This is a fun one I found while looking for sample questions on the LSAT.
A legion of linguists claim to be able to determine human geographic origins by conducting a phonetic examination of non-phonemic utterances. As indicated by the following conditions, they assert that some sounds have a greater index than others.
A "grunt" is comparable to a "cough" and an "implosion."
A "laugh" is akin to a "grunt," an "oops" and an "implosion."
An "implosion" is the equivalent of three "ahhhs."
Three "grunts" match exactly one "laugh."
An "ahhh" is the same as a "cough."
Question #1: 1. If the above are true, which one of the following groups of utterances are arranged from greatest to least index?
(A) "laugh," "grunt," "oops," "ahhh," "cough"
(B) "laugh," "implosion," "grunt," "oops," "cough"
(C) "laugh," "oops," "implosion," "grunt," "cough"
(D) "laugh," "oops," "grunt," "implosion," "cough"
(E) "laugh," "implosion," "oops," "grunt," "cough
Question #2: If the above are true, an implosion is exactly half of . . .
(A) a "laugh" minus an "oops"
(B) an "implosion" and a "grunt" combined
(C) a "cough" and an "oops" combined
(D) an "implosion," an "ahhh" and a "cough" combined.
(E) an "ahhh," an "oops" and a "cough" combined
Question #3: If a "sigh" is added as an utterance that is exactly 25% of an "ahhh," how many "sighs" would be required to equal twice the combined index value of an "oops" and an "implosion?"
(A) 96
(B) 84
(C) 72
(D) 64
(E) 48
Remember, show your work!
[ July 22, 2003: Message edited by: Jack Coleman ]