October 2010 LSAT Questions

[xjesSse]

Hello, I just took the October 2010 LSAT and had some questions I wanted to go over.

Section I:
Question 18:
I put D as the answer and really did not understand why the correct answer was C.

Section III:
Questions 2 and 5 I had difficulty with and also game 3 (12-17) entirely.

Section 4:
question 5 i didn't understand how all what does it have anything to do with being an actor?

question 21: i could see how C would be correct but what is the problem with choice A?

question 25: Can you show me how to properly diagram this question?

I have my first (and hopefully only) LSAT this Saturday and I would really appreciate any help I can get. Thank you!

[Adam Tyson]

Lots of questions! I'll take a few of them one at a time, and we'll see if anyone else jumps in.

Section 1, Reading Comp, q18 - this is the passage about language in animals. In analyzing answer D, which was your contender, you need to look back to lines 9 - 11. Author A does, for the most part, seem firm in his belief that animals do not possess the ability to attribute mental states to others, but he does allow for the possibility that chimpanzees might have that ability. For that reason, author A would not necessarily disagree with Author B about the meaning behind a chimp's vocalizations. Watch for those exceptions - in reading and marking this passage, an exception like that should stand out and be worth noting, perhaps by underlining, or a margin note of "exception".

Hope that helps! On to the next...

Adam M. Tyson
PowerScore LSAT Instructor

[Adam Tyson]

Section 3 of that test, Logic Games, the first game is the one about the two cars and who drives who. The setup on this one was fairly simple, and bare - a couple of block rules showing F (sub D for Driver) with H or G (sub D) with H, and F (sub D) with J or K (sub D) with J, and then a GL block. Your base is the two cars, each with at least two slots, and a numeric distribution of either 3-3 or 4-2, unfixed.

q2 is asking you which pair of drivers isn't possible, so we need to look for some rule violation required by one of these pairs. Your drivers have to include at least one of F and G in order to make sure that H has a ride, and at least one of F and K to make sure that J also gets a ride. Every answer, therefore, has to have at least one from each of those pairs. A, B and C all have F, which satisfies everyone (just put H and J in that car and you don't have to worry about the other driver), and D has G and K, one from each pair. E doesn't have F or G, so that means H is standing on the side of the road with nobody to take her to the convention.

q5 relies on the same basic information - we need to always have one of each of those pairs driving to be sure that H and J get there. If K is alone with the driver, who would that driver be? It can't be J or H - they never drive, they are driven. Can't be G or L - they go together, so we can't split them up just to allow either of them to drive K. That leaves only F to drive K - but if they are the only ones in that car, who drives J?

Again, hope that helped!

Adam

[Adam Tyson]

Section 3, Game 3 is a Grouping/Linear combination game - we not only have to figure out which 4 of the 5 runners will be selected to run, but then we have to determine the order in which they run. The base is the races, 1 through 4.

Your rules are if Q runs, then you have a QT block. Simple enough to diagram, but with a couple of powerful inferences. First, what happens if T doesn't run? That would mean Q can't run, either, but that leaves only 3 runners - not enough. So T must always be selected to run. (That just happens to answer q13 for you - nice, huh?) Second, the QT block means a not law for Q at 4th position. Careful,though - don't put a not law for T at 1st position, because T could run first IF Q is the one that doesn't run, right?

S not 2nd or 4th is just 2 not laws.

If U is out, R is 2nd, and if R is 2nd, U is out - a double arrow for not U and R sub 2. What does that mean for our solution? With U out, put R in second place. Everyone else must be in, so you need room for a QT block, and that can only go at 3 and 4, leaving S to go 1st, which is okay. So, if U is out, or if R is 2nd, you have one solution - SRQT.

Try that and see how the rest of the questions go for you, and let us know!

Adam

[xjesSse]

Adam I am about to figure out what I was doing wrong and try to understand the answers but just incase I don't get back on the forum I really wanted to thank you for your time and effort!