Below is Part III of our discussion of the 15 hardest LSAT Logical Reasoning questions of all time. This Part contains the final 5 of the 15 questions that were presented in chronological order. In Part I and Part II we went over the first 10 in our list of the most difficult LR questions of all time in chronological order. Part IV is our finale where we discuss some of the interesting patterns and statistics associated with the questions on the list. We chose this list by looking at statistics from students’ practice tests, the volume of questions we receive from students about a LR question, and our own experience teaching and writing about these questions.
Again, keep in mind that these questions present various types of difficulty. Some of the most difficult LSAT questions are so sly that you don’t even realize you’ve done a difficult question! You confidently move on and only realize later that you answered incorrectly. Other questions are clearly challenging from the start–you are aware it’s stumping you when choosing an answer. So, this list presents some obviously difficult questions and questions whose difficulty might have become more obvious only in retrospect.
October 2002, Section 2, #16: Confidence, Trust, and Abilities
Justify. We mentioned an LSAT writer who tends to put abstract moral discussions into the stimulus in Part II, question 10. This question appears to have been produced by that same writer. It addresses the issues of confidence, trust, distrust, abilities, and difficult tasks. Almost invariably, the questions from this author are tough, and this one is clearly no exception.
June 2003, Section 2, #17: Alex’s Capabilities
Parallel Reasoning. This question is probably another one from our friend who wrote questions #10 and #11 on this list. Although, this question’s stimulus is a bit easier to understand than the stimuli in those other two problems. However, it is paired with a Parallel question, which in this case increases the level of difficulty. Ultimately, only 17% of test takers were able to answer this question correctly.
June 2004, Section 1, #15: Cigarette Advertisements
Resolve. In this question, the author argues that governments have the right to ban cigarette advertisements, but that they shouldn’t because other unhealthy practices are already legal to advertise. Resolve questions are generally fairly easy, but students correctly answered this one at a rate of only 20%.
December 2004, Section 1, #12: Fish, Paper Mills, and Dioxin
Weaken. This infamous question wreaked havoc on test takers back in 2004. Only 21% of students answer this question correctly, and even LSAC’s discussion of the correct answer required two pages of explanation. It’s not in our character to hate LSAT questions, but this one would be near the very top of the list if we did.
June 2005, Section 2, #24: The Existence of Money
Justify. This may be the easiest question on this list, which goes to show how hard the other questions on this list are. The author in this stimulus asserts that money doesn’t exist, namely because all that is needed to make money disappear is for all of us to stop believing in it. Uhh, ok.
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Although we can no longer offer direct downloads (LSAC rules), this publication identifier link will tell you where to find these questions: https://www.powerscore.com/lsat/help/pub_ident.cfm.
Further Reading about the Killer LSAT: Killer RC, Killer LG, Killer LR Part I, Part II, Part III, Part IV
Adero Harrison says
For October 2002, Section 2, #16: Confidence, Trust, and Abilities the section is section 4, not 2.
Dave Killoran says
Hi Adero,
Our lists all refer to LR as section 1 or section 2, as in the first LR section on the test or the second LR section on the test. So, on that exam, LR 2 does indeed refer to the content in section 4. This is a nomenclature consistency we use throughout LR references , and it’s two ways of saying the same thing 🙂
Thanks!