Examkin

Question

Difficulty: EasyIdentifying Necessary Assumptions

Mayor: We should build a new community pool in the town center. Swimming is an excellent form of cardiovascular exercise that can be enjoyed by people of all ages. Currently, our town's residents have very limited options for cardiovascular exercise due to a lack of public facilities. Therefore, building this new pool will significantly improve the overall cardiovascular health of our residents.

Which one of the following is an assumption on which the mayor's argument depends?

  1. A
    Swimming provides greater cardiovascular benefits than any other form of exercise currently available to the town's residents.
  2. B
    Using a community pool on a regular basis is sufficient to completely eliminate cardiovascular disease among users.
  3. At least some of the town's residents will actually use the new community pool for exercise if it is built.Answer
  4. D
    The construction of the new community pool will not require an increase in the town's property taxes.
  5. E
    The town center is the only location in the town where a community pool could feasibly be constructed.

Answer

The assumption that at least some of the town's residents will actually use the new community pool for exercise if it is built.
The correct answer acts as the essential bridge between the construction of the pool and the health benefits it is supposed to provide. We can verify this using the Negation Test: if we logically negate this statement to 'None of the town's residents will use the new community pool for exercise,' the mayor's conclusion that the pool will significantly improve overall cardiovascular health becomes impossible. The argument fundamentally relies on the unstated, minimal premise that the new facility will actually be utilized by at least a portion of the population.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Identify the argument's main conclusion.
Building the new pool will significantly improve the overall cardiovascular health of the residents.
Understanding the conclusion is the first critical step to evaluating the argument's underlying logic.
2
Identify the stated premises supporting the conclusion.
Swimming is excellent cardiovascular exercise, and residents currently have limited exercise options.
Separating the explicit evidence from the conclusion reveals the logical gap.
3
Find the logical gap between the premises and the conclusion.
The argument assumes a direct connection between building the facility (premise) and residents achieving better health (conclusion).
Necessary assumptions bridge unstated gaps in an argument.
4
Apply the Negation Test to evaluate potential assumptions.
Negating the correct answer yields: 'None of the residents will use the pool.' If true, the pool cannot improve health, destroying the conclusion.
A necessary assumption must be true for the argument to hold; if its negation destroys the argument, it is the correct answer.

Key Concept

Necessary Assumption and the Negation Test
Estimated Time:1m 0s
Rate this question

Topics

Identifying Necessary Assumptions

More questions from this topic