QUESTION TEXT: A smaller number of short documentary films…
QUESTION TYPE: Parallel Reasoning
CONCLUSION: A higher proportion of full-length science-fiction films than of short documentary films are commercially successful.
REASONING: There are more short documentary films than there are science-fiction films, but a smaller number of short documentary films than full-length science-fiction films are commercially successful.
ANALYSIS: This argument looks at absolute numbers of a thing and uses it to infer proportions. There are more short documentaries, but more full-length science fiction films are successful. That means that full-length science fiction films must be more successful, on average, because otherwise fewer full-length science fiction films would be successful than short documentary films.
The parallel argument will be something like this. There are a number of items of X class, and more items of Y class. However, the number of X class items with Z characteristic is higher than the number of Y class items with Z characteristic. The conclusion must be that X class items have Z characteristic at a higher proportion than Y class items do.
___________
- This argument is missing the part about whether there are more large Victorian apartments or small modern apartments.
- CORRECT. This is the same reasoning. There are more large Victorian apartments, but a higher number of modern apartments have freestanding bathtubs. This means that a higher proportion of modern apartments have freestanding bathtubs.
- This argument is making a conclusion about the absolute number of apartments in each category with freestanding bathtubs, not the proportion. This distinguishes it from the stimulus.
- This argument is making a conclusion about how many apartments of each category exist. The conclusion in the stimulus is about the relative proportions, so it’s not the same.
- In this answer, the number of modern apartments is less than the number of Victorian apartments, and the number of modern apartments with freestanding bathtubs is also smaller. We can’t use this to conclude anything about the proportions.
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