TEST23 CRITICAL REASONING 2_LSAT
section iv
time-35 minutes
26 questions
directions: the questions in this section are based on the reasoning contained in brief statements or passages. for some questions, more than one of the choices could conceivably answer the question. however, you are to choose the best answer; that is, the response that most accurately and completely answers the question. you should not make assumptions that are by commonsense standards implausible, superfluous, or incompatible with the passage. after you have chosen the best answer, blacken the corresponding space on your answer sheet.
1. three-year-old sara and her playmate michael are both ill and have the same symptoms. since they play together every afternoon. sara probably has the same illness as michael does. since michael definitely does not have a streptococcal infection, despite his having some symptoms of one, the illness that sara has is definitely not a streptococcal infection either.
the reasoning in the argument is flawed because the argument
(a) presuppose what it sets out to prove
(b) mistakes the cause of a particular phenomenon for the effect of that phenomenon
(c) fails to distinguish between acute streptococcal infections on the one hand, and less severe streptococcal infections on the other.
(d) treats evidence that the conclusion is probably true as if that evidence establishes the certainty of the conclusion
(e) makes a general claim based on particular examples that so not adequately represent the respective groups that they are each intended to represent
2. lambert: the proposal to raise gasoline taxes to support mass transit networks is unfair. why should drivers who will never use train or bus lines be forced to pay for them?
keziah: you have misunderstood. the government has always spent far more, per user, from general revenue sources to fund highways than to fund mass transit, the additional revenue from the gasoline tax will simply allow the government to make its distribution of transportation funds more equitable.
keziah uses which one of the following argumentative strategies in replying to lambert?
(a) elaborating the context of the issue in order to place the proposal in a more favorable light
(b) appealing the principle that what benefits society as a whole benefits all individual within that society
(c) challenging the presupposition that fairness is an appropriate criterion on which to judge the matter
(d) demonstrating that the proposed tax increase will not result in increased expenses for drivers
(e) declining to argue a point with someone who is poorly informed on the matter under discussion.
3. the number of calories in a gram of refined cane sugar is the same as in an equal amount of fructose, the natural sugar found in fruits and vegetables. therefore, a piece of candy made with a give amount of refined cane sugar is no higher in calories than a pieced of fruit that contains an equal amount of fructose.
the reasoning in the arguments is flawed because the argument
(a) fails to consider the possibility that fruit might contain noncaloric nutrients that candy does not contain
(b) presupposes that all candy is made with similar amounts of sugar
(c) confuses on kind of sugar with another.
(d) presupposes what it sets out to establish, that fruit does not differ from sugar-based candy in the number of calories each contains
(e) overlooks the possibility that sugar might not be the only calorie-containing ingredient in candy or fruit.
4. in order to increase production, abc company should implement a flextime schedule, which would allow individual employees some flexibility in deciding when to begin and end their workday. studies have shown that working under flextime schedules is associated with increased employee morale.
the argument depends on the assumption that
(a) the employees who prefer a flextime schedule are the most productive employees at abc company.
(b) an increase in the morale of abc company抯 employees could lead to increased production
(c) flextime schedules tend to be associated with reduced lateness and absenteeism
(d) employees are most productive during the part of the day when all employees are present
(e) companies that are in competition with abc company also use a flextime schedule.
5. attorneys for a criminal defendant charged that the government, in a cover-up, had destroyed evidence that government replied that there is no evidence that would even tend to support the defendant in the case.
which one of the following is the most accurate evaluation of the government抯 reply?
(a) it leaves open the question of whether the government had destroyed such evidence.
(b) it establishes
that the attorneys' charge is and exaggeration.
(c) it shows that the attorneys did not know whether their charge was true.
(d) it demonstrates the government抯 failure to search for evidence in its files.
(e) if true, it effectively disproves the charge made on behalf of the defendant.
6. videocassette recorders (vcrs) enable people to watch movies at home on videotape. people who own vcrs go to movie theaters more often than do people who do not own vcrs. contrary to popular belief, therefore, owning a vcr actually stimulates people to got tot movie theaters more often than they otherwise would.
the argument is most vulnerable to criticism on the grounds that it
(a) concludes that a claim must be false because of the mere absence of evidence in its favor
(b) cites in support of the conclusion evidence that is inconsistent with other information that is provided
(c) fails to establish that the phenomena interpreted as cause and effect are not both direct effects of some other factor
(d) takes a condition that by itself guarantees the occurrence of a certain phenomenon to be a condition that therefore must be met for that phenomenon to occur
(e) bases a broad claim about the behavior of people in general on a comparison between two groups of people that together include only a small proportion of people overall.
7. the cumbersome spears that were the principal weapons used by certain tribes in the early bronze age precluded widespread casualties during intertribal conflicts. but the comparatively high number of warrior tombs found in recent excavations of the same tribes' late bronze age settlements indicates that in the late bronze age, wars between these tribes were frequent, and the casualty rate was high. hence some archaeologists claim that by the late bronze age, these tribes had developed new methods of warfare designed to inflict many casualties.
which one of the following, if true, most supports the archaeologists' claim?
(a) a royal tomb dating to the early bronze age contained pottery depicting battle scenes in which warriors use spears.
(b) there is evidence that many buildings dating to the late bronze age were built by prisoners of war taken in battles between enemy tribes.
(c) scenes of violent warfare, painted in bright hues, frequently appear on pottery that has been found in some early bronze age tombs of warriors.
(d) some tombs of warriors dating to the late bronze age contain armor and weapons that anthropologists believe were trophies taken from enemies in battle.
(e) the marks on the bones of many of the late bronze age warriors whose tombs were excavated are consistent with the kind of wounds inflicted by arrowheads also found in many late bronze age settlements.
8. based on data collected from policyholders, life insurance companies have developed tables that list standard weight ranges for various heights. policyholders whose weight fell within the range given for their height lived longer than those whose weight fell outside their given range. therefore, if people whose weight falls outside their given range modified their weight to fall within that range, their overall life expectancies would improve.
which one of the following is an assumption on which the argument relies?
(a) some people would be unwilling to modify their weights solely to increase the general population抯 overall life expectancies.
(b) life insurance companies intended their tables to guide individuals in adjusting their weights in order to increase their life spans.
(c) the tables include data gathered from policyholders whose deaths resulted from accidents in addition to those whose deaths resulted from natural causes.
(d) holders of life insurance policies do not have longer overall life expectancies than the general population .
(e) people抯 efforts to modify their weight to conform to a given range would not damage their health enough to decrease their overall life expectancies.
9. measurements of the motion of the planet uranus seem to show uranus being tugged by a force pulling it away from the sun and the inner planets, neptune and pluto, the two known planets whose orbits are farther from the sun than is the orbit of uranus, do not have enough mass to exert the force that the measurements indicate. therefore, in addition to the known planets, there must be at least one planet in our solar system that we have yet to discover.
which one of the following, if true, most seriously weakens the argument?
(a) pluto was not discovered until 1930.
(b) there is a belt of comets beyond the orbit of pluto with powerful gravitational pull.
(c) neither neptune nor pluto is as massive as uranus.
(d) the force the sun exerts on uranus is weaker than the force it exerts on the inner pla
nets.
(e) uranus' orbit is closer to neptune's orbit than it is to pluto's
10. audiences find a speaker more convincing if the speaker begins a speech by arguing briefly against his or her position before providing reasons for accepting it. the reason this technique is so effective is that it makes the speaker appear fair-minded and trustworthy. therefore, candidates for national political office who wish to be successful in winning votes should use this argumentative technique in the speeches.
which one of the following, if true, most seriously limits the effectiveness of adopting the argument's recommendation?
(a) political candidates typically have no control over which excerpts from their speeches will be reported by the news media.
(b) many people do not find arguments made by politicians convincing, since the arguments are often on-sided or oversimplify the issues.
(c) people decide which political candidate to vote form more on the basis of their opinions of the candidate's character than on the exact positions of the candidate.
(d) people regard a political candidate more favorably if they think that the candidate respects an opponent's position even while disagreeing with it.
(e) political candidates have to address audiences of many different sizes and at many different locations in the course of a political campaign.
11. five thousand of the 50,000 books published in country z in 1991 were novels. exactly 25 of the films released in country z in 1992 were based on books published in country z in 1991.
which one of the following, if assumed, allows the conclusion above to be properly drawn?
(a) none of the scripts used in films released in 1992 were written by professional novelists.
(b) none of the films released in country z in 1992 were based on books other than novels.
(c) none of the books that were published in country z in 1992 were based on plots of films released in 1991.
(d) some of the films released in country z in 1992 were based on older films that had been released for the first time many years earlier.
(e) some of the films released in 1991 in country z were based on novels that were published in 1991.
12. on their way from their nest to a food source, ants of most species leave a trail of chemicals called pheromones. the ants use the scent of the pheromones to guide themselves between the food and their nest. all pheromones evaporate without a trace almost immediately when temperatures rise above 45 degrees celsius (113 degree fahrenheit), as is typical during afternoons in places such as the sahara desert.
the statements above, if true, most strongly support which one of the following?
(a) most ants forage for food either only in the morning or only during the night.
(b) most ants that do not use pheromones to mark the paths they take between their nest and food live in the sahara desert.
(c) if any ants live in the sahara desert and forage for food at no time but in the afternoon, those ants generally do not use pheromones to guide themselves between food and their nest.
(d) if any ants do not use pheromones to navigate between food and their nest, those ants use a different substance that does not evaporate in temperatures above 45 degrees celsius.
(e) if any saharan ants forage for food in the afternoon, those ants forage for food less efficiently when temperatures are above 45 degrees celsius than they do when temperatures are lower.
13. some people think that in every barrel of politicians there are only a few rotten ones. but if deceit is a quality of rottenness, i believe all effective politicians are rotten. they must be deceitful in order to do the job properly. someone who is scrupulously honest about obeying the rules of society will never be an effective politician.
assuming that the author's statements are accurate, which one of the following statements cannot be true?
(f) some people think all politicians are rotten.
(g) some politicians are scrupulously honest.
(h) some people define a politician's job as obeying the rules of society.
(i) some deceitful politicians are ineffective.
(j) some scrupulously honest politicians are effective.
14. the biocarb company wants to build a sterilization plant to treat contaminated medical waste in a city neighborhood where residents and environmental activists fear that such a facility will pollute the area. biocarb' s president argues that the operation of the plant cannot cause pollution because the waste would be sterile after processing by the plant. he claims that after exposure for an hour to superheated steam in the autoclave, such refuse would be far cleaner than food prepared in the cleanest kitchen.
the president's argument depends on which one of the following assumptions?
(a) environmental activists believe that waste treated with steam will not pollute.
(b) handing of the waste before treatment in the proposed facility will not pose a threat of pollution to the area.
(c) fear of pollution is the only argument against construction of an autoclave facility for medical waste.
(d) no others besides environmental activists are concerned about pollution hazards that can result from processing medical waste.
(e) treatment by superheated steam represents the surest method of sterilization.
15. grow-again ointment is a proven treatment for reversing male hereditary baldness. five drops daily is the recommended dose, and exceeding this quantity does not increase the product抯 effectiveness. therefore, offering a manufacturer's rebate on the purchase price of grow-again will not increase sales and consequently would be unprofitable for the manufacturer.
which one of the following, if true, would most strengthen the argument?
(a) when using an ointment, people tend to believe that applying it in greater quantities can make it more effective.
(b) grow-again is more effective on some of the men who use it than it is on others.
(c) the rebate, if offered, would not attract purchasers who otherwise might not use grow-again.
(d) baldness in men can be caused by a variety of factors, only one of which is heredity.
(e) grow-again is a product whose per-unit manufacturing cost does not fall significantly when the product is produced in large quantities.
questions 16-17
henry: some scientists explain the dance of honeybees as the means by which honeybees communicate the location of whatever food source they have just visited to other members of the hive. but honeybees do not need so complicated a mechanism to communicate that information. forager honeybees returning to their hive simply leave a scent trail from the food source they have just visited. there must therefore be some other explanation for the honeybees' dance.
winifred: not necessarily. most animals have several ways of accomplishing critical tasks. bees of some species can navigate using either the position of the sun or the memory of landmarks. similarly, for honeybees, scent trails are a supplementary not an exclusive means of communicating.
16. the point at issue between henry and winifred is whether
(a) theories of animal behavior can be established on the basis of evidence about only one species of animal
(b) there is more than one valid explanation for the dance of honeybees.
(c) honeybees communicate the location of food sources through their dance.
(d) the honeybee is the only species of bee that is capable of communicating navigational information to other hive members
(e) the honeybee's sense of smell plays a role in its foraging strategies.
17. in winifred's response to henry, the statement about how bees of some species navigate plays which one the following roles?
(a) it addresses an ambiguity in henry's use of the expression "communicate the location".
(b) it provides evidence in support of a general claim.
(c) it calls into question the accuracy of key evidence cited by henry.
(d) it points out that henry's conclusion directly contradicts one of his premises.
(e) it proposes an alternative explanation for the honeybee's dance.
18. politician: a government that taxes incomes at a rate of 100 percent will generate no revenue because all economic activity will cease. so it follows that the lower the rate of income tax, the more revenue the government will generate by that tax.
economist: your conclusion cannot be correct, since it would mean that an income tax of 0 percent would generate the maximum revenue.
which on of the following argumentative strategies is used by the economist in responding to the politician?
(a) stating a general principle that is incompatible with the conclusion the politician derives
(b) providing evidence that where the politician抯 advice has been adopted, the results have been disappointing
(c) arguing that the principle derived by the politician, it applied in the limiting case, leads to an absurdly false conclusion
(d) undermining the credibility of the politician by openly questioning the politician抯 understanding of economics.
(e) attacking the politician's argument by giving reason to doubt the truth of a premise.
19. sponges attach to the ocean floor, continually filtering seawater for food and ejecting water they have just filtered to avoid reingesting it. tubular and vase-shaped sponges can eject filtered water without assistance from surrounding ocean currents and thus are adapted to slow-moving, quiet waters. because of their shape, however, these sponges cannot live in strong currents, since strong c
urrents would dislodge them. both of these varieties of sponge were widespread during the late jurassic period.
the statements above, if true, most strongly support which one of the following claims?
(a) few tubular or vase-shaped sponges lived before the late jurassic period.
(b) tubular and vase-shaped sponges were more common during the late jurassic period than in succeeding geological eras.
(c) during the late jurassic period there were many areas of the ocean floor where currents were weak.
(d) all sponges that are neither tubular nor vase-shaped inhabit areas of the ocean floor where there are extremely strong currents.
(e) no types of sponge live in large colonies, since sponges do not flourish in areas where much of the water has been filtered by other sponges.
20. there is strong evidence that the cause of migraines (severe recurrent headaches) is not psychological but instead is purely physiological. yet several studies have found that people being professionally treated for migraines rate higher on a standard psychological scale of anxiety than do people not being professionally treated for migraines.
which one of the following, if true, most helps to resolve the apparent discrepancy in the information above?
(a) people who have migraine headaches tend to have relatives who also have migraine headaches.
(b) people who have migraine headaches often suffer these headaches when under emotional stress.
(c) people who rate higher on the standard psychological scale of anxiety are more likely to seek professional treatment than are people who rate lower on the scale.
(d) of the many studies done on the cause of migraine headaches, most of those that suggest that psychological factors such as anxiety cause migraines have been widely publicized.
(e) most people who have migraines and who seek professional treatment remain in treatment until they stop having migraines, whether their doctors consider the cause to be physiological or psychological.
21. not all tenured faculty are full professors. therefore, although every faculty member in the linguistics department has tenure, it must be the case that not all of the faculty members in the linguistics department are full professors.
the flawed pattern of reasoning exhibited by the argument above is most similar to that exhibited by which one of the following?
(a) although all modern office towers are climate-controlled buildings, not all office buildings are climate-controlled. therefore, it must be the case that not all office buildings are modern office towers.
(b) all municipal hospital buildings are massive, but not all municipal hospital buildings are forbidding in appearance. therefore, massive buildings need not present a forbidding appearance.
(c) although some buildings designed by famous architects are not well proportioned, all government buildings are designed by famous architects. therefore, some government buildings are not well proportioned.
(d) not all public buildings are well designed, but some poorly designed public building s were originally intended for private use. therefore, the poorly designed public buildings were all originally designed for private use.
(e) although some cathedrals are not built of stone, every cathedral is impressive. therefore, buildings can be impressive even though they are not built of stone.
22. when a planetary system forms, the chances that a planet capable of supporting life will be formed are high. the chances that a large planet the size of jupiter or saturn will be formed, however, are low. without jupiter and saturn, whose gravitational forces have prevented earth from being frequently struck by large comets, intelligent life would never have arisen on earth. since planetary systems are unlikely to contain any large planets, the chances that intelligent life will emerge on a planet are, therefore, low.
knowing which one of the following would be most useful in evaluating the argument?
(a) whether all planetary system are formed from similar amounts of matter
(b) whether intelligent species would be likely to survive if a comet struck their planet
(c) whether large comets could be deflected by only one large planet rather than be two
(d) how high the chances are that planetary systems will contain many large comets
(e) how likely it is that planetary systems containing large planets will also contain planets the size of earth.
23. construction contractors working on the cutting edge of technology nearly always work on a "cost-plus" basis only. one kind of cost-plus contract stipulates the contractor's profit as a fixed percentage of the contractor's costs; the other kind stipulates a fixed amount of profit over and above costs. under the first kind of contract, higher costs yield hi
gher profits for the contractor, so this is where on might expect final costs in excess of original cost estimates to be more common. paradoxically, such cost overruns are actually more common if the contract is of the fixed-profit kind.
which one of the following, if true, most helps to resolve the apparent paradox in the situation described above?
(a) clients are much less likely to agree to a fixed-profit type of cost-plus contract when it is understood that under certain conditions the project will be scuttled than they are when there is no such understanding.
(b) on long-term contracts, cost projections take future inflation into account, but since the figures used are provided by the government, they are usually underestimates.
(c) on any sizable construction project, the contractor bills the client monthly or quarterly, so any tendency for original cost estimates to be exceeded can be detected early.
(d) clients billed under a cost-plus contract are free to review individual billings in order to uncover wasteful expenditures, but they do so only when the contractor's profit varies with cost.
(e) the practice of submitting deliberately exaggerated cost estimates is most common in the case of fixed-profit contracts, because it makes the profit, as a percentage of estimated cost, appear modest.
24. that wall is supported by several joists. the only thing that can have caused the bulge that the wall now has is a broken joist. therefore, at least one of the joists is broken
which one of the following arguments is most similar in its logical features to the argument above?
(a) a least one of the players in the orchestra must have made a mistake, since nothing else would have made the conductor grimace in the way she just did.
(b) the first piece must have been the easiest, since it was the only piece in the entire concert in which the orchestra did not make many mistakes.
(c) the players play well only when they like the music, since they tend to make mistakes when they play something they do not like.
(d) one of the orchestra's players must be able to play the harp, since in on of the pieces they are playing at next week's concert the composer specified that a harp should be played.
(e) the emotion of the music is the only thing that can have caused the conductor to look so angry just then, since the orchestra was playing perfectly.
question 25-26
sasha: handwriting analysis should be banned in court as evidence of a person抯 character, handwriting analysis 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.
25. gregory does which one of the following in responding to sasha's argument?
(a) he ignore evidence introduced as support for sasha's recommendation.
(b) he defends a principle by restricting the class to which it is to be applied.
(c) he abstracts a general principle from specific evidence.
(d) he identifies a self-contradictory statement in sasha's argument
(e) he shows that sasha's argument itself manifests the undesirable characteristic that it condemns.
26. which one of the following, if true, would provide sasha with the strongest counter to gregory's response?
(a) courts routinely use means other than handwriting analysis to provide evidence of a person's character.
(b) 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.
(c) a licensing board would inevitably refuse to grant licenses to some responsible handwriting analysts for reasons having nothing to do with their reliability.
(d) the only handwriting analysts who claim that handwriting provides reliable evidence of a person's character are irresponsible.
(e) the number of handwriting analysts who could conform to professional standards set by a licensing board is very small.
time-35 minutes
26 questions
directions: the questions in this section are based on the reasoning contained in brief statements or passages. for some questions, more than one of the choices could conceivably answer the question. however, you are to choose the best answer; that is, the response that most accurately and completely answers the question. you should not make assumptions that are by commonsense standards implausible, superfluous, or incompatible with the passage. after you have chosen the best answer, blacken the corresponding space on your answer sheet.
1. three-year-old sara and her playmate michael are both ill and have the same symptoms. since they play together every afternoon. sara probably has the same illness as michael does. since michael definitely does not have a streptococcal infection, despite his having some symptoms of one, the illness that sara has is definitely not a streptococcal infection either.
the reasoning in the argument is flawed because the argument
(a) presuppose what it sets out to prove
(b) mistakes the cause of a particular phenomenon for the effect of that phenomenon
(c) fails to distinguish between acute streptococcal infections on the one hand, and less severe streptococcal infections on the other.
(d) treats evidence that the conclusion is probably true as if that evidence establishes the certainty of the conclusion
(e) makes a general claim based on particular examples that so not adequately represent the respective groups that they are each intended to represent
2. lambert: the proposal to raise gasoline taxes to support mass transit networks is unfair. why should drivers who will never use train or bus lines be forced to pay for them?
keziah: you have misunderstood. the government has always spent far more, per user, from general revenue sources to fund highways than to fund mass transit, the additional revenue from the gasoline tax will simply allow the government to make its distribution of transportation funds more equitable.
keziah uses which one of the following argumentative strategies in replying to lambert?
(a) elaborating the context of the issue in order to place the proposal in a more favorable light
(b) appealing the principle that what benefits society as a whole benefits all individual within that society
(c) challenging the presupposition that fairness is an appropriate criterion on which to judge the matter
(d) demonstrating that the proposed tax increase will not result in increased expenses for drivers
(e) declining to argue a point with someone who is poorly informed on the matter under discussion.
3. the number of calories in a gram of refined cane sugar is the same as in an equal amount of fructose, the natural sugar found in fruits and vegetables. therefore, a piece of candy made with a give amount of refined cane sugar is no higher in calories than a pieced of fruit that contains an equal amount of fructose.
the reasoning in the arguments is flawed because the argument
(a) fails to consider the possibility that fruit might contain noncaloric nutrients that candy does not contain
(b) presupposes that all candy is made with similar amounts of sugar
(c) confuses on kind of sugar with another.
(d) presupposes what it sets out to establish, that fruit does not differ from sugar-based candy in the number of calories each contains
(e) overlooks the possibility that sugar might not be the only calorie-containing ingredient in candy or fruit.
4. in order to increase production, abc company should implement a flextime schedule, which would allow individual employees some flexibility in deciding when to begin and end their workday. studies have shown that working under flextime schedules is associated with increased employee morale.
the argument depends on the assumption that
(a) the employees who prefer a flextime schedule are the most productive employees at abc company.
(b) an increase in the morale of abc company抯 employees could lead to increased production
(c) flextime schedules tend to be associated with reduced lateness and absenteeism
(d) employees are most productive during the part of the day when all employees are present
(e) companies that are in competition with abc company also use a flextime schedule.
5. attorneys for a criminal defendant charged that the government, in a cover-up, had destroyed evidence that government replied that there is no evidence that would even tend to support the defendant in the case.
which one of the following is the most accurate evaluation of the government抯 reply?
(a) it leaves open the question of whether the government had destroyed such evidence.
(b) it establishes
that the attorneys' charge is and exaggeration.
(c) it shows that the attorneys did not know whether their charge was true.
(d) it demonstrates the government抯 failure to search for evidence in its files.
(e) if true, it effectively disproves the charge made on behalf of the defendant.
6. videocassette recorders (vcrs) enable people to watch movies at home on videotape. people who own vcrs go to movie theaters more often than do people who do not own vcrs. contrary to popular belief, therefore, owning a vcr actually stimulates people to got tot movie theaters more often than they otherwise would.
the argument is most vulnerable to criticism on the grounds that it
(a) concludes that a claim must be false because of the mere absence of evidence in its favor
(b) cites in support of the conclusion evidence that is inconsistent with other information that is provided
(c) fails to establish that the phenomena interpreted as cause and effect are not both direct effects of some other factor
(d) takes a condition that by itself guarantees the occurrence of a certain phenomenon to be a condition that therefore must be met for that phenomenon to occur
(e) bases a broad claim about the behavior of people in general on a comparison between two groups of people that together include only a small proportion of people overall.
7. the cumbersome spears that were the principal weapons used by certain tribes in the early bronze age precluded widespread casualties during intertribal conflicts. but the comparatively high number of warrior tombs found in recent excavations of the same tribes' late bronze age settlements indicates that in the late bronze age, wars between these tribes were frequent, and the casualty rate was high. hence some archaeologists claim that by the late bronze age, these tribes had developed new methods of warfare designed to inflict many casualties.
which one of the following, if true, most supports the archaeologists' claim?
(a) a royal tomb dating to the early bronze age contained pottery depicting battle scenes in which warriors use spears.
(b) there is evidence that many buildings dating to the late bronze age were built by prisoners of war taken in battles between enemy tribes.
(c) scenes of violent warfare, painted in bright hues, frequently appear on pottery that has been found in some early bronze age tombs of warriors.
(d) some tombs of warriors dating to the late bronze age contain armor and weapons that anthropologists believe were trophies taken from enemies in battle.
(e) the marks on the bones of many of the late bronze age warriors whose tombs were excavated are consistent with the kind of wounds inflicted by arrowheads also found in many late bronze age settlements.
8. based on data collected from policyholders, life insurance companies have developed tables that list standard weight ranges for various heights. policyholders whose weight fell within the range given for their height lived longer than those whose weight fell outside their given range. therefore, if people whose weight falls outside their given range modified their weight to fall within that range, their overall life expectancies would improve.
which one of the following is an assumption on which the argument relies?
(a) some people would be unwilling to modify their weights solely to increase the general population抯 overall life expectancies.
(b) life insurance companies intended their tables to guide individuals in adjusting their weights in order to increase their life spans.
(c) the tables include data gathered from policyholders whose deaths resulted from accidents in addition to those whose deaths resulted from natural causes.
(d) holders of life insurance policies do not have longer overall life expectancies than the general population .
(e) people抯 efforts to modify their weight to conform to a given range would not damage their health enough to decrease their overall life expectancies.
9. measurements of the motion of the planet uranus seem to show uranus being tugged by a force pulling it away from the sun and the inner planets, neptune and pluto, the two known planets whose orbits are farther from the sun than is the orbit of uranus, do not have enough mass to exert the force that the measurements indicate. therefore, in addition to the known planets, there must be at least one planet in our solar system that we have yet to discover.
which one of the following, if true, most seriously weakens the argument?
(a) pluto was not discovered until 1930.
(b) there is a belt of comets beyond the orbit of pluto with powerful gravitational pull.
(c) neither neptune nor pluto is as massive as uranus.
(d) the force the sun exerts on uranus is weaker than the force it exerts on the inner pla
nets.
(e) uranus' orbit is closer to neptune's orbit than it is to pluto's
10. audiences find a speaker more convincing if the speaker begins a speech by arguing briefly against his or her position before providing reasons for accepting it. the reason this technique is so effective is that it makes the speaker appear fair-minded and trustworthy. therefore, candidates for national political office who wish to be successful in winning votes should use this argumentative technique in the speeches.
which one of the following, if true, most seriously limits the effectiveness of adopting the argument's recommendation?
(a) political candidates typically have no control over which excerpts from their speeches will be reported by the news media.
(b) many people do not find arguments made by politicians convincing, since the arguments are often on-sided or oversimplify the issues.
(c) people decide which political candidate to vote form more on the basis of their opinions of the candidate's character than on the exact positions of the candidate.
(d) people regard a political candidate more favorably if they think that the candidate respects an opponent's position even while disagreeing with it.
(e) political candidates have to address audiences of many different sizes and at many different locations in the course of a political campaign.
11. five thousand of the 50,000 books published in country z in 1991 were novels. exactly 25 of the films released in country z in 1992 were based on books published in country z in 1991.
which one of the following, if assumed, allows the conclusion above to be properly drawn?
(a) none of the scripts used in films released in 1992 were written by professional novelists.
(b) none of the films released in country z in 1992 were based on books other than novels.
(c) none of the books that were published in country z in 1992 were based on plots of films released in 1991.
(d) some of the films released in country z in 1992 were based on older films that had been released for the first time many years earlier.
(e) some of the films released in 1991 in country z were based on novels that were published in 1991.
12. on their way from their nest to a food source, ants of most species leave a trail of chemicals called pheromones. the ants use the scent of the pheromones to guide themselves between the food and their nest. all pheromones evaporate without a trace almost immediately when temperatures rise above 45 degrees celsius (113 degree fahrenheit), as is typical during afternoons in places such as the sahara desert.
the statements above, if true, most strongly support which one of the following?
(a) most ants forage for food either only in the morning or only during the night.
(b) most ants that do not use pheromones to mark the paths they take between their nest and food live in the sahara desert.
(c) if any ants live in the sahara desert and forage for food at no time but in the afternoon, those ants generally do not use pheromones to guide themselves between food and their nest.
(d) if any ants do not use pheromones to navigate between food and their nest, those ants use a different substance that does not evaporate in temperatures above 45 degrees celsius.
(e) if any saharan ants forage for food in the afternoon, those ants forage for food less efficiently when temperatures are above 45 degrees celsius than they do when temperatures are lower.
13. some people think that in every barrel of politicians there are only a few rotten ones. but if deceit is a quality of rottenness, i believe all effective politicians are rotten. they must be deceitful in order to do the job properly. someone who is scrupulously honest about obeying the rules of society will never be an effective politician.
assuming that the author's statements are accurate, which one of the following statements cannot be true?
(f) some people think all politicians are rotten.
(g) some politicians are scrupulously honest.
(h) some people define a politician's job as obeying the rules of society.
(i) some deceitful politicians are ineffective.
(j) some scrupulously honest politicians are effective.
14. the biocarb company wants to build a sterilization plant to treat contaminated medical waste in a city neighborhood where residents and environmental activists fear that such a facility will pollute the area. biocarb' s president argues that the operation of the plant cannot cause pollution because the waste would be sterile after processing by the plant. he claims that after exposure for an hour to superheated steam in the autoclave, such refuse would be far cleaner than food prepared in the cleanest kitchen.
the president's argument depends on which one of the following assumptions?
(a) environmental activists believe that waste treated with steam will not pollute.
(b) handing of the waste before treatment in the proposed facility will not pose a threat of pollution to the area.
(c) fear of pollution is the only argument against construction of an autoclave facility for medical waste.
(d) no others besides environmental activists are concerned about pollution hazards that can result from processing medical waste.
(e) treatment by superheated steam represents the surest method of sterilization.
15. grow-again ointment is a proven treatment for reversing male hereditary baldness. five drops daily is the recommended dose, and exceeding this quantity does not increase the product抯 effectiveness. therefore, offering a manufacturer's rebate on the purchase price of grow-again will not increase sales and consequently would be unprofitable for the manufacturer.
which one of the following, if true, would most strengthen the argument?
(a) when using an ointment, people tend to believe that applying it in greater quantities can make it more effective.
(b) grow-again is more effective on some of the men who use it than it is on others.
(c) the rebate, if offered, would not attract purchasers who otherwise might not use grow-again.
(d) baldness in men can be caused by a variety of factors, only one of which is heredity.
(e) grow-again is a product whose per-unit manufacturing cost does not fall significantly when the product is produced in large quantities.
questions 16-17
henry: some scientists explain the dance of honeybees as the means by which honeybees communicate the location of whatever food source they have just visited to other members of the hive. but honeybees do not need so complicated a mechanism to communicate that information. forager honeybees returning to their hive simply leave a scent trail from the food source they have just visited. there must therefore be some other explanation for the honeybees' dance.
winifred: not necessarily. most animals have several ways of accomplishing critical tasks. bees of some species can navigate using either the position of the sun or the memory of landmarks. similarly, for honeybees, scent trails are a supplementary not an exclusive means of communicating.
16. the point at issue between henry and winifred is whether
(a) theories of animal behavior can be established on the basis of evidence about only one species of animal
(b) there is more than one valid explanation for the dance of honeybees.
(c) honeybees communicate the location of food sources through their dance.
(d) the honeybee is the only species of bee that is capable of communicating navigational information to other hive members
(e) the honeybee's sense of smell plays a role in its foraging strategies.
17. in winifred's response to henry, the statement about how bees of some species navigate plays which one the following roles?
(a) it addresses an ambiguity in henry's use of the expression "communicate the location".
(b) it provides evidence in support of a general claim.
(c) it calls into question the accuracy of key evidence cited by henry.
(d) it points out that henry's conclusion directly contradicts one of his premises.
(e) it proposes an alternative explanation for the honeybee's dance.
18. politician: a government that taxes incomes at a rate of 100 percent will generate no revenue because all economic activity will cease. so it follows that the lower the rate of income tax, the more revenue the government will generate by that tax.
economist: your conclusion cannot be correct, since it would mean that an income tax of 0 percent would generate the maximum revenue.
which on of the following argumentative strategies is used by the economist in responding to the politician?
(a) stating a general principle that is incompatible with the conclusion the politician derives
(b) providing evidence that where the politician抯 advice has been adopted, the results have been disappointing
(c) arguing that the principle derived by the politician, it applied in the limiting case, leads to an absurdly false conclusion
(d) undermining the credibility of the politician by openly questioning the politician抯 understanding of economics.
(e) attacking the politician's argument by giving reason to doubt the truth of a premise.
19. sponges attach to the ocean floor, continually filtering seawater for food and ejecting water they have just filtered to avoid reingesting it. tubular and vase-shaped sponges can eject filtered water without assistance from surrounding ocean currents and thus are adapted to slow-moving, quiet waters. because of their shape, however, these sponges cannot live in strong currents, since strong c
urrents would dislodge them. both of these varieties of sponge were widespread during the late jurassic period.
the statements above, if true, most strongly support which one of the following claims?
(a) few tubular or vase-shaped sponges lived before the late jurassic period.
(b) tubular and vase-shaped sponges were more common during the late jurassic period than in succeeding geological eras.
(c) during the late jurassic period there were many areas of the ocean floor where currents were weak.
(d) all sponges that are neither tubular nor vase-shaped inhabit areas of the ocean floor where there are extremely strong currents.
(e) no types of sponge live in large colonies, since sponges do not flourish in areas where much of the water has been filtered by other sponges.
20. there is strong evidence that the cause of migraines (severe recurrent headaches) is not psychological but instead is purely physiological. yet several studies have found that people being professionally treated for migraines rate higher on a standard psychological scale of anxiety than do people not being professionally treated for migraines.
which one of the following, if true, most helps to resolve the apparent discrepancy in the information above?
(a) people who have migraine headaches tend to have relatives who also have migraine headaches.
(b) people who have migraine headaches often suffer these headaches when under emotional stress.
(c) people who rate higher on the standard psychological scale of anxiety are more likely to seek professional treatment than are people who rate lower on the scale.
(d) of the many studies done on the cause of migraine headaches, most of those that suggest that psychological factors such as anxiety cause migraines have been widely publicized.
(e) most people who have migraines and who seek professional treatment remain in treatment until they stop having migraines, whether their doctors consider the cause to be physiological or psychological.
21. not all tenured faculty are full professors. therefore, although every faculty member in the linguistics department has tenure, it must be the case that not all of the faculty members in the linguistics department are full professors.
the flawed pattern of reasoning exhibited by the argument above is most similar to that exhibited by which one of the following?
(a) although all modern office towers are climate-controlled buildings, not all office buildings are climate-controlled. therefore, it must be the case that not all office buildings are modern office towers.
(b) all municipal hospital buildings are massive, but not all municipal hospital buildings are forbidding in appearance. therefore, massive buildings need not present a forbidding appearance.
(c) although some buildings designed by famous architects are not well proportioned, all government buildings are designed by famous architects. therefore, some government buildings are not well proportioned.
(d) not all public buildings are well designed, but some poorly designed public building s were originally intended for private use. therefore, the poorly designed public buildings were all originally designed for private use.
(e) although some cathedrals are not built of stone, every cathedral is impressive. therefore, buildings can be impressive even though they are not built of stone.
22. when a planetary system forms, the chances that a planet capable of supporting life will be formed are high. the chances that a large planet the size of jupiter or saturn will be formed, however, are low. without jupiter and saturn, whose gravitational forces have prevented earth from being frequently struck by large comets, intelligent life would never have arisen on earth. since planetary systems are unlikely to contain any large planets, the chances that intelligent life will emerge on a planet are, therefore, low.
knowing which one of the following would be most useful in evaluating the argument?
(a) whether all planetary system are formed from similar amounts of matter
(b) whether intelligent species would be likely to survive if a comet struck their planet
(c) whether large comets could be deflected by only one large planet rather than be two
(d) how high the chances are that planetary systems will contain many large comets
(e) how likely it is that planetary systems containing large planets will also contain planets the size of earth.
23. construction contractors working on the cutting edge of technology nearly always work on a "cost-plus" basis only. one kind of cost-plus contract stipulates the contractor's profit as a fixed percentage of the contractor's costs; the other kind stipulates a fixed amount of profit over and above costs. under the first kind of contract, higher costs yield hi
gher profits for the contractor, so this is where on might expect final costs in excess of original cost estimates to be more common. paradoxically, such cost overruns are actually more common if the contract is of the fixed-profit kind.
which one of the following, if true, most helps to resolve the apparent paradox in the situation described above?
(a) clients are much less likely to agree to a fixed-profit type of cost-plus contract when it is understood that under certain conditions the project will be scuttled than they are when there is no such understanding.
(b) on long-term contracts, cost projections take future inflation into account, but since the figures used are provided by the government, they are usually underestimates.
(c) on any sizable construction project, the contractor bills the client monthly or quarterly, so any tendency for original cost estimates to be exceeded can be detected early.
(d) clients billed under a cost-plus contract are free to review individual billings in order to uncover wasteful expenditures, but they do so only when the contractor's profit varies with cost.
(e) the practice of submitting deliberately exaggerated cost estimates is most common in the case of fixed-profit contracts, because it makes the profit, as a percentage of estimated cost, appear modest.
24. that wall is supported by several joists. the only thing that can have caused the bulge that the wall now has is a broken joist. therefore, at least one of the joists is broken
which one of the following arguments is most similar in its logical features to the argument above?
(a) a least one of the players in the orchestra must have made a mistake, since nothing else would have made the conductor grimace in the way she just did.
(b) the first piece must have been the easiest, since it was the only piece in the entire concert in which the orchestra did not make many mistakes.
(c) the players play well only when they like the music, since they tend to make mistakes when they play something they do not like.
(d) one of the orchestra's players must be able to play the harp, since in on of the pieces they are playing at next week's concert the composer specified that a harp should be played.
(e) the emotion of the music is the only thing that can have caused the conductor to look so angry just then, since the orchestra was playing perfectly.
question 25-26
sasha: handwriting analysis should be banned in court as evidence of a person抯 character, handwriting analysis 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.
25. gregory does which one of the following in responding to sasha's argument?
(a) he ignore evidence introduced as support for sasha's recommendation.
(b) he defends a principle by restricting the class to which it is to be applied.
(c) he abstracts a general principle from specific evidence.
(d) he identifies a self-contradictory statement in sasha's argument
(e) he shows that sasha's argument itself manifests the undesirable characteristic that it condemns.
26. which one of the following, if true, would provide sasha with the strongest counter to gregory's response?
(a) courts routinely use means other than handwriting analysis to provide evidence of a person's character.
(b) 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.
(c) a licensing board would inevitably refuse to grant licenses to some responsible handwriting analysts for reasons having nothing to do with their reliability.
(d) the only handwriting analysts who claim that handwriting provides reliable evidence of a person's character are irresponsible.
(e) the number of handwriting analysts who could conform to professional standards set by a licensing board is very small.