Luiss Master's Admission Test flashcards

32 cards. Read the term and the definition here. The deck at the top of this page is optional.

Main idea

The central claim a passage is constructed to support. It must cover the whole text, not a single supporting detail or example.

Inference in reading

A conclusion forced by the passage's stated information. The correct answer requires no outside knowledge and cannot merely be plausible.

Scope words

Terms such as all, only, never, primarily that set how broad a claim is. Answers exceeding the passage's scope are incorrect.

Contrast markers

Words like however, although, yet, despite. They signal a shift, and the author's real position usually follows the contrast rather than preceding it.

EXCEPT question

A question asking which option is not supported. Three options are confirmed by the passage; the answer contradicts it or is never mentioned.

Tone indicators

Adjectives and hedges such as regrettably, admittedly, arguably reveal the author's attitude toward the subject more reliably than the topic itself.

Analogy relation

The logical link between a pair, such as cause-effect, part-whole, or degree. Correct answers match the relation, not the subject matter.

Percent change formula

Percent change equals new value minus old value, divided by old value, times 100. The denominator is always the original value.

Successive percentage changes

Changes compound multiplicatively: multiply the factors (1 + r1)(1 + r2). Adding the percentages separately gives a wrong result.

Combined work rate

If one worker finishes in a hours and another in b hours, their joint rate is 1/a + 1/b and the time together is ab/(a + b).

Ratio scaling

A ratio a:b is written as parts ak and bk. A given total or difference then determines k, and each quantity follows.

Average and total

Total equals average multiplied by count. Adding a value above the current average raises the average; adding one below lowers it.

Compound versus simple interest

Simple interest is P × r × t. Compound interest is P(1 + r)^t − P and exceeds simple interest whenever the period exceeds one year.

Independent events rule

For independent events, P(A and B) equals P(A) times P(B). For either event, subtract the overlap: P(A) + P(B) − P(A and B).

Divisibility by 3 and 9

A number is divisible by 3 if its digit sum is a multiple of 3, and by 9 if the digit sum is a multiple of 9.

Modus ponens

A valid argument form: if P then Q, and P is true, therefore Q. The antecedent is affirmed, so the conclusion follows necessarily.

Modus tollens

A valid argument form: if P then Q, and Q is false, therefore P is false. Denying the consequent is logically valid.

Affirming the consequent

An invalid form: if P then Q, and Q is true, therefore P. Q can have other causes, so the conclusion does not follow.

Denying the antecedent

An invalid form: if P then Q, and P is false, therefore Q is false. The conditional says nothing about what happens without P.

Necessary condition

A condition required for something to occur. If Q is necessary for P, then P can happen only if Q holds: P implies Q.

Sufficient condition

A condition whose presence guarantees the outcome. If P is sufficient for Q, then P implies Q, though other routes to Q may exist.

Contrapositive

The logically equivalent form of if P then Q, namely if not Q then not P. The converse and inverse are not equivalent.

Assumption test

Negate a candidate assumption. If the argument then collapses, the candidate is a required premise; if it survives, it is not.

Correlation versus causation

A statistical association does not prove one variable causes the other. Reverse causation and third factors are standard alternative explanations.

Law of demand

Other things equal, quantity demanded falls as price rises and rises as price falls, producing a downward-sloping demand curve.

Market equilibrium

The price at which quantity supplied equals quantity demanded. Above it there is surplus; below it there is shortage.

Price elasticity of demand

The percentage change in quantity demanded divided by the percentage change in price. Demand is elastic when the absolute value exceeds one.

Opportunity cost

The value of the best alternative forgone when a choice is made. It is not the sum of every rejected option.

Gross domestic product

The market value of final goods and services produced within a country in a given period. Intermediate goods and transfer payments are excluded.

Inflation

A sustained increase in the general price level, which reduces the purchasing power of money. Deflation is the opposite movement.

Comparative advantage

A country gains from trade by specializing where its opportunity cost of production is lowest, even if it is absolutely less productive.

EU institutional roles

The European Commission proposes legislation, the European Parliament and Council of the EU adopt it, and the European Central Bank sets euro-area monetary policy.