Match each brief argument with the specific piece of new evidence that most effectively weakens its conclusion.
- A university study found that students who take notes by hand score higher on exams than those who type. Thus, handwriting notes causes better academic performance.Students who choose to take notes by hand generally possess higher baseline motivation, a trait that independently leads to higher exam scores.
- After the regional government introduced a subsidy for solar panels, carbon emissions dropped by 15%. This proves the subsidy was highly effective.In the same year the subsidy was introduced, a severe economic recession caused heavy industrial manufacturing in the region to decline drastically.
- A poll at a tech industry conference revealed that 85% of attendees believe AI will create jobs. Therefore, the general public is optimistic about AI.Professionals in the technology sector are significantly more likely than the average citizen to benefit financially from the expansion of artificial intelligence.
- Over the last five years, workplace accidents involving robotic arms have tripled, while accidents involving human workers decreased. Clearly, robotic arms are becoming less safe.During the last five years, factories have aggressively automated, replacing 80% of their human assembly workers with robotic arms.
Answer
Argument 1 matches Evidence C. Argument 2 matches Evidence A. Argument 3 matches Evidence D. Argument 4 matches Evidence B.
Each correct pairing effectively targets the specific logical vulnerability in the corresponding argument: Argument 1 is weakened by an alternate cause for a correlation; Argument 2 is weakened by an independent alternate cause for an outcome; Argument 3 is weakened by exposing sample bias; and Argument 4 is weakened by providing context on population size changes (base rate).
Step-by-Step Solution
Key Concept
Identifying and targeting specific logical vulnerabilities (causation errors, unrepresentative samples, and base rate neglect) to weaken arguments.