For each argumentative claim presented on the left, identify the factual statement on the right that most severely undermines its conclusion.
- An analysis of regional healthcare data indicates that patients recovering from joint surgery at Apex Clinic have shorter hospital stays than those at Zenith Hospital. Thus, Apex Clinic's surgical techniques must be superior.Apex Clinic's admission policy explicitly excludes patients with pre-existing medical complications, who typically require longer recovery times.
- Following the enactment of a municipal recycling mandate, the volume of refuse processed at the county incinerator dropped by twenty percent. It is evident that the mandate successfully minimized the amount of garbage residents generate.Simultaneous with the mandate's enactment, a large manufacturing plant that accounted for a significant portion of the county's refuse permanently ceased operations.
- Archaeological digs at the ancient city of Oakhaven revealed that grain storage silos built in the twelfth century are substantially smaller than those built in the tenth century. This suggests that Oakhaven's agricultural output declined over those two centuries.During the eleventh century, the inhabitants of Oakhaven developed advanced preservation techniques that allowed them to store grain more densely.
- Over the last quarter, the local bookstore 'Folio & Spine' saw a sharp increase in revenue immediately after they began hosting weekly author readings. Therefore, the author readings are driving the bookstore's financial success.The bookstore's sudden revenue increase perfectly coincided with the permanent closure of the only other book retailer within a fifty-mile radius.
Answer
The Apex Clinic argument matches with the admission policy statement; the recycling mandate argument matches with the manufacturing plant closure; the Oakhaven silos argument matches with the denser storage techniques; and the bookstore argument matches with the closure of the competing retailer.
Each correct match successfully targets the logical gap in the respective argument. The healthcare argument suffers from a flawed comparison (selection bias), which is exposed by the clinic's admission policy. The recycling argument shifts scope from total refuse to residential garbage, which is undermined by the factory closure. The archaeological argument assumes a direct volume-to-yield ratio, which is weakened by the denser storage fact. The bookstore argument commits a post hoc fallacy, which is undermined by the closure of a competitor providing an alternate cause for increased revenue.
Step-by-Step Solution
Key Concept
Identifying unstated assumptions and evaluating alternative explanations to weaken causal or comparative arguments.