Examkin

Question

Difficulty: MediumStrengthen

Match each argument with the supplementary premise that most effectively strengthens its central conclusion.

  • Argument 1: Regional transit authorities recorded a 25% decline in suburban commuter rail usage following the completion of a municipal high-speed broadband network, concluding that improved internet connectivity caused residents to adopt telecommuting.Workplace surveys conducted across suburban commercial firms verified that telecommuting rates increased substantially immediately after the high-speed network became operational.
  • Argument 2: Sleep clinic subjects exposed to rhythmic acoustic pulses during slow-wave sleep demonstrated significantly higher word-pair recall the following morning than unexposed subjects, prompting researchers to conclude that acoustic stimulation during sleep directly strengthens neural memory consolidation.Polysomnography data established that background noise levels and sleep architecture stages were identical between the experimental and control groups throughout the night.
  • Argument 3: Archaeologists excavating an ancient port city uncovered charred millet grains in strata dating to an 8th-century BCE arid crisis, leading them to conclude that the settlement's agriculturalists shifted to drought-tolerant millet to adapt to the drying climate.Archaeobotanical analysis of field sediments surrounding the settlement confirmed that millet phytoliths appeared in local soils only during the arid period, with no evidence of maritime grain imports.

Answer

Argument 1 matches the premise confirming increased suburban telecommuting following broadband rollout; Argument 2 matches the premise establishing identical sleep architecture and disturbance levels between cohorts; Argument 3 matches the premise verifying local millet cultivation during the drought era.
Each correct pairing provides crucial evidential support tailored to the specific logical vulnerability of the argument: verifying the causal mechanism for Argument 1, controlling for confounding sleep factors in Argument 2, and eliminating external trade origin in Argument 3.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Identify the unstated assumption and potential alternative explanations in Argument 1.
Argument 1 assumes that broadband installation actually led to telecommuting rather than rail ridership dropping due to external economic or transit factors.
Strengthening a causal argument requires providing evidence for the hypothesized link or ruling out competing causes.
2
Identify potential confounding variables in Argument 2.
Argument 2 assumes acoustic pulses directly aided consolidation rather than acting as a buffer against ambient awakening or altering sleep stages.
Strengthening an experimental finding involves controlling for confounding variables and confirming equal baseline conditions.
3
Identify alternative origin hypotheses in Argument 3.
Argument 3 assumes the millet found in storage vessels was cultivated locally to cope with drought rather than imported from elsewhere.
Ruling out the trade import alternative directly validates the claim of local agricultural adaptation.

Key Concept

Strengthening Logical Arguments
Estimated Time:1m 30s
Rate this question

Topics

Strengthen

More questions from this topic