LOGICAL REASONING: QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
Counselor: Those who believe that criticism should be gentle rather than harsh should consider the following: change
requires a motive, and criticism that is unpleasant provides a motive. Since harsh criticism is unpleasant, harsh criticism
provides a motive. Therefore, only harsh criticism will cause the person criticized to change.
What is the flaw?
A. Infers that something that is sufficient to provide a motive is necessary to provide a motive.
B. Fails to address the possibility that in some cases the primary goal of criticism is something other than bringing about
change in the person criticized.
C. Takes for granted that everyone who is motivated to change will change.
D. Confuses a motive for doing something with a motive for avoiding something.
E. Takes the refutation of an argument to be sufficient to show that the argument's conclusion is false. - answer-FLAW
Stimulus:
P:
Change -requires-> motive
Unpleasant criticism —> motive
IC:
Harsh criticism —> unpleasant criticism —> motive
MC:
Change-requires-> harsh criticism
Assumption: motive -requires-> harsh criticism
A. Correct. The author assumes that since harsh criticism is sufficient for motive, it is also necessary for motive. This is a
conditional logic flaw.
A transit company's bus drivers are evaluated by supervisors riding with each driver. Drivers complain that this affects
their performance, but because the supervisor's presence affects every driver's performance, those drivers performing
best with a supervisor aboard will likely also be the best drivers under normal conditions.
Which of the following is an assumption on which the argument depends?
A. There is no effective way of evaluating the bus drivers' performance without having supervisors ride with them.
B. The supervisors are excellent judges of a bus drivers' performance.
C. For most bus drivers, the presence of a supervisor makes their performance slightly worse than it otherwise would be.
D. The bus drivers are each affected roughly the same way and to the same extent by the presence of the supervisor.
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,E. The bus drivers themselves are able to deliver accurate assessments of their driving performanc - answer-NECESSARY
ASSUMPTION
C is tempting. While this would suggest that bus drivers actually perform better in normal conditions, the conclusion is
not that bus drivers will perform better than observed under supervision. Rather, the conclusion states that the best
drivers under supervisor are also the best drivers under normal conditions. Additionally, it is not an assumption that the
argument depends upon.
D is correct. This assumption is necessary for the conclusion that the best drivers under supervision are also the best
drivers under normal conditions.
M, despite his generally poor appetite, thoroughly enjoyed the three meals he ate at the hotel, but, unfortunately, after
each meal he became ill. The first time he ate an extra large pizza with peppers. The second time, he took full advantage
of the all you can eat shrimp and peppers special. The third time, he had two giant meatballs with peppers. Since the
only food all three meals had in common was peppers, M concluded that it was solely due to peppers that he became ill.
M's reasoning is most vulnerable to which of the following criticisms?
A. He draws his conclusions on the basis of too few meals that were consumed at the hotel.
B. He posits a causal relationship without ascertaining that the presumed cause preceded the presumed effect.
C. He allows his desire to continue dining at the hotel to bias his conclusion.
D. He fails to establish that everyone at the hotel also became ill after eating peppers.
E. - answer-FLAW
Trick; not a causation flaw
A. The argument does not do this. It does not extrapolate beyond the three meals.
B. The argument does not do this. Becoming ill did not come before eating the peppers.
E. Correct. It is given that M generally has a poor appetite.
A museum director, in order to finance expensive new acquisitions, discretely sold some paintings by major artists. All of
them were paintings that the directly privately considered inferior. Critics roundly condemned the sale, charging that the
museum had lost first rate pieces, thereby violating its duty as a trustee of art for future generations. A few months after
being sold by the museum, those paintings were resold, in an otherwise stagnant art market, at two or three tones the
price paid to the museum. Clearly, the prices settled the issue, since they demonstrate the correctness of the critics'
evaluation.
The reasoning in the argument is vulnerable to the criticism that the argument does which of the following?
A. It concludes that a certain opinion is correct on the grounds that it help by more people than hold the opposing view.
B. It rejects the judgement of experts...
C. It rejects a proven means of - answer-FLAW
Trick; causation flaw, not a fact v opinion flaw
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,Premise:
Deemed inferior —> sold cheaper
Deemed superior —> sold at a more expensive price
Conclusion:
Sold at more expensive price —> proof that deemed superior
A is tempting but does not occur. The conclusion does not determine that the art is superior because many people think
so, but rather because it sold as a higher price.
E is correct. There are numerous other factors that may have influenced why the paintings resold for the higher price
(ex: influence of the critics' opinion)
Advertisement: a leading economist has determined that among people who used computers at their place of
employment last year, those who also owned portable computers earned 25% more on average than those who did not.
It is obvious from this that owning a laptop computer led to a high paying job.
Which of the following identifies a reasoning error in the argument?
A. It attempts to support a sweeping generalization on the basis of information about only a small number of individuals.
B. It's conclusion merely restates a claim made earlier in the argument.
C. It concludes that one thing was caused by another although the evidence given is consistent with the first thing's
having caused the second.
D. It offers information as support for a conclusion when that information actually shows that the conclusion is false.
E. It uncritically projects currently existing trends indefinitely into the future. - answer-FLAW
Trick; causation flaw; potential relationship in the opposite direction
D is correct. The evidence more strongly supports the conclusion that high include is responsible for owning a laptop
computer.
During this record breaking heat wave, air conditioning use has overloaded the region's electric power grid, resulting in
frequent power blackouts throughout the region. For this reason, residents haven been asked to cut back voluntarily on
air conditioning in their homes. But even if this request is heeded, blackouts will probably occur unless the heat wave
abates.
Which of the following, if true, most helps to resolve the apparent discrepancy in the information above?
A. Air conditioning is not the only significant drain on the electrical system in the area.
B. Most air conditioning in the region is used to cool businesses and factories.
C. Most air-conditioning systems could be made more energy efficient by implementing simple design modifications.
D. Residents of the region are not likely to reduce their air conditioner use voluntarily during particularly hot weather.
E. The heat wave is expected to abate in th - answer-PARADOX
Heat wave and AC —> overload —> blackout
However, -AC among RESIDENTS —> blackouts
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, A is tempting. However, it is given that the heat wave and AC use are sufficient to cause blackouts. Other factors that
cause blackouts should not disrupt this relationship.
B describes the paradox.
D is incorrect because the conclusion assumes that the request is satisfied.
Political theorist: the chief foundations of all governments are the legal system and the police force; and as there cannot
be a good legal system where the police are not paid well, it follows that where the police are paid well, there will be a
good legal system.
The reasoning in the argument is not sound because it fails to establish that
A. Many governments with bad legal systems have poorly paid police forces.
B. Bad governments with good legal systems must have poorly paid police forces.
C. A well-paid police force cannot be effective without a good legal system.
D. A well-paid police force is sufficient to guarantee a good legal system.
E. Some bad governments have good legal systems. - answer-FLAW
Conditional logic
P: -police paid well —> -legal system
C: police paid well —> legal system
D
A controversial program rewards prison inmates who behave particularly well in prison by giving them the chance to
receive free cosmetic plastic surgery performed by medical students. The program is obviously morally questionable,
both in its assumptions about what inmates might want and in its use of the prison population to train future surgeons.
Putting these moral issues aside, however, the surgery clearly has a powerful effect rehabilitative effect, as is shown by
the fact that, among recipients of the surgery, the proportion who are convicted of new crimes committed after release
is only half that for the entire prison population as a whole.
A flaw in the reasoning of the passage is that it
A. Allows moral issues to be a consideration in presenting evidence about the matter of fact.
B. Dismisses moral considerations on the grounds that only matters of fact are relevant.
C. Labels the program as "controvers - answer-D is false. We are evaluating logic and reasoning, not what the author
"should have done."
E is correct. The sample only includes inmates with particularly good behavior.
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