All practice questions

Zoologist: The recent discovery of fossilized feathers on the forelimbs of the theropod dinosaur *Velociraptor* strongly suggests that this species was capable of sustained endothermy, or warm-bloodedness. Feathers provide excellent thermal insulation, a feature that would be entirely unnecessary for an ectothermic, or cold-blooded, animal living in the uniformly warm climate of the Cretaceous period. Therefore, *Velociraptor* must have generated its own body heat.

Which one of the following is an assumption required by the zoologist's argument?

The city will implement the proposed congestion charge only if the public transit system's capacity is increased by at least 20 percent. Furthermore, the transit system's capacity can be expanded by that amount only if the state legislature approves the pending transit grant. Therefore, unless the state legislature approves the transit grant, the city's downtown air quality will not improve significantly.

The conclusion drawn above depends on which one of the following assumptions?

Agricultural economist: The newly developed cultivar of soybean, "Drought-Shield", requires 30 percent less irrigation water per hectare than the conventional soybean varieties currently grown in the arid central valley. Conventional soybeans currently account for over 70 percent of the central valley's agricultural water use. Therefore, if central valley farmers entirely replace their conventional soybeans with Drought-Shield, the central valley's total agricultural water consumption will decline substantially.

Which one of the following is an assumption on which the agricultural economist's argument depends?

Cognitive Scientist: The established academic definition of genuine creative insight dictates that any entity capable of such insight must be able to synthesize disparate conceptual frameworks without relying on pre-programmed heuristics. The newly developed neural architecture, Synapse-X, operates exclusively by applying pre-programmed heuristics to massive datasets. Nevertheless, Synapse-X recently generated a novel urban infrastructure model that human engineers universally acclaimed as highly innovative. Therefore, the established academic definition of genuine creative insight must be fundamentally flawed.

Which one of the following, if assumed, allows the cognitive scientist's conclusion to be properly drawn?

To reduce the time checkout clerks spend bagging groceries, a regional supermarket chain replaced its standard flimsy plastic bags with thicker, reusable paper bags that stand upright on their own. Management expected that the self-standing nature of the new bags would allow clerks to pack items much faster. However, in the months since the introduction of the new bags, the average time it takes a clerk to pack a customer's groceries has increased by 20 percent.

Which of the following, if true, most helps to resolve the apparent discrepancy?

Historian: The collapse of the Bronze Age civilization of Alashiya was long attributed to a massive earthquake. However, sediment core analyses reveal a multi-decade drought immediately preceding the collapse. Furthermore, contemporaneous administrative tablets show an abrupt shift from recording luxury trade to issuing frantic requests for grain. Therefore, the collapse was fundamentally driven by climatological resource scarcity rather than sudden seismic activity.

Evaluate the following statement as true or false regarding the argument above:
The statement 'The abrupt shift in the administrative tablets to requests for grain was not primarily a response to agricultural devastation wrought by a sudden earthquake' functions as a necessary assumption for the historian's conclusion.

Historian: No social movement can achieve lasting institutional change unless it secures the active support of political elites. Securing the active support of political elites, however, invariably requires a movement to demonstrate a willingness to engage in incremental policy compromises. The newly formed Vanguard Coalition is explicitly committed to the complete dismantling of the current political establishment. Therefore, the Vanguard Coalition will fail to achieve lasting institutional change.

The historian's conclusion follows logically if which one of the following is assumed?

Anthropologist: At the Korba archaeological site, the stone tools discovered are highly standardized in shape and size. In contrast, tools found at other hominin sites from the exact same era are highly varied and lack any uniform pattern. Creating highly standardized tools requires the application of precise, consistent manufacturing techniques. Therefore, the standardization of the Korba tools demonstrates that the Korba hominins possessed a more advanced system of communication than their contemporaries, which allowed them to instruct one another in these techniques.

Which one of the following would it be most useful to establish in order to evaluate the anthropologist's argument?

Ecologist: In the region's heavily logged forests, the population of the native spotted owl has plummeted. Conservationists argue that the logging of old-growth trees destroyed the owl's necessary nesting habitat, causing the decline. However, a recent survey shows that the invasive barred owl, which aggressively competes with the spotted owl for prey, recently expanded its range into these exact same logged forests. Therefore, the drastic decline in the spotted owl population is primarily due to competition from the invasive barred owl, rather than the loss of nesting habitat.

Which one of the following is an assumption on which the ecologist's argument depends?

Supply chain analyst: In response to recent component shortages, our manufacturing firm is considering shifting from a 'just-in-time' inventory system to stockpiling critical parts. Management believes this shift will prevent the production halts currently caused by sudden supplier delays. However, adopting this new system will not actually increase our overall production reliability. The massive warehouse space required to stockpile these parts will displace our in-house quality-assurance facilities, forcing us to outsource quality control to third-party labs, which are known for their unpredictable turnaround times.

Which one of the following is an assumption required by the supply chain analyst's argument?

Last year, a university required all graduating seniors to attend a career counseling program. This year, the university made the counseling program entirely optional. The university's administration was surprised to find that the total number of graduating seniors who secured employment within three months of graduation decreased significantly this year. However, the employment rate among seniors who participated in the counseling program jumped from 60% last year to 90% this year.

Which of the following statements, if true, contribute to resolving the apparent discrepancy? (Select exactly TWO statements that, when taken together, best explain the statistical anomaly.)

Paleontologist: The fossilized remains of the newly discovered dinosaur G. antiquus reveal unusually large eye sockets compared to its contemporary relatives. Because exceptionally large eyes are typically an evolutionary adaptation for maximizing visual acuity in low-light conditions, G. antiquus must have been a nocturnal species that hunted exclusively during the night.

Which one of the following is an assumption required by the paleontologist's argument?

Biologist: Some critics argue that the process of human evolution is "just a theory" and therefore should not be taught in schools as an established fact. But these critics are completely misguided. The phenomenon of gravity is also described by a theory—the theory of general relativity—yet no reasonable person argues that we should doubt that dropped objects will fall to the ground. Therefore, the critics' rationale for dismissing human evolution is invalid.

Which of the following best describes the logical flaw in the biologist's argument?

Below are four debate exchanges, each containing a flawed response by the second speaker. Match each exchange to the precise description of the logical vulnerability committed in that response.

Legal theorist: A legal statute that infringes on personal privacy is morally defensible only if it demonstrably prevents a severe public harm. The recent Cybersecurity Act clearly infringes on personal privacy. Therefore, the recent Cybersecurity Act is not morally defensible.

Which one of the following, if assumed, enables the legal theorist's conclusion to be properly drawn?

Traffic Commissioner: Our recent analysis of commuting habits revealed a striking pattern: residents who frequently utilize the newly constructed light rail system report significantly higher overall life satisfaction than those who commute by car. Furthermore, the light rail commuters experienced a $20\%$ lower rate of tardiness to work over the past year. This demonstrates that using the light rail system directly improves residents' life satisfaction and punctuality.

Which of the following most accurately describes a flaw in the traffic commissioner's reasoning?

Assess the following four excerpts drawn from various specialized fields. Match each argument with the abstract description that most precisely identifies its logical vulnerability.

Match each logical argument with the required bridging (supporter) assumption that logically connects its premise to its conclusion.

In Kaelen, the government recently provided a massive subsidy for farmers to purchase high-yield seed varieties. The stated goal was to increase overall crop production in order to lower retail food prices for residents. One year later, agricultural reports confirmed that total crop production in Kaelen had indeed reached record highs, and overall consumer demand for food remained constant. Nevertheless, the average retail price of food in Kaelen increased significantly over that same period.

Which of the following, if true, most helps to resolve the apparent paradox described above?

Last year, wheat farmers in the Sunnyside Valley switched from using traditional organic compost to a new synthetic fertilizer called Nitromax. Following this switch, the total yield of wheat per hectare in the valley increased significantly compared to previous years. However, despite this increase in yield per hectare, the total revenue generated by the valley's wheat harvest was substantially lower this year than in any of the previous five years.

Which of the following statements, if true, help to resolve the apparent discrepancy described above? Select all that apply.