Tüm alıştırma soruları

Below are four distinct causal arguments and four potential pieces of evidence. Pair each argument with the single piece of evidence that most effectively bolsters its specific conclusion by addressing an underlying logical vulnerability.

Literary Critic: A novel can be considered a genuine masterpiece only if it profoundly disrupts the reader’s pre-existing worldview. Yet, the vast majority of critically acclaimed novels published during the past decade rely strictly on familiar narrative tropes that serve only to validate readers' existing ideological biases. Consequently, it is highly unlikely that future literary historians will recognize any of these recently acclaimed novels as genuine masterpieces.

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

Identify the specific reasoning error in each of the following arguments by linking the short stimulus to its corresponding logical flaw description.

Energy Policy Analyst: Historically, over the last four decades, sudden and severe spikes in the price of imported petroleum have caused prolonged economic downturns in our country by drastically increasing manufacturing and transportation costs. Next quarter, global commodities markets are projected to experience an unprecedented 40 percent surge in petroleum prices due to regional export restrictions. Therefore, policymakers must urgently prepare for an imminent and severe national economic downturn.

Which of the following accurately describe a reasoning flaw in the analyst's argument? Select all that apply.

Transportation Official: Three years ago, our city implemented an automated traffic enforcement system. Since then, the total number of citations issued for all traffic violations has dropped by 40 percent. However, over the same period, the percentage of all traffic accidents on our highways in which excessive speed was cited as the primary cause has surged from 15 percent to 35 percent. This clearly demonstrates that, despite the drop in citations, there is currently a higher total number of high-speed accidents occurring on our highways than there was three years ago.

Which of the following most accurately describes a flaw in the transportation official's reasoning?

Researchers recently observed that office workers who regularly consume green tea report experiencing significantly lower levels of daily stress than those who do not. Furthermore, among the workers observed, those who consume the greatest amount of green tea report the lowest stress levels. The researchers conclude that the antioxidants present in green tea act directly on the nervous system to reduce stress.

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

Match each causal argument below to the specific category of necessary assumption it fundamentally relies upon.

Match each apparent discrepancy (left) with the new premise (right) that most effectively resolves the paradox.

Analyze the following flawed arguments, all of which share a common set of variables regarding commercial development. Match each argument with the specific missing assumption required to make its conclusion logically follow.

Urban Planner: To decrease traffic congestion in the downtown commercial district, the city plans to implement a new daily toll for any private vehicle entering the district during peak commuting hours. The city anticipates that this policy will successfully reduce the number of private vehicles entering the district. Clearly, this toll will achieve its goal of significantly reducing overall traffic congestion in the downtown commercial district.

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

Read the argument below and evaluate whether the provided statement functions as a necessary assumption.

Historian: The invention of writing must have been driven by the need to manage the increasingly complex trade networks of early agricultural surpluses, not by the administrative demands of large-scale monumental building projects. The traditional theory favoring monumental architecture as the primary catalyst is decisively refuted by recent excavations at Oruk, which reveal that complex record-keeping systems were fully established centuries before the construction of any such monuments.

Statement: The administrative demands associated with large-scale monumental building projects did not arise centuries before the actual physical construction of such monuments began.

If a plant is a healthy fern, then it thrives in high humidity. This particular houseplant does not thrive in high humidity. Therefore, this houseplant is not a healthy fern.

Which one of the following arguments is most similar in its logical structure to the argument presented above?

Match each of the following arguments to the statement that most accurately describes the specific false dilemma it commits.

A regional hospital implemented a strict new triage protocol to reduce the burden on its emergency department. The protocol successfully redirects all patients with minor, non-critical injuries to an affiliated urgent care facility. A year after implementation, an internal audit confirmed that the emergency department had not treated a single non-critical patient. Nevertheless, the audit also revealed that the average cost of treatment per patient in the emergency department had risen by 35 percent compared to the year before the protocol was introduced.

Statement: The apparent discrepancy is successfully resolved if it is true that by removing the large volume of inexpensive, non-critical cases from the emergency department, the only cases remaining to be averaged were severe traumas and complex emergencies, which inherently require the most expensive medical interventions.

When evaluating arguments on the LSAT, determining whether an assumption is strictly necessary requires properly applying the Negation Technique. This involves identifying the precise logical contradictory of a candidate statement. Match each candidate assumption regarding workforce productivity on the left with its precise logical negation on the right.

Biologist: The prehistoric canid *Aetocyon* must have lived and hunted in large social groups. The recent discovery of fossilized *Aetocyon* reveals that these animals had highly specialized jaw structures adapted exclusively for crushing large bones. In the modern world, bone-crushing predators such as spotted hyenas hunt in large, coordinated packs in order to take down large prey.

Which of the following are necessary assumptions on which the biologist's argument depends? (Select all that apply.)

Agronomist: The crop yields of farms in the Delta region have increased by 20 percent since a new soil-aeration technique was introduced three years ago. The developer of this technique claims that it improves nutrient absorption, directly causing the surge in yields. However, this claim is incorrect; the true cause of the increased yields is the unusually favorable rainfall pattern the Delta region has experienced over the same three-year period.

Which of the following, if true, provides the strongest evidence to support the agronomist's conclusion?

Philosopher: A political doctrine cannot be considered genuinely egalitarian unless it categorically repudiates the concept of inherited executive authority, except in systems where the exercise of such authority is entirely symbolic. The foundational charters of the Valesian Order establish a governance model predicated on inherited executive authority. Consequently, the Valesian charters fail to offer a genuinely egalitarian political doctrine.

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

Match each flawed argument stimulus to the abstract description that most accurately identifies its reasoning error.

Energy Analyst: In the year 2010, coal power plants generated 40 percent of the electricity consumed in our country. Last year, coal power plants generated only 25 percent of the electricity consumed. It is clear, then, that the country's coal power plants generated a smaller absolute amount of electricity last year than they did in 2010.

Which one of the following most accurately describes a flaw in the energy analyst's reasoning?