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Difficulty: MediumParallel Flaw

If a startup company secures venture capital funding, it will rapidly expand its operations. The tech startup Zephyr Innovations did not secure venture capital funding. Therefore, Zephyr Innovations will not rapidly expand its operations.

Which of the following arguments exhibits a flawed pattern of reasoning most similar to the one exhibited in the argument above?

  1. A
    If a startup rapidly expands its operations, it will attract significant media attention. Zephyr Innovations attracted significant media attention, so it must be rapidly expanding its operations.
  2. If a museum acquires a highly anticipated exhibit, its daily visitor numbers will increase. The city art museum did not acquire a highly anticipated exhibit. Thus, its daily visitor numbers will not increase.Answer
  3. C
    If an athlete trains consistently at high altitudes, their cardiovascular endurance will improve. The marathon runner's cardiovascular endurance has improved. Therefore, the runner must have trained consistently at high altitudes.
  4. D
    If a student completes all the weekly assignments, their final grade will be passing. Leo's final grade was not passing. Consequently, Leo must not have completed all the weekly assignments.
  5. E
    Some software engineers are proficient in both backend development and graphic design. Therefore, most software engineers must possess a strong foundation in multiple entirely different technical disciplines.

Answer

The argument concluding that the city art museum's visitor numbers will not increase because it did not acquire a highly anticipated exhibit.
The stimulus argument commits the fallacy of illegal negation (denying the antecedent). It establishes a conditional relationship (If A, then B), states that the sufficient condition (A) did not occur, and wrongly concludes that the necessary condition (B) cannot occur. The correct answer follows this exact flawed structure: it establishes that acquiring an exhibit leads to increased visitors, notes that the museum did not acquire an exhibit, and improperly concludes that visitors will not increase.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Map the logical structure of the stimulus argument.
Premise 1: If Venture Capital (VC) -> Rapid Expansion (RE). Premise 2: Not VC. Conclusion: Therefore, Not RE.
Identifying the formal structure is necessary to pinpoint the exact logical flaw.
2
Identify the type of logical flaw committed in the stimulus.
The argument commits an illegal negation (denying the antecedent). It assumes that if the sufficient condition fails, the necessary condition must also fail.
Parallel flaw questions require matching the specific abstract type of erroneous reasoning.
3
Evaluate the answer choices to find the one with the identical flawed structure.
The museum argument matches exactly: Premise 1: If Acquire Exhibit (AE) -> Increase Visitors (IV). Premise 2: Not AE. Conclusion: Therefore, Not IV.
The correct answer must replicate the abstract structure of the original flaw, regardless of the subject matter.

Key Concept

Parallel Flaw: Illegal Negation
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Topics

Parallel Flaw

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