LSAT corrections

Question 1

How do the airlines expect to prevent commercial plane crashes? Studies have shown that pilot error contributes to two-thirds of all such crashes. To address this problem, the airlines have upgraded their training programs by increasing the hours of classroom instruction and emphasizing communication skills in the cockpit. But it is unrealistic to expect such measures to compensate for pilots’ lack of actual flying time. Therefore, the airlines should rethink their training approach to reducing commercial crashes.

Which one of the following is an assumption upon which the argument depends?

Which one of the following is an assumption upon which the argument depends?

Accepted Answer

Lack of actual flying time is an important contributor to pilot error in commercial plane crashes.

Answer

Training programs can eliminate pilot errors.

Answer

Commercial pilots routinely undergo additional training throughout their careers.

Answer

The number of airline crashes will decrease if pilot training programs focus on increasing actual flying time.

Answer

Communication skills are not important to pilot training programs.

Question 2

Rhizobium bacteria living in the roots of bean plants or other legumes produce fixed nitrogen which is one of the essential plant nutrients and which for non-legume crops, such as wheat, normally must be supplied by applications of nitrogen-based fertilizer. So if biotechnology succeeds in producing wheat strains whose roots will play host to Rhizobium bacteria, the need for artificial fertilizers will be reduced.

The argument above makes which one of the following assumptions?

The argument above makes which one of the following assumptions?

Accepted Answer

Rhizobium bacteria living in the roots of wheat would produce fixed nitrogen.

Answer

Biotechnology should be directed toward producing plants that do not require artificial fertilizer.

Answer

Fixed nitrogen is currently the only soil nutrient that must be supplied by artificial fertilizer for growing wheat crops.

Answer

There are no naturally occurring strains of wheat or other grasses that have Rhizobium bacteria living in their roots.

Answer

Legumes are currently the only crops that produce their own supply of fixed nitrogen.

Question 3

Fire ants from Brazil now infest the southern united States. Unlike queen fire ants in Brazil, two queens in the United States share a nest. Ants from these nests are more aggressive than those from single-queen nests. By destroying virtually all insects in the nest area, these aggressive ants gain sole access to food sources, and the ant population skyrockets. Since certain predator insects in Brazil limit the fire-ant population there, importing such predator insects into the United States would be of overall benefit to the environment by stopping the increase of the fire-ant population in the United States.

Each of the following is an assumption made in the argument EXCEPT:

Each of the following is an assumption made in the argument EXCEPT:

Accepted Answer

The predator insects would stop the increase of the ant population before the ants spread to states that are farther north.

Answer

The imported insects would not prove more damaging to the environment in the United States than are the fire ants themselves.

Answer

The predator insects from Brazil could survive in the ecological environment found in the United States.

Answer

The especially aggressive fire ants from the two-queen nests would not be able to destroy the Brazilian predator insects.

Answer

The rate of increase of the fire-ant population would not exceed the rate at which the predator insects could kill the ants.

Question 4

Twenty years ago the Republic of Rosinia produced nearly 100 million tons of potatoes, but last year the harvest barely reached 60 million tons. Agricultural researchers, who have failed to develop new higher yielding strains of potatoes, are to blame for this decrease, since they have been concerned only with their own research and not with the needs of Rosinia.

Which one of the following is an assumption on which the argument depends?

Which one of the following is an assumption on which the argument depends?

Accepted Answer

Strains of potatoes most commonly grown in Rosinia could not have produced the yields last year that they once did.

Answer

Any current attempts by agricultural researchers to develop higher-yielding potato strains are futile.

Answer

Agricultural researchers often find concrete solutions to practical problems when investigating seemingly unrelated questions.

Answer

Wide fluctuations in the size of the potato crop over a twenty-year period are not unusual.

Answer

Agricultural research in Rosinia is funded by government grants.

Question 5

The government provides insurance for individuals' bank deposits, but requires the banks to pay the premiums for the insurance. Since it is depositors who primarily benefit from the security this insurance provides, the government should take steps to ensure that depositors who want this security bear the cost of it and thus should make depositors pay the premiums for insuring their own accounts.

Which of the following is assumed by the argument?

Which of the following is assumed by the argument?

Accepted Answer

Banks do not always cover the cost of the deposit-insurance premiums by paying depositors lower interest rates on insured deposits than the banks would on uninsured deposits.

Answer

Banks are not insured by the government against default on the loans the banks make.

Answer

Private insurance companies do not have the resources to provide banks or individual with deposit insurance.

Answer

The government limits the insurance protection it provides by insuring accounts up to a certain legally defined amount only.

Answer

The government does not allow banks to offer some kinds of accounts in which deposits are not insured.

Question 6

One sure way you can tell how quickly a new idea—for example, the idea of “privatization”—is taking hold among the population is to monitor how fast the word or words expressing that particular idea are passing into common usage. Professional opinions of whether or not words can indeed be said to have passed into common usage are available from dictionary editors, who are vitally concerned with this question.

The method described above for determining how quickly a new idea is taking hold relies on which one of the following assumptions?

The method described above for determining how quickly a new idea is taking hold relies on which one of the following assumptions?

Accepted Answer

As a word passes into common usages, its meaning does not undergo any severe distortions in the process.

Answer

Dictionary editors are not professionally interested in words that are only rarely used.

Answer

Dictionary editors have exact numerical criteria for telling when a word has passed into common usage.

Answer

For a new idea to take hold, dictionary editors have to include the relevant word or words in their dictionaries.

Answer

Words denoting new ideas tend to be used before the ideas denoted are understood.

Question 7

The dean of computing must be respected by the academic staff and be competent to oversee the use of computers on campus. The only deans whom academics respect are those who hold doctoral degrees, and only someone who really knows about computers can competently oversee the use of computers on campus. Furthermore, the board of trustees has decided that the dean of computing must be selected from among this university's staff. Therefore, the dean of computing must be a professor from this university's computer science department.

Which one of the following is an assumption on which the argument depends?

Which one of the following is an assumption on which the argument depends?

Accepted Answer

Among this university's staff members with doctoral degrees, only those in the computer science department really know about computers.

Answer

Academics respect only people who hold doctoral degrees.

Answer

All of this university's professors have obtained doctoral degrees.

Answer

At this university, every professor who holds a doctoral degree in computer science really knows about computers.

Answer

All academics who hold doctoral degrees are respected by their academic colleagues.

Question 8

A university should not be entitled to patent the inventions of its faculty members. Universities, as guarantors of intellectual freedom, should encourage the free flow of ideas and the general dissemination of knowledge. Yet a university that retains the right to patent the inventions of its faculty members has a motive to suppress information about a potentially valuable discovery until the patent for it has been secured. Clearly, suppressing information concerning such discoveries is incompatible with the university's obligation to promote the free flow of ideas.

Which one of the following is an assumption that the argument makes?

Which one of the following is an assumption that the argument makes?

Accepted Answer

Universities have a motive to suppress information concerning discoveries by their faculty members will occasionally act on that motive.

Answer

Universities are the only institutions that have an obligation to guarantee intellectual freedom.

Answer

Most inventions by university faculty members would be profitable if patented.

Answer

Publication of reports on research is the only practical way to disseminate information concerning new discoveries.

Answer

If the inventions of the university faculty member are not patented by that university, then they will be patented by the faculty member instead.

Question 9

Medical research findings are customarily not made public prior to their publication in a medical journal that has had them reviewed by a panel of experts in a process called peer review. It is claimed that this practice delays public access to potentially beneficial information that, in extreme instances, could save lives. Yet prepublication peer review is the only way to prevent erroneous and therefore potentially harmful information from reaching a public that is ill equipped to evaluate medical claims on its own. Therefore, waiting until a medical journal has published the research findings that have passed peer review is the price that must be paid to protect the public from making decisions based on possibly substandard research.

The argument assumes that:

The argument assumes that:

Accepted Answer

unless medical research findings are brought to peer review by a medical journal, peer review will not occur

Answer

anyone who does not serve on medical review panel does not have the necessary knowledge and expertise to evaluate medical research finding

Answer

the general public does not have access to the medical journals in which research findings are published

Answer

all medical research findings are subjected to prepublication peer review

Answer

peer review panels are sometimes subject to political and professional pressures that can make their judgments less than impartial

Question 10

Marcus: For most ethical dilemmas the journalist is likely to face, traditional journalistic ethics is clear, adequate, and essentially correct. For example, when journalists have uncovered newsworthy information, they should go to press with it as soon as possible. No delay motivated by the journalists’ personal or professional interests is permissible.

Anita: Well, Marcus, of course interesting and important information should be brought before the public—that is a journalist’s job. But in the typical case, where a journalist has some information but is in a quandary about whether it is yet important or “newsworthy,” this guidance is inadequate.

In order to conclude properly from Anita’s statements that Marcus’ general claim about traditional journalistic ethics is incorrect, it would have to be assumed that:

Accepted Answer

whether a piece of information is or is not newsworthy can raise ethical dilemmas for journalists

Answer

there are circumstances in which it would be ethically wrong for a journalist to go to press with legitimately acquired, newsworthy information

Answer

the most serious professional dilemmas that a journalist is likely to face are not ethical dilemmas

Answer

there are no ethical dilemmas that a journalist is likely to face that would not be conclusively resolved by an adequate system of journalistic ethics

Answer

For a system of journalistic ethics to be adequate it must be able to provide guidance in every case in which a journalist must make a professional decision

Question 11

The format of network television news programs generally allows advocates of a point of view only 30 seconds to convey their message. Consequently, regular watchers become accustomed to thinking of issues in terms only of slogans and catch phrases, and so the expectation of careful discussion of public issues gradually disappears from their awareness. The format of newspaper stories, on the other hand, leads readers to pursue details of stories headed by the most important facts and so has the opposite effect on regular readers—that of maintaining the expectation of careful discussion of public issues. Therefore, in contrast to regular newspaper reading, regular watching of network television news programs increases the tendency to think of public issues in oversimplified terms.

The argument assumes which one of the following?

The argument assumes which one of the following?

Accepted Answer

In network television news reports, it is not usual for a reporter to offer additional factual evidence and background information to develop a story in which opposing views are presented briefly by their advocates.

Answer

Viewers of network television news programs would be interested in seeing advocates of opposing views present their positions at length.

Answer

Since it is not possible to present striking images that would symbolize events for viewers, and since images hold sway over words in television, television must oversimplify.

Answer

It is not possible for television to present public issues in a way that allows for the nuanced presentation of diverse views and a good-faith interchange between advocates of opposing views.

Answer

Television news reporters introduce more of their own biases into news stories than do newspaper reporters.

Question 12

Stage performances are judged to be realistic to the degree that actors reproduce on stage the behaviors generally associated by audiences with the emotional states of the characters portrayed. Traditional actors imitate those behaviors, whereas Method actors, through recollection of personal experience, actually experience the same emotions that their characters are meant to be experiencing. Audiences will therefore judge the performances of Method actors to be more realistic than the performances of traditional actors.

Which one of the following is an assumption on which the argument depends?

Which one of the following is an assumption on which the argument depends?

Accepted Answer

The behavior that results when a Method actor tells a certain emotion will conform to the behavior that is generally associated by audiences with that emotion.

Answer

Performances based on an actors own experience of emotional states are more likely to affect an audience's emotions than are performances based on imitations of the behaviors generally associated with those emotional states.

Answer

Realism is an essential criterion for evaluating the performances of both traditional actors and Method actors.

Answer

Traditional actors do not aim to produce performances that are realistic representations of a characters emotional states.

Answer

In order to portray a character, a Method actor need not have had experiences identical to those of the character portrayed.

Question 13

“Addiction” has been defined as “dependence on and abuse of a psychoactive substance.” Dependence and abuse do not always go hand in hand, however. For example, cancer patients can become dependent on morphine to relieve their pain, but this is not abusing the drug. Correspondingly, a person can abuse a drug without being dependent on it. Therefore, the definition of “addiction” is incorrect.

The relevance of the example of cancer patients to the argument depends on the assumption that

The relevance of the example of cancer patients to the argument depends on the assumption that

Accepted Answer

cancer patients who are dependent on morphine are addicted to it

Answer

cancer patients never abuse morphine

Answer

cancer patients often become dependent on morphine

Answer

cancer patients who abuse a drug are dependent on it

Answer

cancer patients cannot depend on morphine without abusing it

Question 14

When permits for the discharge of chemicals into a waterway are issued, they are issued in terms of the number of pounds each chemical that can be discharged into the waterway per day. These figures, calculated separately for each chemical for which a permit is issued, are based on an estimate of the effect of the dilution of the chemical by the amount of water flowing through the waterway. The waterway is therefore protected against being adversely affected by chemicals discharged under the permits.

The argument depends on the assumption that

The argument depends on the assumption that

Accepted Answer

relatively harmless chemicals do not interact with each other in the water to form harmful compounds

Answer

there is a swift flow of water in the waterway that ensures rapid dispersion of chemicals discharged

Answer

there are no chemicals for which discharge into waterways is entirely prohibited

Answer

those who receive the permits do not always discharge the entire quantity of chemicals that the permits allow

Answer

the danger of chemical pollution of waterways is to be evaluated in terms of human health only and not in terms of the health of both human beings and wildlife

Question 15

Cafeteria patron: The apples sold in this cafeteria are greasy. The cashier told me that the apples are in that condition when they are delivered to the cafeteria and that the cafeteria does not wash the apples it sells. Most fruit is sprayed with dangerous pesticides before it is harvested, and is dangerous until it is washed. Clearly, the cafeteria is selling pesticide-covered fruit, thereby endangering its patrons.

Which one of the following is an assumption on which the argument depends?

Which one of the following is an assumption on which the argument depends?

Accepted Answer

The apples that the cafeteria sells are not thoroughly washed after harvest but before reaching the cafeteria.

Answer

Most pesticides that are sprayed on fruit before harvest leave a greasy residue on the fruit.

Answer

Many of the cafeteria's patrons are unaware that the cafeteria does not wash the apples it sells.

Answer

Only pesticides that leave a greasy residue on fruit can be washed off.

Answer

Fruits other than apples also arrive at the cafeteria in a greasy condition.

Question 16

Even the earliest known species of land animals, known from fossils dating from the late Silurian period, 400 million years ago, show highly evolved adaptations to life on land. Since neither aquatic nor amphibious animals exhibit these adaptations, early species of land animals must have evolved very rapidly after leaving an aquatic environment.

Which one of the following is an assumption on which the argument depends?

Which one of the following is an assumption on which the argument depends?

Accepted Answer

Known fossils of early land animals include fossils of animals that lived relatively soon after the first emergence of land animals.

Answer

Fossils from the late Silurian period represent only a small number of the animal species that were alive at that time.

Answer

No plants were established on land before the late Silurian period.

Answer

No present-day species of aquatic animal is descended from a species of animal that once lived on land.

Answer

All animals alive in the late Silurian period lived either exclusively on land or exclusively in the water.

Question 17

A company with long-outstanding bills owed by its customers can assign those bills to collection agency that pays the company a fraction of their amount and then tries to collect payment from the customers. Since these agencies pay companies only 15 percent of the total amount of the outstanding bills, a company interested in reducing losses from long-outstanding bills would be well advised to pursue its debtors on its own.

The argument depends on the assumption that:

The argument depends on the assumption that:

Accepted Answer

a company that pursues its debtors on its own typically collects more than 15 percent of the total amount of the long-outstanding bills that it is owed

Answer

the cost to a company of pursuing its debtors on its own for payment of long-outstanding bills does not exceed 15 percent of the total amount of those bills

Answer

collection agencies that are assigned bills for collection by companies are unsuccessful in collecting, on average, only 15 percent of the total amount of those bills.

Answer

at least 15 percent of the customers that owe money to companies eventually pay their bills whether or not those bills are assigned to a collection agency

Answer

unless most of the customers of a company pay their bills, that company in the long run will not be profitable.

Question 18

Computer operating system software has become increasingly standardized. But when a large business with multiple, linked computer systems uses identical operating system software on all of its computers, a computer vandal who gains access to one computer automatically has access to the data on all the computers. Using a program known as a “virus,” the vandal can then destroy much of the data on all the computers. If such a business introduced minor variations into its operating system software, unauthorized access to all the computers at the same time could be virtually eliminated. Furthermore variations in operating system software can be created without any lose of computer compatibility to the business. Therefore, it is advisable for businesses to implement such variations.

Which one of the following, if true, supports the conclusion in the passage?

Which one of the following, if true, supports the conclusion in the passage?

Accepted Answer

Correcting any damage resulting from an invasion by a computer virus program is more expensive than preventing the damage.

Answer

Standardization of computer operating system software has increased computer compatibility among different businesses.

Answer

It is not costly for a business to maintain incompatible computer operating systems.

Answer

There are other kinds of destructive computer programs that do not depend on inter-computer links.

Answer

Not all businesses need to share date among their internal computer systems.

Question 19

Marine biologists have long thought that variation in the shell color of aquatic snails evolved as a protective camouflage against birds and other predators. Brown shells seem to be more frequent when the underlying seafloor is dark-colored and white shells more frequent when the underlying seafloor is light-colored. A new theory has been advanced, however, that claims that shell color is related to physiological stress associated with heat absorption. According to this theory, brown shells will be more prevalent in areas where the wave action of the sea is great and thus heat absorption from the Sun is minimized, whereas white shells will be more numerous in calmer waters where the snails will absorb more heat from the Sun's rays.

Evidence that would strongly favor the new theory over the traditional theory would be the discovery of a large majority of

Evidence that would strongly favor the new theory over the traditional theory would be the discovery of a large majority of

Accepted Answer

light-shelled snails in a calm inlet with a dark, rocky bottom and many predators

Answer

dark-shelled snails in a calm inlet with a dark, rocky bottom and many predators

Answer

dark-shelled snails in a calm inlet with a white, sandy bottom

Answer

light-shelled snails in an inlet with much wave action and a dark, rocky bottom

Answer

light-shelled snails in a calm inlet with a white, sandy bottom and many predators

Question 20

Even if a crime that has been committed by computer is discovered and reported, the odds of being both arrested and convicted greatly favor the criminal.

Each of the following, if true, supports the claim above EXCEPT:

Accepted Answer

Computer criminals have rarely been sentenced to serve time in prison, because prisons are overcrowded with violent criminals and drug offenders.

Answer

The preparation of computer-fraud cases takes much more time than is required for average fraud cases, and the productivity of prosecutors is evaluated by the number of good cases made.

Answer

In most police departments, officers are rotated through different assignments every two or three years, a shorter time than it takes to become proficient as a computer-crime investigator.

Answer

The priorities of local police departments, under whose jurisdiction most computer crime falls, are weighted toward visible street crime that communities perceive as threatening.

Answer

The many police officers who are untrained in computers often inadvertently destroy the physical evidence of computer crime.

Question 21

If the public library shared by the adjacent towns of Redville and Glenwood were relocated from the library's current, overcrowded building in central Redville to a larger, available building in central Glenwood, the library would then be within walking distance of a larger number of library users. That is because there are many more people living in central Glenwood than in central Redville, and people generally will walk to the library only if it is located close to their homes.

Which one of the following, if true, most strengthens the argument?

Which one of the following, if true, most strengthens the argument?

Accepted Answer

The area covered by central Glenwood is approximately the same size as that covered by central Redville.

Answer

The public library was located between Glenwood and Redville before being moved to its current location in central Redville.

Answer

The building that is available in Glenwood is smaller than an alternative building that is available in Redville.

Answer

Many of the people who use the public library do not live in either Glenwood or Redville.

Answer

The distance that people currently walk to get to the library is farther than what is generally considered walking distance.

OA is

Question 22

The number of aircraft collisions on the ground is increasing because of the substantial increase in the number of flights operated by the airlines. Many of the fatalities that occur in such collisions are caused not by the collision itself, but by an inherent flaw in the cabin design of most aircraft, in which seats, by restricting access to emergency exits, impede escape. Therefore, to reduce the total number of fatalities that result annually from such collisions, the airlines should be required to remove all seats that restrict access to emergency exits.

Which one of the following proposals, if implemented together with the proposal made in the passage, would improve the prospects for achieving the stated objective of reducing fatalities?

Which one of the following proposals, if implemented together with the proposal made in the passage, would improve the prospects for achieving the stated objective of reducing fatalities?

Accepted Answer

The airlines should not be permitted to increase further the number of lights in order to offset the decrease in the number of seats on each aircraft.

Answer

The airlines should be required, when buying new planes, to buy only planes with unrestricted access to emergency exits.

Answer

Airport authorities should be required to streamline their passenger check-in procedures to accommodate the increased number of passengers served by the airlines.

Answer

Airport authorities should be required to refine security precautions by making them less conspicuous without making them less effective.

Answer

The airlines should not be allowed to increase the ticket price for each passenger to offset the decrease in the number of seats on each aircraft.

Question 23

In a mature tourist market such as Bellaria there are only two ways hotel owners can increase profits: by building more rooms or by improving what is already there. Rigid land-use laws in Bellaria rule out construction of new hotels or, indeed, any expansion of hotel capacity. It follows that hotel owners cannot increase their profits in Bellaria since Bellarian hotels______

Which one of the following logically completes the argument?

Which one of the following logically completes the argument?

Accepted Answer

already provide a level of luxury that is at the limits of what even wealthy patrons are prepared to pay for

Answer

are already operating at an occupancy rate approaching 100 percent year-round

Answer

could not have been sited any more attractively than they are even in the absence of land-use laws

Answer

have to contend with upward pressures on the cost of labor which stem from an incipient shortage of trained personnel

Answer

have shifted from serving mainly Bellarian tourists to serving foreign tourists traveling in organized tour groups

Question 24

In Peru, ancient disturbances in the dark surface material of a desert show up as light-colored lines that are the width of a footpath and stretch for long distances. One group of lines branching out like rays from a single point crosses over curved lines that form a very large bird figure. Interpreting the lines in the desert as landing strips for spaceship-traveling aliens, an investigator argues that they could hardly have been Inca roads, asking, “What use to the Inca would have been closely spaced roads that ran parallel? That intersected in a sunburst pattern? That came abruptly to an end in the middle of an uninhabited plain.”

For someone who interprets the lines as referring to astronomical phenomena, which one of the following, if true, most effectively counters an objection that the crossing of the straight-line pattern over the bird figure shows that the two kinds of line pattern served unrelated purposes?

For someone who interprets the lines as referring to astronomical phenomena, which one of the following, if true, most effectively counters an objection that the crossing of the straight-line pattern over the bird figure shows that the two kinds of line pattern served unrelated purposes?

Accepted Answer

The straight lines are consistent with sight lines to points on the horizon where particular astronomical events could have been observed at certain plausible dates, and the figure could represent a constellation.

Answer

In areas that were inhabited by ancient native North American peoples, arrangements of stones have been found that make places where sunlight falls precisely on the spring solstice, an astronomically determined date.

Answer

The straight-line pattern is part of a large connected complex of patterns of straight-line rays connecting certain points with one another.

Answer

Native Central American cultures, such as that of the Maya, left behind elaborate astronomical calendars that were engraved on rocks.

Answer

There is evidence that the bird figure was made well before the straight-line pattern.

Question 25

In the United States proven oil reserves-the amount of oil considered extractable from known fields-are at the same level as they were ten years ago. Yet over this same period no new oil fields of any consequence have been discovered, and the annual consumption of domestically produced oil has increased.

Which one of the following, if true best reconciles the discrepancy described above?

Which one of the following, if true best reconciles the discrepancy described above?

Accepted Answer

Due to technological advances over the last decade, much oil previously considered unextractable is now considered extractable.

Answer

Over the past decade the annual consumption of imported oil has increased more rapidly than that of domestic oil in the United States.

Answer

Conservation measures have lowered the rate of growth of domestic oil consumption from what it was a decade ago.

Answer

Oil exploration in the United States has slowed due to increased concern over the environmental impact of such exploration.

Answer

The price of domestically produced oil has fallen substantially over the past decade.

Question 26

On the basis of incontestable proof that car safety seats will greatly reduce the number of serious injuries sustained by children in car accidents, laws have been passed mandating the use of these seats. Unexpectedly, it has since been found that a large number of children who are riding in safety seats continue to receive serious injuries that safety seats were specifically designed to avoid, and in the prevention of which they in fact have proven to be effective.

Which one of the following, if true, could by itself adequately explain the unexpected finding reported in the passage?

Which one of the following, if true, could by itself adequately explain the unexpected finding reported in the passage?

Accepted Answer

The protection afforded by child safety seats depends on their being used properly, which many parents fail to do.

Answer

Many parents are defying the law by not using safety seats for their children.

Answer

Children are more likely to make automobile trips now than they were before the introduction of the safety seat.

Answer

The high cost of child safety seats has caused many parents to delay purchasing them.

Answer

The car safety seat was not designed to prevent all types of injuries, so it is not surprising that some injuries are sustained.

Question 27

In clinical trials of new medicines, half of the subjects receive the drug being tested and half receive a physiologically inert substance ?a placebo. Trials are designed with the intention that neither subjects nor experimenters will find out which subjects are actually being given the drug being tested. However, this intention is frequently frustrated because ____.

Which one of the following, if true, most appropriately completes the explanation?

Which one of the following, if true, most appropriately completes the explanation?

Accepted Answer

often the subjects who receive the drug being tested develop symptoms that the experimenters recognize as side effects of the physiologically active drug

Answer

subjects who believe they are receiving the drug being tested often display improvements in their conditions regardless of whether what is administered to them is physiologically active or not

Answer

in general, when the trial is intended to establish the experimental drug's safety rather than its effectiveness, all of the subjects are healthy

Answer

when a trial runs a long time, few of the experimenters will work on it from inception to conclusion

Answer

the people who are subjects for clinical trials must, by law, be volunteers and must be informed of the possibility that they will receive a placebo

Question 28

Once consumers recognize that a period of inflation has begun, there is generally an increase in consumer spending. This increase can be readily explained by consumers’ desire not to postpone purchases that will surely increase in price. But during protracted periods of inflation, consumers eventually begin to put off making even routine purchases, despite the fact that consumers continue to expect price to rise and despite the fact that salaries also rise during inflationary periods.

Which one of the following, if true, most helps to explain the apparent inconsistency in consumer behavior described above?

Which one of the following, if true, most helps to explain the apparent inconsistency in consumer behavior described above?

Accepted Answer

Consumers’ purchasing power decreases during periods of protracted inflation since salaries do not keep pace with prices.

Answer

During times of inflation consumers save more money than they do in noninflationary periods.

Answer

There is usually a lag between the leading economic indicators first signaling the onset of an inflationary period and consumers’ recognition of its onset.

Answer

No generalization that describes human behavior will be true of every type of human behavior.

Answer

If significant numbers of consumers are unable to make purchases, prices will eventually fall but salaries will not be directly affected.

Question 29

Michelangelo’s sixteenth-century Sistine Chapel paintings are currently being restored. A goal of the restorers is to uncover Michelangelo’s original work, and so additions made to Michelangelo’s paintings by later artists are being removed. However, the restorers have decided to make one exception: to leave intact additions that were painted by da Volterra.

Which one of the following, if true, most helps to reconcile the restorers’ decision with the goal stated in the passage?

Which one of the following, if true, most helps to reconcile the restorers’ decision with the goal stated in the passage?

Accepted Answer

The restorers believe that da Volterra stripped away all previous layers of paint before he painted his own additions to the Sistine Chapel.

Answer

Because da Volterra used a type of pigment that is especially sensitive to light, the additions to the Sistine Chapel that ad Volterra painted have relatively muted colors.

Answer

Da Volterra’s additions were painted in a style that was similar to the style used by Michelangelo.

Answer

Michelangelo is famous primarily for his sculptures and only secondarily for his paintings, whereas da Volterra is known exclusively for his paintings.

Answer

Da Volterra’s work is considered by certain art historians to be just as valuable as the work of additions to Michelangelo’s work.

Question 30

The “suicide wave” that followed the United States stock market crash of October 1929 is more legend than fact. Careful examination of the monthly figures on the causes of death in 1929 shows that the number of suicides in October and in November was comparatively low. In only three other months were the monthly figures lower. During the summer months, when the stock market was flourishing, the number of suicides was substantially higher.

Which one of the following, if true, would best challenge the conclusion of the passage?

Which one of the following, if true, would best challenge the conclusion of the passage?

Accepted Answer

The suicide rate in October and November of 1929 was considerably higher than the average for those months during several preceding and following years.

Answer

The suicide rate is influenced by many psychological, interpersonal, and societal factors during any given historical period.

Answer

October and November have almost always had relatively high suicide rates, even during the 1920s and 1930s.

Answer

During the years surrounding the stock market crash, suicide rates were typically lower at the beginning of any calendar year than toward the end of that year.

Answer

Because of seasonal differences, the number of suicides in October and November of 1929 would not be expected to be the same as those for other mont

Question 31

Samples from the floor of a rock shelter in Pennsylvania were dated by analyzing the carbon they contained. The dates assigned to samples associated which human activities formed a consistent series, beginning with the present and going back in time, a series that was correlated with the depth from which the samples came. The oldest and deepest sample was dated at 19,650 years before the present, plus or minus 2,400 years. Skeptic, viewing that date of human migration into North America, suggested that the samples could have been contaminated by dissolved "old carbon" carried by percolating groundwater from nearby coal deposits.

Which one of the following considerations, if true, argues most strongly against the suggestion of the skeptics?

Which one of the following considerations, if true, argues most strongly against the suggestion of the skeptics?

Accepted Answer

No likely mechanism of contamination involving percolating groundwater would have affected the deeper samples from the site without affecting the uppermost sample.

Answer

Not every application of the carbon-dating procedure has led to results that have been generally acceptable to scientists.

Answer

There is no evidence that people were using coal for fuel at any time when the deepest layer might have been laid down.

Answer

No sample in the series, when retested by the carbon-dating procedure, was assigned an earlier date than that assigned to a sample from a layer above it.

Answer

No North American site besides the one in Pennsylvania has ever yielded a sample to which the carbon-dating procedure assigned a date that was comparably ancient.

Question 32

A favored theory to explain the extinction of dinosaurs, together with many other species, has been the globally catastrophic collision of a large asteroid with the Earth. Supporting evidence is an extraterrestrial chemical element in a layer of dust found worldwide at a geological level laid down contemporaneously with the supported event. A new competing theory contends that any asteroid impact was irrelevant, because it was massive volcanic activity that caused the extinctions by putting enough dust into the atmosphere to cool the planet. The Decean region of India contains extensive volcanic flows that occurred within the same time period as the supposed asteroid impact and the extinctions.

Which one of the following, if true, most of strongly indicates that the asteroid-impact theory is at least incomplete, if not false?

Which one of the following, if true, most of strongly indicates that the asteroid-impact theory is at least incomplete, if not false?

Accepted Answer

The fossil record in Montano from below the layer of extraterrestrial dust shows a diminution over time in dinosaur species from 35 to 13, and dinosaur teeth found above the dust layer show a diminution in species from 13 to 5.

Answer

Large concentrations of dinosaur nests with fossil eggs found in Alberta indicate that at least some species of dinosaurs congregated in large groups during some part of their lives.

Answer

Dinosaur remains indicate that some species of dinosaur could have migrated in herds over wide ranges, so that they could have traveled to escape the local effects of certain catastrophes.

Answer

Legends from many cultures, such as the Greek legend that Cadmus raised an army by sowing dragons' teeth in the ground, show that various accident peoples worldwide were familiar with the fossils of dinosaurs.

Answer

In the Gobi desert in China, where now only small animals can eke out an existence, fossil dinosaur skeletons 27 feet long were found in circumstances indicating that the climate there was as dry when the dinosaurs lived as it is now.

Question 33

Fares on the city-run public buses in Greenville are subsidized by city tax revenues, but among the beneficiaries of the low fares are many people who commute from outside the city to jobs in Greenville. Some city councilors argue that city taxes should be used primarily to benefit the people who pay them, and therefore that bus fares should be raised enough to cover the cost of the service.

Each of the following, if true, would weaken the argument advanced by the city councilors EXCEPT:

Each of the following, if true, would weaken the argument advanced by the city councilors EXCEPT:

Accepted Answer

Voters in the city, many of whom benefit from the low transit fares, are strongly opposed to increasing local taxes.

Answer

Many businesses whose presence in the city is beneficial to the city’s taxpayers would relocate outside the city if public-transit fare were more expensive.

Answer

By providing commuters with economic incentives to drive to work, higher transit fares would worsen air pollution in Greenville and increase the cost of maintaining the city’s streets.

Answer

Increasing transit fares would disadvantage those residents of the city whose low incomes make them exempt from city taxes, and all city councilors agree that these residents should be able to take advantage of city-run services.

Answer

People who work in Greenville and earn wages above the nationally mandated minimum all pay the city wage tax of 5 percent

Question 34

Household indebtedness, which some theorists regard as causing recession, was high preceding the recent recession, but so was the value of assets owned by households. Admittedly, if most of the assets were owned by quite affluent households, and most of the debt was owed by low-income households, high household debt levels could have been the cause of the recession despite high asset values: low-income households might have decreased spending in order to pay off debts while the quite affluent ones might simply have failed to increase spending. But, in fact, quite affluent people must have owed most of the household debt, since money is not lent to those without assets. Therefore, the real cause must lie elsewhere.

Which one of the following, if true, casts the most doubt on the argument?

Which one of the following, if true, casts the most doubt on the argument?

Accepted Answer

Prior to the recent recession, middle-income households owed enough debt that they had begun to decrease spending.

Answer

The total value of the economy's household debt is exceeded by the total value of assets held by households.

Answer

Low-income households somewhat decreased their spending during the recent recession.

Answer

During a recession the affluent usually borrow money only in order to purchase assets

Answer

Household debt is the category of debt least likely to affect the economy.

Question 35

Orthodox medicine is ineffective at both ends of the spectrum of ailments. At the more trivial end, orthodox medicine is largely ineffective in treating aches, pains and allergies, and, at the other extreme, it has yet to produce a cure for serious, life-threatening diseases such as advanced cancer and lupus. People turn to alternative medicine when orthodox medicine fails to help them and when it produces side effects that are unacceptable to them. One of the reasons alternative medicines is free of such side effects is that it does not have any effects at all.

The charge made above against alternative medicine is most seriously weakened if it is true that

The charge made above against alternative medicine is most seriously weakened if it is true that

Accepted Answer

a patient’s belief in the medical treatment the patient is receiving can release the body’s own chemical painkillers, diminish allergic reactions, and promote healing

Answer

predictions based on orthodox medicine have sometimes failed, as when a patient has recovered despite the judgment of doctors that an illness is fatal

Answer

alternative medicine relies on concepts of the body and of the nature of healing that differ from those on which orthodox medicine is based

Answer

alternative medicine provides hope to those for whom orthodox medicine offers no cure

Answer

many treatments used for a time by orthodox medicine have later been found to be totally ineffective

Question 36

Recent unexpectedly heavy rainfalls in the metropolitan area have filled the reservoirs and streams; water rationing, therefore, will not be necessary this summer.

Which one of the following, if true, most undermines the author's prediction?

Accepted Answer

The water company's capacity to pump water to customers has not kept up with the increased demand created by population growth in the metropolitan area.

Answer

Water rationing was imposed in the city in three of the last five years.

Answer

A small part of the city's water supply is obtained from deep underground water systems that are not reached by rainwater

Answer

The long-range weather forecast predicts lower-than-average temperatures for this summer.

Answer

In most years the city receives less total precipitation in the summer than it receives in any other season.

Question 37

During the 1980s the homicide rate in Britain rose by 50 percent. The weapon used usually was a knife. Potentially lethal knives are sold openly and legally in many shops. Most homicide deaths occur as a result of unpremeditated assaults within the family. Even if these are increasing, they would probably not result in deaths if it were not for the prevalence of such knives. Thus the blame lies with the permissiveness of the government that allows such lethal weapons to be sold.

Which one of the following is the strongest criticism of the argument above?

Which one of the following is the strongest criticism of the argument above?

Accepted Answer

If the potentially lethal knives referred to are ordinary household knives, such knives were common before the rise in the homicide rate; but if they are weaponry, such knives are not generally available in households.

Answer

There are other means besides knives, such as guns or poison, that can be used to accomplish homicide by a person who intends to cause the death of another.

Answer

It is impossible to know how many unpremeditated assaults occur within the family, since many are not reported to the authorities.

Answer

Knives are used in other homicides besides those that result from unpremeditated assaults within the family

Answer

The argument assumes without justification that the knives used to commit homicide are generally purchased as part of a deliberate plan to commit murder or to inflict grievous harm on a family member.

Question 38

Sasha: Handwriting analysis should be banned in court as evidence of a person’s character: handwriting analysts called as witnesses habitually exaggerate the reliability of their analyses.

Gregory: You are right that the current use of handwriting analysis as evidence is problematic. But this problem exists only because there is no licensing board to set professional standards and thus deter irresponsible analyst from making exaggerated claims. When such a board is established, however, handwriting analysis by licensed practitioners will be a legitimate courtroom tool for character assessment.

Which one of the following, if true, would provide Sasha with the strongest counter to Gregory’s response?

Accepted Answer

The only handwriting analysts who claim that handwriting provides reliable evidence of a person’s character are irresponsible.

Answer

Courts routinely use means other than handwriting analysis to provide evidence of a person’s character.

Answer

Many people can provide two samples of their handwriting so different that only a highly trained professional could identify them as having been written by the same person.

Answer

A licensing board would inevitably refuse to grant licenses to some responsible handwriting analysts for reasons having nothing to do with their reliability.

Answer

The number of handwriting analysts who could conform to professional standards set by a licensing board is very small.

Question 39

The Scorpio Miser with its special high-efficiency engine costs more to buy than the standard Scorpio sports car. At current fuel prices, a buyer choosing the Miser would have to drive it 60,000 miles to make up the difference in purchase price through savings on fuel. It follows that, if fuel prices fell, it would take fewer miles to reach the break-even point.

Which one of the following arguments contains an error of reasoning similar to that in the argument above?

Which one of the following arguments contains an error of reasoning similar to that in the argument above?

Accepted Answer

With the Roadmaker, a crew can repave a mile of decayed road in less time than with the competing model, which is, however, much less expensive. Reduced staffing levels made possible by the Roadmaker eventually compensate for its higher price. Therefore, the Roadmaker is especially advantageous where average wages are low.

Answer

The true annual rate of earnings on an interest-bearing account is the annual rate of interest less the annual rate of inflation. Consequently, if the rate of inflation drips, the rate of interest can be reduced by an equal amount without there being a change in the true rate of earnings.

Answer

For retail food stores, the Polar freezer, unlike the Arctic freezer, provides a consistent temperature that allows the store to carry premium frozen foods. Thus, if electricity rates fell, a lower volume of premium-food sales could justify choosing the Polar freezer.

Answer

The improve strain the Northland apple tree bears fruit younger and lives longer than the standard strain. The standard strain does grow larger at maturity, but to allow for this, standard trees must be spaced farther apart. Therefore, new plantings should all be of the improved strain.

Answer

Stocks pay dividends, which vary from year to year depending on profits made. Bonds pay interest, which remains constant from year to year. Therefore, since the interest earned on bonds does not decrease when economic conditions decline, investors interested in a reliable income should choose bonds.

Question 40

Certain governments subsidize certain basic agricultural products in order to guarantee an adequate domestic production of them. But subsidies encourage more intensive farming, which eventually leads to soil exhaustion and drastically reduced yields.

The situation above is most nearly similar to which one of the following situations with respect to the relationship between the declared intent of a government practice and a circumstance relevant to it?

Accepted Answer

Certain governments build strong armed forces in order to forestall armed conflict, but in order to maintain the sort of discipline and morale that keeps armed forces strong, those forces must be used in actual combat periodically.

Answer

Certain governments subsidize theaters in order to attract foreign tourists. But tourists rarely choose a destination for the theatrical performances it has to offer.

Answer

Certain governments restrict imports in order to keep domestic producers in business. But, since domestic producers do not have to face the full force of foreign competition, some domestic producers are able to earn inordinately high profits.

Answer

Certain governments reduce taxes on business in order to stimulate private investment. But any investment is to some extent a gamble, and new business ventures are not always as successful as their owners hoped.

Answer

Certain governments pass traffic laws in order to make travel safer. But the population-driven growth in volumes of traffic often has the effect of making travel less safe despite the passage of new traffic laws.

Question 41

Of the two proposals for solving the traffic problems on Main Street, Chen's plan is better for the city as a whole, as is clear from the fact that the principal supporter of Ripley's plan is Smith Stores. Smith Stores, with its highly paid consultants, knows where its own interest lies and, moreover, has supported its own interests in the past, even to the detriment of the city as a whole.

The faulty reasoning in which one of the following is most parallel to that in the argument above?

The faulty reasoning in which one of the following is most parallel to that in the argument above?

Accepted Answer

The planned light-rail system will clearly serve suburban areas well, since its main opponent is the city government, which has always ignored the needs of the suburbs and sought only to protect the interests of the city.

Answer

Surely Centreville should oppose adoption of the regional planning commission's new plan since it is not in Centreville's interest, even though it might be in the interest of some towns in the region.

Answer

The school board should support the plan for the new high school since this plan was recommended by the well-qualified consultants whom the school board hired at great expense.

Answer

Of the two budget proposals, the mayor's is clearly preferable to the city council's, since the mayor's budget addresses the needs of the city as a whole, whereas the city council is protecting special interests.

Answer

Nomura is clearly a better candidate for college president than Miller, since Nomura has the support of the three deans who best understand the president's job and with whom the president will have to work most closely.

Question 42

On average, city bus drivers who are using the new computerized fare-collection system have a much better on-time record than do drivers using the old fare collection system. Millicent Smith has the best on-time record of any bus driver in the city. Therefore, she must be using the computerized fare-collection system.

Which one of the following contains flawed reasoning most similar to that contained in the argument above?

Which one of the following contains flawed reasoning most similar to that contained in the argument above?

Accepted Answer

This tomato is the largest of this year's crop. Since the tomatoes in the
experimental plot are on average larger than those grown in the regular plots,this tomato must have been grown in the experiment plot .

Answer

All the city's solid-waste collection vehicles acquired after 1988 have a large capacity than any of those acquired before 1988. This vehicle has the largest capacity of any the city owns, so it must have been acquired after 1988.

Answer

The soccer players on the blue team are generally taller than the players on the gold team. Since Henri is a member of the blue team, he is undoubtedly taller than most of the members of the gold team.

Answer

Last week's snowstorm in Toronto was probably an average storm for the area. It was certainly heavier than any snowstorm known to have occurred in Miami, but any average snowstorm in Toronto leaves more snow than ever falls in Miami.

Answer

Lawn mowers powered by electricity generally require less maintenance than do lawn mowers powered by gasoline. This lawn mower is powered by gasoline, so it will probably require a lot of maintenance.

Question 43

Zachary: One would have to be blind to the reality of moral obligation to deny that people who believe a course of action to be morally obligatory for them have both the right and the duty to pursue that action, and that no one else has any right to stop them from doing so.

Cynthia: But imagine an artist who feels morally obliged to do whatever she can to prevent works of art from being destroyed confronting a morally committed antipornography demonstrator engaged in destroying artworks he deems pornographic. According to your principle that artist has, simultaneously, both the right and the duty to stop the destruction and no right whatsoever to stop it.

Which one of the following, if substituted for the scenario invoked by Cynthia, would preserve the force of her argument?

Accepted Answer

a health inspector who feels morally obliged to enforce restrictions on the number of cats a householder may keep confronting a householder who, feeling morally obliged to keep every stray that comes along, has over twice that number of cats

Answer

a medical researcher who feels a moral obligation not to claim sole credit for work that was performed in part by someone else confronting another researcher who feels no such moral obligation

Answer

a manufacturer who feels a moral obligation to recall potentially dangerous products confronting a consumer advocate who feels morally obliged to expose product defects

Answer

an investment banker who believes that governments are morally obliged to regulate major industries confronting an investment banker who holds that governments have a moral obligation not to interfere with market forces

Answer

an architect who feels amoral obligation to design only energy-efficient buildings confronting, as a potential client, a corporation that believes its primary moral obligation is to maximize shareholder profits

Question 44

The commissioner has announced that Judge Khalid, who was on the seven-member panel appointed to resolve the Amlec labor dispute, will have sole responsibility for resolving the Simdon labor dispute. Since in its decision the Amlec panel showed itself both reasonable and fair, the two sides in the Simdon dispute are undoubtedly justified in the confidence they have expressed in the reasonableness and fairness of the arbitrator assigned to their case.

Which one of the following contains flawed reasoning most parallel to that contained in the passage?

Which one of the following contains flawed reasoning most parallel to that contained in the passage?

Accepted Answer

Ula Borg, who has sold real estate for Arcande Realty for many years, undoubtedly sold fewer houses last year that she had the year before since the number of houses sold last year by Arcande Realty is far lower than the number sold the previous year.

Answer

Representing the school board, Marcia Barthes presented to the school's principal a list of recently elected school board members. Since only an elected member of the school board can act as its representative. Ms. Barthe's name undoubtedly appears on that list.

Answer

Alan Caldalf, who likes being around young children, has decided to become a pediatrician. Since the one characteristic common to all good pediatricians is that they like young children, Mr. Caldalf will undoubtedly be a very good pediatrician.

Answer

Jorge Diaz is a teacher at a music school nationally known for the excellence of its conducting faculty. Since Mr. Diaz has recently been commended for the excellence of his teaching, he is undoubtedly a member of the school's conducting faculty.

Answer

The members of the local historical society unanimously support designating the First National Bank building a historical landmark. Since Evelyn George is a member of that society, she undoubtedly favors according landmark status to the city hall as well.

Question 45

The Volunteer for Literacy Program would benefit if Dolores takes Victors place as director, since Dolores is far more skillful than Victor is at securing the kind of financial support the program needs and Dolores does not have Victor’s propensity for alienating program’s most dedicated volunteers.

The pattern of reasoning in the argument above is most closely paralleled in which one of the following?

The pattern of reasoning in the argument above is most closely paralleled in which one of the following?

Accepted Answer

(A) It would be more convenient for Dominique to take a bus to school than to take the subway, since the bus stops closer to her house than does the subway and, unlike the subway, the bus goes directly to the school.

Answer

Joshua’s interest would be better served by taking the bus to get to his parent’s house rather than by taking an airplane, since his primary concern is to travel as cheaply as possible and taking the bus is less expensive than going by airplane.

Answer

Belinda will get to the concert more quickly by subway than by taxi since the concert takes place on a Friday evening and on Friday evenings traffic near the concert hall is exceptionally heavy.

Answer

Anita would benefit financially by taking the train to work rather than driving her car, since when she drives she has to pay parking fees and the daily fee for parking a car is higher than a round-trip train ticket.

Answer

It would be to Fred’s advantage to exchange his bus tickets for train tickets since he needs to arrive at his meeting before any of the other participants and if he goes by bus at least one of the other participants will arrive first.

Question 46

The only plants in the garden were tulips, but they were tall tulips. So the only plants in the garden were tall plants.

Which one of the following exhibits faulty reasoning most similar to the faulty reasoning in the argument above?

Accepted Answer

All the primates in the zoo were gorillas. The only gorillas in the zoo were small gorillas. Thus the only primates in the zoo were small primates.

Answer

The only dogs in the show were poodles and they were all black poodles. So all the dogs in the show were black.

Answer

All the buildings on the block were tall. The only buildings on the block were office buildings and residential towers. So all the office buildings on the block were tall buildings.

Answer

The only fruit in the kitchen was pears but the pears were not ripe. Thus none of the fruit in the kitchen was ripe.

Answer

All the grand pianos here are large. All the grand pianos here are heavy. Thus everything large is heavy.

Question 47

Some of the most prosperous nations in the world have experienced a pronounced drop in national savings-rates - the percentage of after-tax income an average household saves. This trend will undoubtedly continue if the average age of these nations' populations continues to rise, since older people have fewer reasons to save than do younger people.

Which one of the following indicates an error in the reasoning leading to the prediction above?

Which one of the following indicates an error in the reasoning leading to the prediction above?

Accepted Answer

It only takes into account the comparative number of reasons older and younger people, respectively, have for saving, and not the comparative strength of those reasons.

Answer

It fails to specify the many reasons younger people have for saving money, and it 
fails to identify which of those reasons is the strongest.

Answer

It assumes that a negative savings rate - the result of the average household's 
spending all of its after-tax income as well as some of its existing savings - cannot ever come about in any nation.

Answer

It fails to cite statistics showing that the average age of the population of certain nations is rising.

Answer

It uses after-tax income as the base for computing the national savings rate without establishing by argument that after-tax income is a more appropriate base than before-tax income.

Question 48

The public in the United States has in the past been conditioned to support a substantial defense budget by the threat of confrontation with the Eastern bloc. Now that that threat is dissolving, along with the Eastern bloc itself, it is doubtful whether the public can be persuaded to support an adequate defense budget.

Which one of the following indicates a weakness in the position expressed above?

Which one of the following indicates a weakness in the position expressed above?

Accepted Answer

It hinges on the term “adequate,” the precise meaning of which requires reevaluation in the new context.

Answer

It presupposes that public opinion can be manipulated indefinitely, without the public’s becoming aware of that manipulation.

Answer

It refers to past and present events that do not have a causal connection with public support of the budget.

Answer

It assumes as fact what it seeks to establish by reasoning.

Answer

It fails to give any reason for the judgment it reaches.

Question 49

Certain minor peculiarities of language are used unconsciously by poets. If such peculiarities appear in the works of more than one poet, they are likely to reflect the language in common use during the poets’ time. However, if they appear in the work of only one poet, they are likely to be personal idiosyncrasies. As such, they can provide a kind of “fingerprint” that allows scholars, by comparing a poem of previously unknown authorship to the work of a particular known poet, to identify the poem as the work of that poet.

For which one of the following reasons can the test described above never provide conclusive proof of the authorship of any poem?

For which one of the following reasons can the test described above never provide conclusive proof of the authorship of any poem?

Accepted Answer

A peculiarity of language in a poem of unknown authorship could be evidence either that the poem was written by the one author known to use that peculiarity or that the peculiarity was not unique to that author.

Answer

The labor of analyzing peculiarities of language both in the work of a known poet and in a poem of unknown authorship would not be undertaken unless other evidence already suggested that the poem of unknown authorship was written by the known poet.

Answer

A peculiarity of language that might be used as an identifying mark is likely to be widely scattered in the work of a poet, so that a single poem not known to have been written by that poet might not include that peculiarity.

Answer

Minor peculiarities of language contribute far less to the literary effect of any poem than such factors as poetic form, subject matter, and deliberately chosen wording.

Answer

A poet’s use of some peculiarities of language might have been unconscious in some poems and conscious in other poems, and the two uses would be indistinguishable to scholars at a later date.

Question 50

Joshua Smith's new novel was criticized by the book editor for The Daily Standard as implausible. That criticism, like so many other criticisms from the same source in the past , is completely unwarranted. As anyone who has actually read the novel would agree. Each one of the incidents in which Smith's hero gets involved is the kind of incident that could very well have happened to someone or other.

Which one of the following is the most serious error of reasoning in the argument?

Which one of the following is the most serious error of reasoning in the argument?

Accepted Answer

It takes for granted that a whole story will have a given characteristics if each of its parts has that characteristics

Answer

It relies on the assumption that a criticism can legitimately by dismissed as unwarranted if it is offended by someone who had previously displayed questionable judgment

Answer

It ignores the fact that people can agree about something even though what they agree about is not the case.

Answer

It calls into question the intellectual integrity of the critic in order to avoid having to address the grounds on which the criticism is based

Answer

It attempts to justify its conclusion by citing reasons that most people would find plausible only if they were already convinced that the conclusion was true

Question 51

Psychotherapy has been described as a form of moral coercion. However, when people are coerced, their ability to make choices is restricted, and the goal of psychotherapy is to enhance people’s ability to make choices. Hence, psychotherapy cannot possibly be a form of coercion.

Which one of the following describes a flaw in the argument?

Which one of the following describes a flaw in the argument?

Accepted Answer

No allowance is made for the fact that the practice or results of psychotherapy might run counter to its goals.

Answer

The position being argued against is redefined unfairly in order to make it an easier target.

Answer

Psychotherapy is unfairly criticized for having a single goal, rather than having many complex goals.

Answer

The goals of psychotherapy are taken to justify any means that are used to achieve those goals.

Answer

It offers no argument to show that moral coercion is always undesirable.

Question 52

Saunders: Everyone at last week’s neighborhood association meeting agreed that the row of abandoned and vandalized houses on Carlton Street posed a threat to the safety of our neighborhood. Moreover, no one now disputes that getting the houses torn down eliminated that threat. Some people tried to argue that it was unnecessary to demolish what they claimed were basically sound buildings, since the city had established a fund to help people in need of housing buy and rehabilitate such buildings. The overwhelming success of the demolition strategy, however, proves that the majority, who favored demolition, were right and that those who claimed that the problem could and should be solved by rehabilitating the houses were wrong.

Saunders’ reasoning is flawed because it

Saunders’ reasoning is flawed because it

Accepted Answer

offers no evidence that the policy advocated by Saunders’ opponents would not have succeeded if it had been given the chance

Answer

relies on fear rather than on argument to persuade the neighborhood association to reject the policy advocated by Saunders’ opponents

Answer

fails to establish that there is anyone who could qualify for city funds who would be interested in buying and rehabilitating the houses

Answer

mistakenly equates an absence of vocal public dissent with the presence of universal public support

Answer

does not specify the precise nature of the threat to neighborhood safety supposedly posed by the vandalized houses

Question 53

Mayor Smith, one of our few government officials with a record of outspoken, informed, and consistent opposition to nuclear power plant construction projects, has now declared herself in favor of building the nuclear power plant at Littletown. If someone with her past antinuclear record now favors building this power plant, then there is good reason to believe that it will be safe and therefore should be built.

The argument is vulnerable to criticism on which one of the following grounds?

The argument is vulnerable to criticism on which one of the following grounds?

Accepted Answer

It leads to the further but unacceptable conclusion that any project favored by Mayor Smith should be sanctioned simply on the basis of her having spoken out in favor of it.

Answer

It overlooks the possibility that not all those who fail to speak out on issues of nuclear power are necessarily opposed to it.

Answer

It assumes without warrant that the qualities enabling a person to be elected to public office confer on that person a grasp of the scientific principles on which technical decisions are based.

Answer

It fails to establish that a consistent and outspoken opposition is necessarily an informed opposition.

Answer

It gives no indication of either the basis of Mayor Smith’s former opposition to nuclear power plant construction or the reasons for her support for the Littletown project

Question 54

A contract, whether expressed or unexpressed, exists when two parties engage with each other for the reciprocal transfer of benefits. Thus, in accepting support from public funds, an artist creates at least an unexpressed contract between himself or herself and the public, and the public can rightly expect to benefit from the artist's work.

Which one of the following most accurately describes an error in reasoning in the passage?

Which one of the following most accurately describes an error in reasoning in the passage?

Accepted Answer

concluding that a definition is fully applicable to a situation when it is known only that the situation conforms partially to that definition

Answer

attempting to justify a rule of conduct on the grounds that it confers benefits on all of the parties involved

Answer

speaking only in abstract terms about matters that involve contingencies and that must be judged on a case-by-case basis

Answer

confusing the type of mental or emotional activity in which an individual can engage with the mental or emotional states that can characterize groups of individuals

Answer

treating an issue that requires resolution through political processes as if it were merely a matter of opinion

Question 55

The proposal to extend clinical trials, which are routinely used as systematic tests of pharmaceutical innovations, to new surgical procedures should not be implemented. The point is that surgical procedures differ in one important respect from medicinal drugs: a correctly prescribed drug depends for its effectiveness only on the drug's composition, whereas the effectiveness of even the most appropriate surgical procedure is transparently related to the skills of the surgeon who uses it.

The reasoning in the argument is flawed because the argument

The reasoning in the argument is flawed because the argument

Accepted Answer

does not consider that new surgical procedures might be found to be intrinsically more harmful than the best treatment previously available

Answer

ignores the possibility that the challenged proposal is deliberately crude in a way designed to elicit criticism to be used in refining the proposal

Answer

assumes that a surgeon's skills remain unchanged throughout the surgeon's professional life

Answer

describes a dissimilarity without citing any scientific evidence for the existence of that dissimilarity

Answer

rejects a proposal presumably advanced in good faith without acknowledging any such good faith

Question 56

Until recently it was thought that ink used before the sixteenth century did not contain titanium. However, a new type of analysis detected titanium in the ink of the famous Bible printed by Johannes Gutenberg and in that of another fifteenth-century Bible known as B-36, though not in the ink of any of numerous other fifteenth-century books analyzed. This finding is of great significance, since it not only strongly supports the hypothesis that B-36 was printed by Gutenberg but also shows that the presence of titanium in the ink of the purportedly fifteenth century Vinland Map can no longer be regarded as a reason for doubting the map's authenticity.

The reasoning in the passage is vulnerable to criticism on the ground that

The reasoning in the passage is vulnerable to criticism on the ground that

Accepted Answer

the results of the analysis are interpreted as indicating that the use of titanium as an ingredient in fifteenth-century ink both was, and was not, extremely restricted

Answer

if the technology that makes it possible to detect titanium in printing ink has only recently become available, it is unlikely that printers or artists in the fifteenth century would know whether their ink contained titanium or not

Answer

it is unreasonable to suppose that determination of the date and location of a document's printing or drawing can be made solely on the basis of the presence or absence of a single element in the ink used in the document

Answer

both the B-36 Bible and the Vinland Map are objects that can be appreciated on their own merits whether or not the precise date of their creation or the identity of the person who made them is known

Answer

the discovery of titanium in the ink of the Vinland Map must have occurred before titanium was discovered in the ink of the Gutenberg Bible and the B-36 Bible

Question 57

A certain airport security scanner designed to detect explosives in luggage will alert the scanner’s operator whenever the piece of luggage passing under the scanner contains an explosive. The scanner will erroneously alert the operator for only one percent of the pieces of luggage that contain no explosives. Thus in ninety-nine out of a hundred alerts explosives will actually be present.

The reasoning in the argument is flawed because the argument

The reasoning in the argument is flawed because the argument

Accepted Answer

substitutes one group for a different group in the statement of a percentage

Answer

ignores the possibility of the scanner’s failing to signal an alert when the luggage does contain an explosive

Answer

draws a general conclusion about reliability on the basis of a sample that is likely to be biased

Answer

ignores the possibility of human error on the part of the scanner’s operator once the scanner has alerted him or her

Answer

fails to acknowledge the possibility that the scanner will not be equally sensitive to all kinds of explosives

Question 58

The government of Penglai, an isolated island, proposed eliminating outdoor adverting except for small signs of standard shape that identify places of business. Some island merchants protested that the law would reduce the overall volume of business in Penglai, pointing to a report done by the government indicating that in every industry the Penglai businesses that used outdoor advertising had a larger market share than those that did not.

Which one of the following describes an error of reasoning in the merchants’ argument?

Which one of the following describes an error of reasoning in the merchants’ argument?

Accepted Answer

assuming without giving justification that the outdoor advertising increased market share by some means other than by diverting trade from competing businesses

Answer

presupposing that there are no good reasons for restricting the use of outdoor advertising in Penglai

Answer

ignoring the question of whether the government’s survey of the island could be objective

Answer

failing to establish whether the market-share advantage enjoyed by businesses employing outdoor advertising was precisely proportionate to the amount of advertising

Answer

disregarding the possibility that the government’s proposed restrictions are unconstitutional

Question 59

According to government official involved in overseeing airplane safety during the last year, over 75 percent of the voice-recorder tapes taken from small airplanes involved in relatively minor accidents record the whistling of the pilot during the fifteen minutes immediately preceding the accident. Even such minor accidents pose some safety risk. Therefore, if passengers hear the pilot start to whistle they should take safety precautions, whether instructed by the pilot to do so or not.

The argument is most vulnerable to criticism on the grounds that it

The argument is most vulnerable to criticism on the grounds that it

Accepted Answer

ignores the fact that in nearly one quarter of these accidents following the recommendation would not have improved passenger' safety

Answer

accepts the reliability of the cited statistics on the authority of an unidentified government official

Answer

does not indicate the criteria by which an accident is classified as "relatively minor"

Answer

provides no information about the percentage of all small airplane flights during which the pilot whistles at some time during that flight

Answer

fails to specify the percentage of all small airplane flights that involve relatively minor accidents

Question 60

Without information that could only have come from someone present at the secret meeting between the finance minister and the leader of the opposition party, the newspaper story that forced the finance minister to resign could not have been written. No one witnessed the meeting, however, except the ministerâ€™s aide. It is clear, therefore, that the finance minister was ultimately brought down, not by any of his powerful political enemies, but by his own trusted aide.

The argument commits which one of the following errors of reasoning?

The argument commits which one of the following errors of reasoning?

Accepted Answer

drawing a conclusion on the basis of evidence that provides equally strong support for a competing conclusion

Answer

assuming without warrant that if one thing cannot occur without another thing's already having occurred, then the earlier thing cannot occur without bringing about the later thing

Answer

confusing evidence that a given outcome on one occasion was brought about in a certain way with evidence that the same outcome on a different occasion was brought about in that way

Answer

basing its conclusion on evidence that is almost entirely irrelevant to the point at issue

Answer

treating evidence that a given action contributed to bringing about a certain effect as though that evidence established that the given action by itself was sufficient to bring about that effect

Question 61

Although inflated government spending for weapons research encourages waste at weapons research laboratories, weapons production plants must be viewed as equally wasteful of taxpayer dollars. After all, by the government's own admission, the weapons plant it plans to reopen will violate at least 69 environmental, health, and safety laws. The government has decided to reopen the plant and exempt it from compliance, even though the weapons to be produced there could be produced at the same cost at a safer facility.

The reasoning in the argument is most vulnerable to criticism on which one of the following grounds?

The reasoning in the argument is most vulnerable to criticism on which one of the following grounds?

Accepted Answer

It relies on evidence that does not directly address the issue of wasteful spending.

Answer

It offers no evidence that the "safer'" alternative production site actually complies with any of the laws mentioned.

Answer

It concedes a point regarding weapons research laboratories that undermines its conclusion about weapons production plants.

Answer

It confuses necessary expenditures for research with wasteful spending on weapons

Answer

It fails to establish that research laboratories and weapons production plants are similar enough to be meaningfully compared

Question 62

A controversial program rewards prison inmates who behave particularly well in prison by giving them the chance to receive free cosmetic plastic surgery performed by medical students. The program is obviously morally questionable, both in its assumptions about what inmates might want and in its use of the prison population to train future surgeons. 
Putting these moral issues aside, however, the surgery clearly has a powerful rehabilitative effect as is shown by the fact that, among recipients of the surgery, the proportion who are convicted of new crimes committed after release is only half that for the prison population as a whole.

A flaw in the reasoning of the passage is that

Accepted Answer

relies on evidence drawn from a sample that there is reason to believe is unrepresentative

Answer

allows moral issues to be a consideration in presenting evidence about matters of fact

Answer

dismisses moral considerations on the grounds that only matters of fact are relevant

Answer

labels the program as "controversial" instead of discussing the issues that give rise to controversy

Answer

asserts that the rehabilitation of criminals is not a moral issue

Question 63

Many people do not understand themselves, nor do they try to gain . These people might try to understand others, but these attempts are sure to fail, because without self-understanding it is impossible to understand others. It is clear from this that anyone who lacks self-understanding will be incapable of understanding others.

The reasoning in the argument is flawed because the argument

The reasoning in the argument is flawed because the argument

Accepted Answer

draws a conclusion that simply restates a claim given in support of that conclusion

Answer

mistakes something that is necessary to bring about a situation for something that in itself is enough to bring about that situation

Answer

fails to take into account the possibility that not everyone wants to gain a thorough understanding of himself or herself

Answer

blames people for something for which they cannot legitimately be held responsible

Answer

makes use of the inherently vague term “self-understanding” without defining that term

Question 64

Politician: Critics of wetlands-protection bill are delaying passage of this important legislation merely on the grounds that they disagree with its new more restrictive definition of the term “wetlands.” But this bill will place stricter limits on the development of wetlands than the existing regulations do. Therefore, in quibbling over semantics, critics of this bill show that they care little about what really happens to our wetlands.

politician’s reply to the opponents of the wetlands-protection bill is most vulnerable to which one of the following criticisms?

politician’s reply to the opponents of the wetlands-protection bill is most vulnerable to which one of the following criticisms?

Accepted Answer

It does not adequately recognize the possibility that the definition of the word “wetlands” determines the impact of the legislation.

Answer

It falsely identifies the motives of those who have criticized the wetlands-protection bill with the motives of all those who are opposed to conservation.

Answer

It assumes without justification that those who criticized the wetlands-protection bill stand to profit if the bill is defeated.

Answer

It fails to provide a defense for a less restrictive definition of “wetlands.”

Answer

It attempts to defend the credibility of the author of the bill rather than defending the bill itself.

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