Flaw)
11. In a recent poll of chief executive
officers (CEOs) of 125 large corporations,
the overwhelming majority claimed that
employee training and welfare is of the
same high priority as customer satisfaction.
So, the popular belief that the top
management of large corporations behaves
indifferently to the needs and aspirations of
employees is unfounded.
The argument is most vulnerable to
criticism on the grounds that it
(A) Fails to define adequately the term “top
management”
(B) Presumes, without giving justification,
that one is not indifferent to something
that one considers a top priority
(C) Presumes, without giving justification,
that the CEOs’ priorities tend to be
misplaced
(D) Presumes, without giving justification,
that that the CEOs’ claims are reflected
in actual practice
(E) Makes a generalization based on an
unrepresentative sample
12. Scientist: While studying centuries-old
Antarctic ice deposits, I found that
several years of relatively severe
atmospheric pollution in the 1500s
coincided with a period of relatively
high global temperatures. So, it is clear
in this case that atmospheric pollution
did cause global temperatures to rise.
The reasoning in the scientist’s
argument is most vulnerable to criticism
on the grounds that the argument
PrepTests 51, 59, 61, 82 © Law School Admission Council, Inc.
(A) Presumes, without providing
justification, that a rise in global
temperatures is harmful
(B) Draws a general conclusion based
on a sample that is likely to be
unrepresentative
(C) Inappropriately generalizes from
facts about a specific period of time
to a universal claim
(D) Takes for granted that the method
used for gathering data was
unreliable
(E) Infers, merely from a claim that two
phenomena are associated, that
one phenomenon causes the other
13. The more modern archaeologists learn
about Mayan civilization, the better
they understand its intellectual
achievements. Not only were
numerous scientific observations and
predictions made by Mayan
astronomers, but the people in general
seem to have had a strong grasp of
sophisticated mathematical concepts.
We know this from the fact that the
writings of the Mayan religious scribes
exhibit a high degree of mathematical
competence.
The argument’s reasoning is most
vulnerable to criticism on the grounds
that the argument
(A) Fails to provide an adequate
definition of the term “intellectual
achievement”
(B) Bases a generalization on a sample
that is likely to be unrepresentative
 (C) Overlooks the impressive
achievements of other past
civilizations
(D) Relies on two different senses of
the term “scientific”
(E) Takes a mere correlation to be
evidence of a causal relationship
14. Although Jaaks is a respected historian,
her negative review of Yancey’s new
book on the history of coastal fisheries
in the region rests on a mistake. Jaak’s
review argues that the book
inaccurately portrays the lives of fishery
workers. However, Yancey used the
same research methods in this book as
in her other histories, which have been
very popular. This book is also very
popular in local bookstores.
The reasoning above is flawed in that it
(A) Relies on the word of a scholar who
is unqualified in the area in
question
(B) Attacks the person making the claim
at issue rather than addressing the
claim
(C) Takes for granted that the
popularity of a book is evidence of
its accuracy
(D) Bases a general conclusion on a
sample that is likely to be
unrepresentative
(E) Presumes, without providing
justification, that the methods used
by Yancey are the only methods
that would produce accurate results
PrepTests 51, 59, 61, 82 © Law School Admission Council, Inc.
15. Recently discovered bird fossils are
about 20 million years older than the
fossils of the birdlike dinosaurs from
which the birds are generally claimed to
have descended. So, these newly
discovered fossils show, contrary to the
account espoused by most
paleontologists, that no bird descended
from any dinosaur.
The reasoning in the argument is flawed
in that the argument
(A) Draws a generalization that is
broader than is warranted by the
findings used
(B) Rejects the consensus view of
experts in the field without
providing any counterevidence
(C) Attacks the adherents of the
opposing view personally instead of
addressing any reason for their view
(D) Fails to consider the possibility that
dinosaurs descended from birds
(E) Ignores the possibility that
dinosaurs and birds descended
from a common ancestor
 16. A development company has proposed
building an airport near the city of
Dalton. If the majority of Dalton’s
residents favor the proposal, the airport
will be built. However, it is unlikely that
a majority of Dalton’s residents would
favor the proposal, for most of them
believe that the airport would create
noise problems. Thus, it is unlikely that
the airport will be built.
The reasoning in the argument is flawed
in that the argument
(A) Treats a sufficient condition for the
airport’s being built as a necessary
condition
(B) Concludes that something must be
true, because most people believe
it to be true
(C) Concludes, on the basis that a
certain event is unlikely to occur,
that the event will not occur
(D) Fails to consider whether people
living near Dalton would favor
building the airport
(E) Overlooks the possibility that a new
airport could benefit the local
economy.
17. Gecko lizards are found in any
environment where there is an
abundant population of gnats. Gnats
can survive only in wet climates.
Because there are no gecko lizards living
here, there must not be an abundant
population of gnats here. Consequently,
the climate here must not be wet. The
reasoning in the argument is flawed in
that it
PrepTests 51, 59, 61, 82 © Law School Admission Council, Inc.
(A) presumes, without providing
justification, that gecko lizards can
survive only in environments with
abundant gnat populations.
(B) presumes, without providing
justification, that all wet
environments contain abundant
populations of gnats.
(C) does not consider whether small
populations of gnats can survive in
climates that are not wet.
(D) does not mention whether gecko
lizards eat anything besides gnats.
(E) fails to establish that some gecko
lizards could not survive in a dry
climate containing only a small
population of gnats.
18. Art history professor: Costa criticizes my
theories about the distinction between
baroque and neoclassical Austrian
painting. He argues that since there are
no features possessed by all and only
the works from a given historical period,
assigning works of art to period styles is
intellectually bankrupt. His reasoning
can be discounted, however, since his
own current theories on the transition
from classical to romantic French opera
also presuppose such an assignment.
Which one of the following most
accurately describes a flaw in the art
history professor's argument?
(A) The argument confuses a necessary
condition for discounting a person's
reasoning with a sufficient
condition for discounting a person's
reasoning.
(B) The argument overlooks the
possibility that theoreticians can
hold radically different theories at
different times.
 (C) The argument rejects the reasoning
on which a criticism is based merely
on the grounds that that very
criticism could be applied to
theories of the person who offered
it.
(D) The argument presumes, without
providing justification, that what is
true of art in general must also be
true of every particular type of art.
(E) The argument presumes, without
providing justification, that theories
about one type of art cannot be
compared to theories about
another.
19. Food that is very high in fat tends to be
unhealthy. These brownies are fat-free,
while those cookies contain a high
percentage of fat. Therefore, these
fat-free brownies are healthier than
those cookies are.
(C) The human body needs certain
amounts of many minerals to
remain healthy. Therefore, this
distilled water, which has no
minerals, is unhealthy.
(D) Some types of nuts make Roy’s
throat itch. These cookies contain
a greater percentage of nuts than
that pie contains. Therefore, these
cookies are more likely to make
Roy’s throat itch.
(E) Eating at a restaurant costs more
than eating food prepared at
home. Therefore, this
home-cooked meal is less
expensive than a restaurant meal
of the same dishes would be.

Which one of the following exhibits

flawed reasoning most similar to the
flawed reasoning exhibited by the
argument above?

(A) Canned foods always contain more

salt than frozen foods do.
Therefore, these canned peas
contain more salt than those
frozen peas do.
(B) Vegetables that are overcooked
generally have few vitamins.
Therefore, these carrots, which are
overcooked, contain fewer
vitamins than those peas, which
are uncooked.

PrepTests 51, 59, 61, 82 © Law School Admission Council, Inc.