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Difficulty: EasyStrengthen

Match each brief argument with the statement that most effectively strengthens its conclusion.

  • A study found that employees who participated in morning exercise sessions reported less back pain than non-participants. The wellness director concluded that morning exercise sessions directly reduce back pain.Employees who chose to join the exercise sessions did not have better baseline spinal health or less physically demanding job duties prior to the study than those who did not join.
  • A survey of 200 science majors found that over 80 percent preferred digital textbooks to printed textbooks. Based on this finding, the campus bookstore concluded that university students in general prefer digital textbooks.The textbook format preferences of science majors do not significantly differ from the preferences of students enrolled in other academic disciplines.
  • A delivery company plans to replace its gasoline vans with electric vans, concluding that this change will decrease total vehicle operational costs because electricity costs less per mile than gasoline.The routine maintenance, battery upkeep, and charging equipment expenses for electric vans will not exceed the money saved on per-mile fuel costs.

Answer

The exercise study argument matches the statement ruling out baseline health differences among participants; the textbook survey argument matches the statement confirming sample representativeness across disciplines; and the electric van argument matches the statement ensuring maintenance expenses do not exceed fuel savings.
Each correct pairing provides evidence that directly resolves the central assumption of its matched argument: eliminating selection bias supports causal attribution, confirming sample typicality supports generalization, and bounding auxiliary expenses supports net cost reduction.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze the reasoning gap in each argument.
The exercise argument assumes correlation implies causation without ruling out selection bias; the bookstore argument assumes a specific subgroup represents the whole student body; the delivery company argument assumes fuel savings translate to total operational cost reduction without considering other vehicle expenses.
Identifying the unstated assumption or vulnerability in each argument is necessary to determine what information will strengthen it.
2
Evaluate each potential strengthener against the identified gaps.
Eliminating alternative baseline causes strengthens the causal claim; establishing cross-major consistency strengthens the inductive generalization; bounding ancillary maintenance costs strengthens the total expense claim.
A valid strengthener directly addresses and mitigates the specific logical vulnerability of its target argument.
3
Pair each argument with its corresponding strengthening claim.
Each argument is uniquely paired with the evidence that directly substantiates its specific assumption.
Ensures an exact one-to-one logical correspondence between the arguments and supporting statements.

Key Concept

Strengthen reasoning: Identifying and bridging distinct logical gaps, including eliminating confounding variables in causal arguments, establishing sample representativeness in generalizations, and accounting for net variables in financial arguments.
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