PrepTest 151 Section 4

Choose a question

Explanations for every question, find them by number or text.

1. Q1:
   Joe: All vampire stories are based on an absurd set of…Point at Issue
2. Q2:
   A company decided to scan all of its salespersons'…Paradox

   The digitization project was a failure.

3. Q3:
   Politician: The legal right to free speech does not…Main Point

   It is justifiable to ban the types of speech I cited.

4. Q4:
   Art critic: Nowadays, museum visitors seldom pause to…Necessary Assumption

   People don’t want to engage with art the way they used to.

5. Q5:
   Heavy tapestry fabrics are appropriate only for use in…Most Strongly Supported

   Heavy tapestry appropriate ➞ ~~need laundering~~
   2.

6. Q6:
   The construction of new apartments in Brewsterville…Paradox

   Rents rose in Brewsterville even as the housing supply rose.

7. Q7:
   Politicians often advocate increased overall economic…Flawed Reasoning

   Increasing overall economic productivity may benefit businesses but hurt workers. 

8. Q8:
   A good movie reviewer should be able to give favorable…Identify the Conclusion

   A skilled movie reviewer ought to be able to give positive reviews of movies they don’t like.

9. Q9:
   The brain area that enables one to distinguish the…Flawed Reasoning

   Practicing and playing a musical instrument changes brain structure.

10. Q10:
    Researcher: Overhearing only one side of a cell-phone…Most Strongly Supported

    Hearing one half of a cellphone conversation is distracting. 

    **REASONING:** 

    1. You have to guess what the person on the other side of the conversation is saying, and
    2. People on cellphones talk unusually loudly.

11. Q11:
    A new treatment for muscle pain that looked very…Flawed Parallel Reasoning

    The treatment is probably bad.

12. Q12:
    If future improvements to computer simulations of…Strengthen

    Computer simulations improve their info about safety features to be just as good as test crashes ➞ car manufacturers will use less test crashes

13. Q13:
    Legislator: My colleague says we should reject this…Flawed Reasoning

    We should approve the act.

14. Q14:
    A new computer system will not significantly increase…Complete the Argument

    The new computer system won’t make a significant improvement to productivity. [Expected conclusion]

15. Q15:
    Columnist: Many car manufacturers trumpet their cars'…Flawed Reasoning

    Manufacturers likely inflate their fuel efficiency figures.

16. Q16:
    Tenants who do not have to pay their own electricity…Weaken

    Society will save energy if landlords install electricity meters and bill tenants for heating.

17. Q17:
    The position that punishment should be proportional…Role in Argument

    It is unsustainable to argue that both:

    1. Punishments should be proportional to the seriousness of the crime, and
    2. Repeat offenders should get worse punishments than first time offenders.

18. Q18:
    Blogger: Traditionally, newspapers have taken…Necessary Assumption

    The best way to understand how journalism changed is to think about different business strategies.

19. Q19:
    Any government practice that might facilitate the…Must be True

    If a government practice might help abuse power, you should only do it if there is a good reason.

20. Q20:
    According to a theory embraced by some contemporary…Sufficient Assumption

    The radical musicians’ music is inconsistent with their theory.

21. Q21:
    Evolution does not always optimize survival of an…Method of Reasoning

    Evolution doesn’t always maximize survival of species.

22. Q22:
    Biologist: When bacteria of a particular species are…Weaken

    The bacteria probably detect red light by checking how much energy their chlorophyll makes.

23. Q23:
    If a piece of legislation is the result of negotiation…Flawed Reasoning

    Satisfies no one ➞ negotiation

24. Q24:
    After a nuclear power plant accident, researchers…Most Strongly Supported

    Materials found after a nuclear plant accident: iodine, tellurium, cesium.

25. Q25:
    If ecology and the physical sciences were evaluated by…Parallel Reasoning

    Ecology is being evaluated by different criteria than the physical sciences are.