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Difficulty: MediumStrengthen

For each logical argument presented, identify the specific piece of additional evidence that provides the strongest logical support for its main conclusion.

  • Meteorology: Farms in the western valley that employed a new cloud-seeding technique received 20% more rainfall this season than their historical average. Therefore, the cloud-seeding technique effectively increases precipitation.Neighboring farms in the western valley that did not utilize the new cloud-seeding technique experienced a slight decrease in rainfall this season compared to their historical average.
  • Workplace Tech: A software company found that programmers using a newly designed ergonomic keyboard write code 15% faster than those using standard keyboards. Thus, the new keyboard design improves coding speed.The programmers were randomly assigned to use either the ergonomic keyboard or the standard keyboard, completely independent of their prior coding speeds or experience.
  • Linguistics: A newly discovered 12th-century text from the isolated Mountain Kingdom contains several words adopted from the Coastal Empire's language. This indicates that the Mountain Kingdom engaged in extensive economic trade with the Coastal Empire.The borrowed vocabulary found in the 12th-century text is exclusively related to currency exchange, merchant vessels, and accounting.
  • Zoology: Researchers observed that migratory birds resting in the Northern Wetlands have a significantly higher survival rate during their journey than those resting in the Southern Marshes. Therefore, the Northern Wetlands provide a more nutrient-rich food supply.The Northern Wetlands contain a high concentration of lipid-dense aquatic plants that are entirely absent from the Southern Marshes, providing essential energy for long flights.

Answer

The correct pairings align each argument with the evidence that directly resolves its specific logical vulnerability: ruling out alternative weather causes, eliminating selection bias in typists, bridging the conceptual gap to 'trade', and providing a causal mechanism for bird nutrition.
Each correct piece of evidence successfully targets the unstated assumption or vulnerability in its corresponding argument. By either ruling out alternate causes (as in the weather and typing scenarios), bridging a concept shift (in the language scenario), or establishing a clear mechanism (in the bird scenario), the evidence makes each conclusion significantly more likely to be true.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze the Meteorology argument to identify its underlying assumption.
The argument assumes a causal relationship between cloud-seeding and increased rain. It requires evidence that a natural weather anomaly didn't cause the increase.
Causal claims based on historical comparisons must rule out alternative concurrent causes.
2
Evaluate the Workplace Tech argument's vulnerability.
The argument claims the keyboard causes faster typing, ignoring that fast typists might self-select the new tool. Evidence of random assignment perfectly addresses this.
Eliminating selection bias is a primary way to strengthen observational causal claims.
3
Assess the leap in the Linguistics argument.
The argument leaps from 'borrowed language' to 'economic trade'. Evidence showing the borrowed words are commerce-related bridges this gap.
When a conclusion introduces a new specific concept (trade) not present in the premise (language), a strengthener must link the two.
4
Identify the causal gap in the Zoology argument.
The argument attributes survival to 'nutrient-rich food' without evidence. Confirming the presence of uniquely nutritious, energy-dense plants in the specific area bolsters this.
Providing factual backing for an assumed mechanism strengthens a causal explanation.

Key Concept

Identifying and resolving logical gaps (alternate causes, selection bias, concept shifts) to strengthen arguments.
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Strengthen

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