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Question

Difficulty: MediumParallel Flaw

Every individual component used in the assembly of the X-7 prototype spacecraft is light enough to be easily lifted by a single technician. Therefore, the fully assembled X-7 prototype spacecraft is light enough to be easily lifted by a single technician.

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

  1. The director's new movie must be very brief in its total runtime, because every single scene in the film is very brief, lasting no more than two minutes.Answer
  2. B
    Because the university's library system is renowned for being incredibly massive and difficult to navigate, the map section within the main library must also be massive and difficult to navigate.
  3. C
    The navigation computer, which is a critical component of the X-7 prototype spacecraft, must be able to withstand extreme radiation. This is because the spacecraft as a whole is engineered to withstand extreme radiation in deep space.
  4. D
    The new exploration rover is designed to be lifted by a single person. We know this because its components are all lightweight, and any vehicle designed to be lifted by a single person must have lightweight components.
  5. E
    Most of the individual paintings in the gallery's new exhibition are from the 18th century. Therefore, the entire exhibition must be devoted to 18th-century art.

Answer

The correct argument is the one concluding that the movie is very brief because every single scene is very brief.
The stimulus commits the Fallacy of Composition by assuming that because every individual component (part) is lightweight, the assembled spacecraft (whole) must also be lightweight. This fails to recognize that weight is additive. The correct answer perfectly parallels this exact part-to-whole flaw by concluding that because every individual scene (part) is brief, the movie itself (whole) must be brief, failing to recognize that duration is also additive.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze the stimulus to identify its core reasoning structure and logical flaw.
The argument assumes that because every individual part (spacecraft components) has a specific characteristic (light enough to be lifted), the whole (the fully assembled spacecraft) must logically have that same characteristic.
Identifying the specific flaw type is the necessary first step in any Parallel Flaw question. This is the Fallacy of Composition: inappropriately projecting a property of the parts onto the whole.
2
Evaluate the answer choices to find the one that replicates this exact part-to-whole flawed structure.
Look for an argument where the premise describes a characteristic of individual parts, and the conclusion illegitimately applies that same characteristic to the aggregate entity.
Parallel Flaw questions strictly require matching the logical error structure, regardless of the order in which the premises and conclusion are presented.
3
Identify the matching argument among the options.
The argument about the movie assumes that because the parts (individual scenes) are brief, the whole (the entire movie) is brief. This perfectly matches the composition flaw found in the stimulus.
The logical structure is identical: Part has additive property Y, therefore Whole has additive property Y.

Key Concept

Fallacy of Composition (Part-to-Whole Flaw)
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Topics

Parallel Flaw

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