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Question 1Logical Reasoning

The city's new bike-lane program has been criticized for slowing car traffic. But the measured delays are modest-under two minutes on most routes-while bicycle collisions have fallen by a third since the lanes were added. A policy that produces substantial safety gains at small cost to drivers is a good one. Therefore the bike-lane program should be retained. Which one of the following most accurately expresses the main conclusion of the argument?

  1. The city's bike-lane program should be retained. Correct answer.
  2. Drivers should be encouraged to commute by bicycle instead of by car.
  3. Bicycle collisions in the city have fallen by a third since the lanes were added.
  4. The traffic delays caused by the program amount to less than two minutes on most routes.

Explanation

The main conclusion is the claim the rest of the passage is marshaled to support. The delay figures and the collision statistics are premises offered in favor of keeping the program, and the general principle about safety gains links those premises to that recommendation.

Question 2Logical Reasoning

In the past year, towns that installed speed cameras saw a 15 percent drop in serious accidents, while towns without cameras saw no change. Evidently the cameras caused the decline in serious accidents in those towns. The argument depends on assuming which one of the following?

  1. Drivers in towns with cameras were unaware that the cameras had been installed.
  2. Speed cameras are the most cost-effective way to reduce serious accidents.
  3. No town without cameras experienced any decline in serious accidents during the year.
  4. In the towns that installed cameras, the decline in serious accidents did not begin before the cameras were installed. Correct answer.

Explanation

To conclude that the cameras caused the decline, the argument needs the decline to follow the installation rather than precede it. If the drop had already begun beforehand, the cameras could not be credited with it, so the argument requires that this not be the case.

Question 3Logical Reasoning

All the sculptures in the courtyard are made of bronze. The statue near the fountain is in the courtyard. Therefore the statue near the fountain will require bronze-specific cleaning. Which one of the following, if assumed, allows the conclusion to be properly drawn?

  1. Any sculpture made of bronze requires bronze-specific cleaning. Correct answer.
  2. All sculptures that require bronze-specific cleaning are kept in courtyards.
  3. The statue near the fountain is the only bronze sculpture in the courtyard.
  4. Most sculptures in the courtyard require bronze-specific cleaning.

Explanation

The premises establish that the statue is bronze, so a general rule linking bronze to bronze-specific cleaning closes the gap. A universal conditional covering every bronze sculpture supplies exactly that link.

Question 4Logical Reasoning

Employees at the Riverton plant who took part in the voluntary fitness program used an average of four fewer sick days last year than employees who did not participate. The plant manager concludes that the fitness program caused the reduction in sick-day use. Which one of the following, if true, most strengthens the manager's conclusion?

  1. The fitness program was offered to employees at no cost to them.
  2. Several employees who did not participate exercised regularly on their own.
  3. The plant's total number of sick days fell by 3 percent last year.
  4. In the year before the program began, participants and nonparticipants used about the same number of sick days. Correct answer.

Explanation

The comparison is only informative if the two groups were comparable to begin with. Showing that sick-day use was similar before the program rules out the possibility that healthier employees simply chose to enroll.

Question 5Logical Reasoning

A survey of 1,200 subscribers to a cooking magazine found that 78 percent of them prefer cast-iron cookware to nonstick pans. The magazine concludes that most home cooks nationwide prefer cast-iron cookware. Which one of the following, if true, most weakens the magazine's conclusion?

  1. The magazine has subscribers in every region of the country.
  2. Cast-iron cookware retains heat better than nonstick pans do.
  3. Some of the subscribers surveyed reported using both cast-iron and nonstick cookware.
  4. Subscribers to cooking magazines are more likely than other home cooks to favor traditional cookware such as cast iron. Correct answer.

Explanation

The argument generalizes from a magazine's subscribers to all home cooks. If subscribers are atypically fond of cast iron, the sample is biased with respect to exactly the trait being measured, and the nationwide claim loses support.

Question 6Logical Reasoning

Every student who received the scholarship had a grade point average above 3.5. Therefore, any student with a grade point average above 3.5 will receive the scholarship. The reasoning is flawed because it

  1. confuses a claim about average grade point averages with a claim about individual students
  2. draws a conclusion about a particular student from a claim about students in general
  3. treats a condition that is required for receiving the scholarship as though it guaranteed receiving it Correct answer.
  4. relies on a sample that is unlikely to be representative of the student body

Explanation

The premise establishes only that a high grade point average is necessary for the scholarship. The conclusion treats that same condition as sufficient, which does not follow: other requirements could screen out students who meet it.

Question 7Logical Reasoning

Only licensed electricians may sign off on commercial wiring. Duarte signed off on the commercial wiring at the new library. So Duarte must be a licensed electrician. Which one of the following arguments is most similar in its reasoning to the argument above?

  1. Only the treasurer can approve reimbursements. The treasurer has not approved this reimbursement, so it was not approved.
  2. Only tenants may use the rooftop garden. Okafor is a tenant, so Okafor may use the rooftop garden.
  3. Only certified nurses may administer vaccines. Petrov administered a vaccine, so Petrov is a certified nurse. Correct answer.
  4. Anyone who wishes to fish in the pond must first obtain a permit. Vasquez has a permit, so Vasquez may fish in the pond.

Explanation

The original reasons from a restricted activity to the status required to perform it: performing the action establishes that the person holds the license. The nurse argument has the same form, moving from an act reserved to a group to membership in that group.

Question 8Logical Reasoning

The new bakery must use real butter, since everything it sells tastes rich, and anything made with real butter tastes rich. Which one of the following arguments contains a reasoning error most similar to the error in the argument above?

  1. The company must be losing money, because its stock price fell sharply last quarter, and falling stock prices always follow losses.
  2. The novelist must have attended the writers' workshop, because writers'-workshop graduates write with vivid imagery, and her prose is full of vivid imagery. Correct answer.
  3. The play must be a comedy, because most comedies run under two hours and this play runs ninety minutes.
  4. The machine must be working, because whenever it is broken its warning light flashes, and the light is not flashing.

Explanation

The original assumes that because butter produces richness, richness must come from butter-affirming the consequent. The novelist argument makes the same move, inferring the cause from the presence of an effect that could have other sources.

Question 9Logical Reasoning

In the year after the city lowered speed limits on residential streets and doubled the fines for speeding, the number of reported traffic accidents in those neighborhoods rose 12 percent. Yet the number of drivers exceeding the old limit fell sharply. Which one of the following, if true, most helps to resolve the apparent discrepancy?

  1. Revenue from speeding tickets increased substantially over the previous year.
  2. Many residents initially opposed the lower speed limits.
  3. That year the city began requiring a written report for every collision involving even a minor injury. Correct answer.
  4. Traffic volume in the affected neighborhoods rose only slightly that year.

Explanation

The puzzle is that speeding fell while reported accidents rose. A change in reporting requirements can raise the count of recorded accidents without any real increase in collisions, which reconciles the two facts.

Question 10Logical Reasoning

All of the volunteers at the shelter are either veterinarians or veterinary students. No veterinary student at the shelter has more than two years of clinical experience. Gallo volunteers at the shelter and has four years of clinical experience. Which one of the following must be true?

  1. Gallo is the only volunteer at the shelter with four years of clinical experience.
  2. Gallo is not a veterinary student. Correct answer.
  3. Every veterinarian at the shelter has more than two years of clinical experience.
  4. Some veterinary students at the shelter have exactly two years of clinical experience.

Explanation

Since no student volunteer has more than two years of experience and Gallo has four, Gallo cannot be a student volunteer. Given that Gallo volunteers at the shelter, Gallo cannot be classified as a veterinary student.

Question 11Logical Reasoning

In a study, participants who drank two cups of coffee an hour before a memory task performed no better than participants who drank water. However, the coffee drinkers reported feeling more alert and rated the task as easier. When the same participants repeated the task without coffee, their scores were identical to their earlier scores. Which one of the following is most strongly supported by the information above?

  1. Caffeine has no effect on any aspect of mental performance.
  2. The memory task was too difficult for most of the participants.
  3. Coffee increased the participants' sense of alertness without improving their memory performance. Correct answer.
  4. Coffee impaired the participants' memory performance relative to water.

Explanation

The coffee drinkers felt more alert and found the task easier, yet their scores matched those of water drinkers and were unchanged when they skipped coffee. The evidence therefore supports a change in perceived alertness with no measured change in performance.

Question 12Logical Reasoning

Some argue that because a new drug reduced symptoms in 60 percent of trial participants, it will help most patients. But the trial enrolled only patients under 40, while most patients who would receive the drug are over 60. So the trial's results cannot be assumed to apply to the wider patient population. The argument proceeds by

  1. challenging an inference by pointing out that the group studied differs in a relevant way from the group to which the conclusion is applied Correct answer.
  2. establishing that the drug is ineffective for patients over 60
  3. arguing that a key term in the original argument is ambiguous
  4. producing a counterexample to a general claim about drug trials

Explanation

The argument does not deny the trial's results; it denies that they transfer, because the trial population and the treatment population differ in age, which is plausibly relevant to how the drug works. That is a challenge to the generalization rather than to the data.

Question 13Logical Reasoning

Reyes: The city should replace the aging ferry with a new vessel, because maintenance costs on the current ferry have tripled in five years. Okafor: Maintenance costs have indeed risen, but a new vessel would cost far more to operate, so the city would save nothing by replacing the ferry. Reyes and Okafor disagree over whether

  1. replacing the ferry would reduce the city's overall costs Correct answer.
  2. the current ferry is the oldest vessel in the city's fleet
  3. maintenance costs on the current ferry have risen over the past five years
  4. the city needs a ferry service at all

Explanation

Reyes treats rising maintenance as a reason to expect savings from replacement, and Okafor replies that higher operating costs would offset them. Their disagreement is thus about the net financial effect of replacing the ferry.

Question 14Logical Reasoning

The school district's new later start time for high school students has improved attendance. Since the change, average daily attendance at the district's high schools has risen from 91 to 94 percent. Clearly, the later start time is responsible for the improvement. Which one of the following would be most useful to know in evaluating the argument?

  1. Do students prefer the later start time to the earlier one?
  2. Did the district's middle schools, which did not change their start times, also show attendance gains over the same period? Correct answer.
  3. How much did the district spend to implement the schedule change?
  4. How many students are enrolled in the district's high schools?

Explanation

A comparison group that did not experience the change can reveal whether something else was driving attendance upward district-wide. If middle schools improved equally, the later start time is a poor explanation for the high school gains.

Question 15Logical Reasoning

A journalist should publish a fact about a private individual only if that fact is relevant to a matter of public concern and the individual has been given an opportunity to respond. A reporter learns that the owner of a company holding a large city contract was convicted years ago of defrauding a municipal agency. Which one of the following courses of action conforms most closely to the principle?

  1. Seeking comment from the contractor before publishing the fact of the conviction. Correct answer.
  2. Publishing a private individual's medical diagnosis because the diagnosis is unusual.
  3. Publishing a rumor about a neighbor's divorce without seeking comment, because neighbors are curious about it.
  4. Declining to publish any information about private individuals under any circumstances.

Explanation

The principle permits publication of a private person's fact only when it bears on a public concern and the person has had a chance to respond. A fraud conviction bearing on a city contract satisfies the relevance condition, so the reporter should first give the contractor an opportunity to respond.

Question 16Logical Reasoning

The Riverton warehouse knows that most of its workers arrange child care around their shifts, yet it posts mandatory overtime schedules less than a day in advance, even though a week's notice would be easy to provide. Clearly, Riverton is obligated to give its workers more notice of overtime. Which one of the following principles, if valid, most helps to justify the conclusion?

  1. Employers are obligated to accommodate employees only when a legal requirement compels them to do so.
  2. Employees who receive advance notice of overtime work are more productive than those who do not.
  3. Employers should never require employees to work overtime.
  4. An employer that can foresee that a scheduling practice will disrupt employees' caregiving obligations, and that could feasibly give more notice, is obligated to do so. Correct answer.

Explanation

The premises establish foreseeability of disruption and the feasibility of greater notice. A principle that attaches an obligation precisely to those two conditions bridges the premises and the conclusion.

Question 17Logical Reasoning

The proposed ban on single-use plastic bags will not significantly reduce ocean plastic. Most ocean plastic comes from fishing gear and from mismanaged waste in a handful of rivers far from this city. The ban would therefore impose costs on local shoppers with almost no environmental benefit. The claim that most ocean plastic comes from fishing gear and from mismanaged waste in distant rivers figures in the argument as

  1. the main conclusion that the argument is trying to establish
  2. an unstated assumption on which the argument depends
  3. an illustration of a general principle stated at the beginning of the argument
  4. evidence offered in support of the claim that the ban would yield almost no environmental benefit Correct answer.

Explanation

The sentence supplies a factual basis for doubting that a local bag ban would affect the amount of plastic reaching the ocean. It functions as a premise supporting the argument's conclusion about the ban's limited benefit.

Question 18Logical Reasoning

Every painting in the Halstead collection was donated by a member of the Halstead family. The collection includes no works by living artists. The portrait of the duke is in the collection. Which one of the following can be properly inferred?

  1. The portrait of the duke is the most valuable work in the collection.
  2. Every member of the Halstead family has donated at least one painting.
  3. The portrait of the duke was donated by a member of the Halstead family. Correct answer.
  4. The Halstead family has donated only paintings.

Explanation

Since the portrait is in the collection and every painting in the collection was donated by a family member, it follows directly that a Halstead family member donated the portrait.

Question 19Logical Reasoning

Sales of the company's sunglasses rose 30 percent in the month after it began advertising on social media. Therefore the advertising campaign caused the increase in sales. Which one of the following, if true, most weakens the argument?

  1. The company's competitors also advertised on social media that month.
  2. The company spent less on the campaign than it had budgeted.
  3. The sunglasses are sold in retail stores as well as online.
  4. The month of the sales increase was the first month of a heat wave that typically triples sunglasses sales in the region. Correct answer.

Explanation

The argument infers causation from a sequence of events. A simultaneous, powerful alternative cause for the sales increase gives a competing explanation and undermines the claim that the advertising was responsible.

Question 20Logical Reasoning

Students who eat breakfast before school score higher on morning tests than students who skip breakfast. Therefore eating breakfast improves test performance. Which one of the following, if true, most strengthens the argument?

  1. Morning tests are administered in most schools.
  2. In a controlled study, students assigned at random to eat breakfast scored higher than students assigned to skip it. Correct answer.
  3. Breakfast foods vary widely from household to household.
  4. Students who skip breakfast often sleep fewer hours than students who eat it.

Explanation

Random assignment removes the possibility that some other trait shared by breakfast eaters explains their higher scores. A controlled result of this kind supports a causal interpretation far better than the original comparison of self-selected groups.

Question 21Logical Reasoning

The stone blocks of the temple at the site were quarried more than 40 kilometers away, and the temple was built in the twelfth century. Therefore the society that built the temple must have had an organized system for transporting heavy materials over long distances. Which one of the following, if assumed, allows the conclusion to be properly drawn?

  1. The quarries 40 kilometers away were the closest source of the stone used in the temple.
  2. Moving stone blocks 40 kilometers at that time required an organized system for transporting heavy materials. Correct answer.
  3. The society that built the temple also built other structures of stone.
  4. The temple's stone blocks were transported by river rather than by road.

Explanation

The premises show only that heavy stone traveled a long distance. A principle stating that such transport could not occur without an organized system supplies the missing link between that fact and the conclusion about social organization.

Question 22Logical Reasoning

Fireflies are disappearing from the meadow. Five years ago, surveys counted hundreds of them per night; this year, the surveys counted only a few dozen. So something in the meadow has changed to make it less suitable for fireflies. The argument depends on assuming which one of the following?

  1. Fireflies are more sensitive to environmental change than other insects are.
  2. Fewer than one hundred fireflies were counted in the meadow this year.
  3. The drop in counts is not the result of a change in the way the surveys were conducted. Correct answer.
  4. The meadow will eventually be restored to its former condition.

Explanation

The conclusion rested on comparing counts made at two different times. If the counting method changed in a way that lowered totals, the apparent decline could be an artifact rather than evidence about the meadow, so the argument needs that possibility ruled out.

Question 23Logical Reasoning

The mayor claims that the new park will pay for itself because visitors will spend money downtown. But the mayor has always supported parks, so his claim should not be believed. The reasoning is flawed because it

  1. confuses a cause with its effect
  2. generalizes from a sample that is too small to be reliable
  3. rejects a claim on the basis of the speaker's background rather than on the merits of the claim Correct answer.
  4. assumes the very thing it sets out to prove

Explanation

The argument dismisses the mayor's claim because of the mayor's known enthusiasm for parks rather than because of any defect in the economic reasoning. Discrediting a claim by citing its source's commitments is a classic irrelevant-attack error.

Question 24Logical Reasoning

Critics say standardized testing narrows the curriculum. There is something to this: schools that test only math and reading spend less time on history and art. But the solution is not to abandon testing; it is to test a broader range of subjects. If history and art were tested, schools would have reason to keep teaching them. Which one of the following most accurately expresses the main conclusion of the argument?

  1. Schools that test only math and reading spend less time on history and art.
  2. Standardized testing should be eliminated.
  3. Critics of standardized testing are mistaken in thinking that testing narrows the curriculum.
  4. Standardized tests should be expanded to cover more subjects rather than abandoned. Correct answer.

Explanation

The passage concedes the critics' diagnosis and then disputes their proposed remedy, urging a broader set of tested subjects instead of an end to testing. That recommendation is the claim the rest of the argument supports.

Question 25Logical Reasoning

A supermarket chain cut prices on staple goods by 10 percent, yet the stores that adopted the cuts reported higher profits than they had before. Which one of the following, if true, most helps to explain the increase in profits?

  1. The chain advertised the price cuts on television.
  2. The price cuts applied only to items the chain sells below cost.
  3. Shoppers drawn in by the cheaper staples also bought enough higher-margin goods to raise total profits. Correct answer.
  4. The chain's competitors did not change their prices on staples.

Explanation

Lower prices reduce the margin on the staples themselves, so profits must have come from elsewhere. If the cuts brought in shoppers who bought profitable items in addition, total profit can rise even though the discounted goods earn less.

Question 26Logical Reasoning

The city's plan to add a dedicated bus lane on Main Street will not reduce congestion. The lane would remove one of the three general-purpose lanes, leaving the remaining two to carry the same number of cars. The result would be longer backups in those lanes, not shorter ones. Which one of the following most accurately expresses the main conclusion?

  1. The lane would remove one of three general-purpose lanes.
  2. The city should instead add more frequent bus service.
  3. The proposed bus lane will not reduce congestion on Main Street. Correct answer.
  4. The remaining two lanes would carry the same number of cars.

Explanation

The main conclusion is the overall claim the other statements are meant to support: that the bus lane will fail to reduce congestion. The remaining sentences give reasons for that claim. The recommendation about bus service is not argued for and is not the conclusion.

Question 27Logical Reasoning

The library's decision to extend its weekend hours will increase visits, because many residents work on weekdays and cannot visit then. Which one of the following is an assumption required by the argument?

  1. Weekend visits are more valuable to the library than weekday visits.
  2. The library can afford to hire additional staff.
  3. All residents of the town work on weekdays.
  4. At least some residents who cannot visit on weekdays would visit on weekends if the hours were extended. Correct answer.

Explanation

The argument needs a link between the inability to visit on weekdays and the likelihood of weekend visits if hours are extended. Without at least some such residents, extended hours would not increase visits. The other choices are either too strong or irrelevant to the inference.

Question 28Logical Reasoning

A company installed standing desks throughout its office. In the following quarter, employee productivity rose 15 percent. The company concluded that the standing desks caused the increase. Which one of the following, if true, most weakens the argument?

  1. Some employees disliked using the standing desks.
  2. Standing desks cost more than conventional desks.
  3. The quarter in which productivity was measured was the company's busiest season, when productivity always rises. Correct answer.
  4. Not all employees used the standing desks consistently.

Explanation

The conclusion treats a rise after the installation as evidence of causation. If productivity regularly rises during that busy season regardless of furniture, the observed increase is explained without the desks. The other choices do not provide an alternative explanation for the rise.

Question 29Logical Reasoning

Students who use the online tutoring service earn higher grades, on average, than students who do not. Therefore the tutoring service improves students' grades. Which one of the following, if true, most strengthens the argument?

  1. Students who used the service had grades similar to those of nonusers before the service became available. Correct answer.
  2. The tutoring service is available to all students at no cost.
  3. Some students use the service only before final exams.
  4. Students who use the service report that they enjoy it.

Explanation

The argument infers a causal effect from a comparison between users and nonusers. Showing that the two groups were similar before the service makes it less likely that pre-existing differences explain the grade gap. That strengthens the causal claim.

Question 30Logical Reasoning

Every member of the committee who has read the report supports the proposal. Therefore, everyone who supports the proposal has read the report. The reasoning is flawed because it

  1. assumes that only those who have read the report support the proposal. Correct answer.
  2. attacks the character of the committee members.
  3. relies on a sample of committee members that is too small.
  4. uses the word "supports" in two different senses.

Explanation

The premise establishes that reading the report is sufficient for supporting the proposal. The conclusion treats reading the report as necessary for support, which reverses the conditional relationship. That is the error of assuming that only readers support the proposal.

Question 31Logical Reasoning

All of the ferns in the greenhouse are tropical plants. No tropical plant in the greenhouse can survive freezing temperatures. Which one of the following must be true?

  1. All tropical plants in the greenhouse are ferns.
  2. Some ferns in the greenhouse require daily misting.
  3. No fern in the greenhouse can survive freezing temperatures. Correct answer.
  4. Some plants that can survive freezing temperatures are not ferns.

Explanation

The ferns are a subset of the tropical plants in the greenhouse, and no tropical plant there can survive freezing. Therefore no fern in the greenhouse can survive freezing. The other choices either reverse the subset relation or introduce new information.

Question 32Logical Reasoning

A new restaurant has received excellent reviews and is crowded every night. Nevertheless, the restaurant is losing money. Which one of the following, if true, most helps to explain the discrepancy?

  1. Many customers order only water with their meals.
  2. The reviewers who praised the restaurant are not professional food critics.
  3. The restaurant charges prices that are below the cost of its ingredients, and its rent is very high. Correct answer.
  4. The chef previously worked at a more expensive restaurant.

Explanation

The puzzle is how popularity and good reviews can coexist with financial loss. If each meal is sold below ingredient cost while rent is high, high volume can increase losses. That directly reconciles the two facts.

Question 33Logical Reasoning

Principle: A person should not be held morally responsible for an outcome if, given the information available at the time, the person could not have avoided bringing about that outcome. Which one of the following judgments conforms most closely to the principle?

  1. Marta is not held responsible for failing to rescue a swimmer because the rescue boat's motor failed despite her having checked it that morning. Correct answer.
  2. A doctor who follows standard procedure but still loses a patient is held responsible because the patient died.
  3. A company is held responsible for pollution because it could have installed filters but chose not to.
  4. A driver who speeds through a school zone is responsible for an accident that occurs there.

Explanation

The principle excuses a person when the outcome could not have been avoided given the available information. Marta checked the boat and the motor failed anyway, so the rescue was not avoidable on the information she had. That matches the principle's excusing condition.

Question 34Logical Reasoning

The office plant has not flowered. The plant will flower only if it receives at least six hours of sunlight per day. Therefore, the office plant receives less than six hours of sunlight per day. Which one of the following, if assumed, allows the conclusion to be properly drawn?

  1. Some plants can flower with less than six hours of sunlight per day.
  2. The office plant is otherwise healthy.
  3. All plants need sunlight in order to grow.
  4. If the office plant received at least six hours of sunlight per day, it would flower. Correct answer.

Explanation

The premise states that sunlight is necessary for flowering, which does not permit inferring a lack of sunlight from a lack of flowers. If sufficient sunlight would guarantee flowering, then failure to flower implies the plant lacks sufficient sunlight. That assumption bridges the gap.

Question 35Logical Reasoning

A town banned single-use plastic straws. Within a year, the amount of plastic waste sent to the town landfill decreased by 10 percent. The town concluded that the ban caused the decrease. Which one of the following would be most useful to know in evaluating the argument?

  1. Whether residents supported the ban.
  2. Whether neighboring towns have considered similar bans.
  3. Whether plastic straws are the most common item in the landfill.
  4. Whether the town also started a composting program during that same year. Correct answer.

Explanation

The argument attributes the landfill decrease to the straw ban alone. If another program began at the same time, it could explain part or all of the decrease. Knowing this helps determine whether the ban was actually responsible.

Question 36Logical Reasoning

Some people argue that a medication is safe because it is made from natural ingredients. But many natural substances, such as arsenic, are highly dangerous. So the argument is not persuasive. The reasoning proceeds by

  1. appealing to the opinion of medical experts.
  2. drawing an analogy between two similar cases.
  3. presenting a counterexample to a general claim. Correct answer.
  4. questioning the motives of those who made the argument.

Explanation

The original argument assumes that natural implies safe. Arsenic is offered as a natural substance that is not safe, which is a counterexample to that general claim. The response therefore undermines the argument by showing the generalization fails.

Question 37Logical Reasoning

The company claims that its new battery lasts 20 percent longer than its competitor's. However, the test comparing the two batteries was conducted at a temperature that favors the new battery. Therefore, the company's claim is not adequately supported. The statement that the test was conducted at a temperature favoring the new battery plays which one of the following roles in the argument?

  1. It is a claim that the argument rejects as false.
  2. It is a premise offered as evidence that the claim is not supported. Correct answer.
  3. It is the main conclusion of the argument.
  4. It is an assumption needed to establish the conclusion.

Explanation

The argument's conclusion is that the company's claim is not adequately supported. The temperature detail is a stated reason supporting that conclusion. It functions as a premise, not as the conclusion itself.

Question 38Logical Reasoning

Ana: The new zoning law will reduce housing costs because it allows taller buildings, which increases the supply of apartments. Ben: That is unlikely; developers may delay their projects, and construction costs are rising. The point at issue between Ana and Ben is whether

  1. construction costs are currently rising.
  2. taller buildings are permitted under the new law.
  3. the new zoning law will lower housing costs. Correct answer.
  4. developers support the new zoning law.

Explanation

Ana predicts that the law will reduce housing costs, while Ben gives reasons for doubting that result. The disagreement is therefore about the law's effect on housing costs. The other matters are either conceded or not disputed.

Question 39Logical Reasoning

Most people believe that the old bridge is safe. Therefore, the old bridge must be safe. Which one of the following arguments is most similar in its reasoning to the argument above?

  1. The recipe must be good because it calls for expensive ingredients.
  2. The team lost because its best player was injured.
  3. Every student who studied passed the exam, so studying guarantees passing.
  4. Most residents believe that the park is well maintained, so the park must be well maintained. Correct answer.

Explanation

The original argument infers a fact about safety from the popularity of the belief. The parallel argument infers a fact about maintenance from what most residents believe. Both treat widespread belief as proof of the thing believed.

Question 40Logical Reasoning

A survey found that 80 percent of people who exercise daily report feeling happy. Therefore, daily exercise makes people happy. Which one of the following, if true, most weakens the argument?

  1. People who already feel happy are more likely than others to exercise daily. Correct answer.
  2. Some people who exercise daily do not report feeling happy.
  3. Exercise has been shown to improve physical health.
  4. The survey included people of many different ages.

Explanation

The argument treats the association between exercise and happiness as evidence that exercise causes happiness. If happiness instead tends to lead to exercise, the proposed causal direction is undermined. That is a classic reverse-causation challenge.

Question 41Logical Reasoning

Cities with more bike lanes have fewer traffic accidents. Therefore, adding bike lanes reduces traffic accidents. Which one of the following, if true, most strengthens the argument?

  1. Cyclists prefer to ride in bike lanes.
  2. Traffic accidents are costly to cities.
  3. Some cities have more bike lanes than others.
  4. The decrease in accidents occurred specifically on streets where bike lanes were added. Correct answer.

Explanation

The argument moves from a correlation across cities to a causal claim about adding lanes. Evidence that accidents fell precisely on the streets receiving lanes makes the causal explanation more plausible. It ties the change in lanes to the change in accidents.

Question 42Logical Reasoning

Some of the volunteers are trained in first aid. All of the volunteers who are trained in first aid carry radios. Which one of the following must be true?

  1. Some volunteers carry radios. Correct answer.
  2. Everyone who carries a radio is trained in first aid.
  3. No volunteer without first aid training carries a radio.
  4. All volunteers carry radios.

Explanation

At least one volunteer has first aid training, and every volunteer with first aid training carries a radio. Therefore at least one volunteer carries a radio. The other choices make stronger claims than the premises support.

Question 43Logical Reasoning

A company reduced its workforce by 20 percent, yet its total output remained exactly the same. Which one of the following, if true, most helps to explain how this could occur?

  1. The company hired several new managers.
  2. The company's sales declined during the same period.
  3. The remaining workers received lower pay.
  4. The laid-off workers had been performing tasks that were later automated. Correct answer.

Explanation

Output can stay the same despite fewer workers if the work those workers did is now done by machines. Automation provides a direct way to maintain production with a smaller workforce. The other choices do not explain how output was preserved.

Question 44Logical Reasoning

A poll of shoppers at an organic food store found that 70 percent prefer organic produce. Therefore, most people prefer organic produce. The reasoning is flawed because it

  1. generalizes from a sample that is likely unrepresentative of the general population. Correct answer.
  2. assumes what it is trying to prove.
  3. confuses a correlation with a causal relationship.
  4. relies on an ambiguous use of the word "organic."

Explanation

The poll surveyed shoppers at an organic food store, a group already inclined to favor organic products. Their preferences cannot be safely generalized to the population at large. The flaw is a biased sample.

Question 45Logical Reasoning

Because a new medicine has been tested extensively on adults, it is safe for children. Which one of the following is an assumption required by the argument?

  1. All of the adults who took the medicine recovered from their illnesses.
  2. Children respond to the medicine in the same way that adults do. Correct answer.
  3. The medicine has no side effects in adults.
  4. The medicine is the least expensive medicine available for children.

Explanation

The argument transfers a conclusion about adult safety to children. That inference requires that children's reactions to the medicine are relevantly similar to adults' reactions. Without that link, adult testing would not establish safety for children.

Question 46Logical Reasoning

If the policy is adopted, then either taxes will rise or services will be cut. Taxes will not rise. Therefore, if the policy is adopted, services will be cut. Which one of the following arguments is most similar in its logical structure to the argument above?

  1. If the grant is renewed, the lab will either hire staff or buy equipment. The lab will not hire staff. Therefore, if the grant is renewed, the lab will buy equipment. Correct answer.
  2. If the lab hires staff, it will buy equipment. The lab will buy equipment. Therefore, the lab will hire staff.
  3. If the grant is renewed, the lab will hire staff. The lab will not hire staff. Therefore, the grant will not be renewed.
  4. If the grant is renewed, the lab will either hire staff or buy equipment. The lab will buy equipment. Therefore, the lab will not hire staff.

Explanation

The original argument has the form: if P, then either Q or R; not Q; therefore if P, then R. The third choice matches this structure exactly, using a conditional with a disjunctive consequent and eliminating one disjunct. The other choices use different inferences.

Question 47Logical Reasoning

The airline will add flights to Denver only if it can acquire additional gates at the airport. The airline will acquire additional gates. Therefore, the airline will add flights to Denver. Which one of the following, if assumed, allows the conclusion to be properly drawn?

  1. The airline will not add flights to Denver unless it acquires additional gates.
  2. Some airlines add flights without acquiring additional gates.
  3. If the airline acquires additional gates, it will add flights to Denver. Correct answer.
  4. The airline has enough pilots to fly additional routes.

Explanation

The premise states that acquiring gates is necessary for adding flights, which does not justify inferring flights from gates. The needed assumption makes acquiring gates sufficient for adding flights. That conditional bridges the gap.

Question 48Logical Reasoning

A study found that people who drink wine regularly tend to live longer than people who do not drink wine. The study concluded that drinking wine causes people to live longer. Which one of the following, if true, most seriously weakens the conclusion?

  1. The study followed a large number of participants over many years.
  2. Wine contains antioxidants that may have health benefits.
  3. People who drink wine regularly tend to be wealthier and to have better access to health care than people who do not drink wine. Correct answer.
  4. Some people who drink wine regularly do not live longer than average.

Explanation

The study infers causation from a correlation. If wine drinkers also differ in wealth and health-care access, those factors could explain the longevity difference. That provides an alternative explanation for the observed association.

Question 49Logical Reasoning

Every scientist on the panel who has published in the journal has also reviewed for it. No one who has reviewed for the journal is unqualified. Some scientists on the panel are unqualified. Which one of the following must be true?

  1. Some unqualified scientists have published in the journal.
  2. All scientists on the panel have reviewed for the journal.
  3. No scientist on the panel has published in the journal.
  4. Some scientists on the panel have not published in the journal. Correct answer.

Explanation

Any panel scientist who published in the journal also reviewed for it, and no reviewer is unqualified. Since some panel scientists are unqualified, those scientists cannot have reviewed and therefore cannot have published. Thus at least some panel scientists have not published.

Question 50Logical Reasoning

Either we ban all cars from the downtown area or we accept dangerous levels of pollution. We cannot ban all cars from downtown. Therefore, we must accept dangerous levels of pollution. The reasoning is flawed because it

  1. assumes that banning all cars would eliminate pollution.
  2. assumes without justification that those are the only two alternatives available. Correct answer.
  3. relies on the testimony of people who are not experts on pollution.
  4. concludes that a policy is unacceptable merely because it has costs.

Explanation

The argument is structured as a disjunction with two options and eliminates one to infer the other. That reasoning is valid only if the two options are genuinely exhaustive. The flaw is treating a false dilemma as exhaustive when other policies might reduce pollution without banning all cars.