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While tablet computer sales have increased steadily over the last 2 years, we can expect a reversal of this trend in the near future. Since they became popular in the marketplace 5 years ago, 60 percent of tablet computers sold have been purchased by people from 18 to 25 years of age, and the number of people in this age group is expected to decline steadily over the next 15 years.
Which of the following, if true, would most seriously weaken the argument?
The correct answer suggests that the predicted demographic shift may not have the impact on tablet computer sales that the author predicts. That is, the author uses 5-year demographic data to predict a reversal in the 2-year tablet sales trend. However, the correct answer suggests that such data is misleading insofar as purchasers in the 18 - 25 demographic were not responsible for driving the 2-year sales trend.
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Those who go to college are wasting their money. The vast majority of college graduates are employed in fields that do not require their specializations, while others are unemployed. Further, contrary to common belief, the average college graduate is not paid substantially more than the average worker who is not a college graduate.
Which of the following, if true, most weakens the argument?
The argument asserts that college graduates do not have a substantial employment advantage over non graduates. That assertion is directly undermined if college graduates are more likely to be employed than non graduates.
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Cities benefit from hosting major sporting events, such as bowl games and major basketball tournaments, but hosting these events also presents challenges. Visitors provide business for hotels, restaurants, and stores, supporting those businesses and increasing tax revenue. On the other hand, with the influx of tourists, police forces and hospitals are often understaffed. Historically, these cities have been able to obtain enough outside workers to sufficiently meet their temporary staffing needs. For that reason, the benefits outweigh the challenges for the cities scheduled to host the next major sporting events.
Which of the following, if true, most undermines the argument?
The argument asserts that benefits outweigh challenges for future cities because past cities have been able to bring in outside workers. The argument is directly undermined if future cities will not be able to bring in these workers.
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Businesses that invest in renewable energy tend to view profit as secondary to social responsibility. Investments in renewable energy are also very risky and several have been known to cause their company very large losses. Therefore, it is a bad idea for you to invest in renewable energy.
Which on the following, if true, most weakens the argument presented above?
Only the correct answer shows how one of the arguments use to justify not investing in renewable energy companies could in fact be wrong. This weakens the argument by removing one of the pillars that support it.
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Modern workers are less competent than workers of the past. This fact likely comes as a surprise to some because standards are higher than ever. Employers demand higher degrees than before and more workers have bachelor's and master's degrees than at any other time. Higher degrees do not mean more competent workers, however. Recent evidence indicates that modern workers have poor writing ability, lack focus, and are inept at personal communication.
Which of the following, if true, most undermines the argument?
The passage describes three weaknesses of modern workers. This evidence insufficiently supports the conclusion, however, if workers from the past have the same weaknesses as modern workers.
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I saw John running through the rain to get to his next class. Even though he forgot his umbrella today, he accomplished nothing by running instead of walking. People get just as wet running in the rain as they do walking, even though they may arrive at their destinations more quickly.
Which of the following, if true, most weakens the argument?
The argument claims that John accomplished nothing by running, but assumes that his objective was to avoid getting wet. If John's goal was to get to class more quickly, then he accomplished something despite getting wet.
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Foreign trade with other countries will improve quickly if we amend the Constitution so that the President can execute trade agreements with other countries without the current rule requiring a 2/3 approval of the Senate. This is because obtaining a 2/3 vote in the Senate allows extensive debate regarding the merits of a prospective trade agreement, but the process to obtain this 2/3 vote is extremely slow and cumbersome.
Which one of the following, if true, most seriously weakens the argument?
The author argues that the rule requiring 2/3 Senate approval for trade agreements should be eliminated so that trade relations can improve quickly. To weaken this argument, the contention that a sped-up process is the best approach should be attacked. The answer choice: “The process to obtain a 2/3 vote in the Senate, which consists of thorough research and deliberation, prevents the implementation of trade agreements that would have negative effects on trade” demonstrates that a slow, deliberate process is the superior approach in regards to trade and that we should not rush the process. Therefore, this is the correct choice.
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Professor: A British scholar criticized a recent publication on John Milton’s Paradise Lost, written by a colleague of mine. Specifically, the British scholar lambasted the thesis, calling it a “publicity stunt,” formulated simply to generate attention, and said that it was not a scholarly product. However, you should know that the British scholar and my colleague have personal distaste towards one another. Given that the British scholar’s criticism of my colleague is based on mere personal bias, my colleague’s thesis is clearly a product of scholarship.
The reasoning in the professor’s argument is most vulnerable to criticism on the grounds that
The problem with the professor's reasoning is that he assumes a fact (that the work was a scholarly product) based on the circumstance that his colleague and the British scholar had personal tensions. There is not a causal relationship between these two circumstances. Therefore, the professor made an error in his causal reasoning. The correct answer conveys this most effectively.
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The university’s star basketball player has been scoring half as many points this year as he did last year. In the middle of the season, his mother passed away, causing speculation that he had entered into a deep depression. His mother’s death appears to have not only affected his emotional state, but to also have interfered with his game.
Which of the following, if true, weakens the argument as to why the basketball player’s performance has been declining?
Given that the basketball player’s mother died in the middle of the season, if his performance had declined in the first half of the season, it would have declined due to factors that were independent of his mother’s death. Therefore, this is the correct answer.
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Microwaves heat objects by exciting the molecules, causing them to move faster. However, microwaves are larger than the size of an ant. Therefore, an ant is not affected by microwaves and can survive exposure to them while most other animals would be killed by such exposure.
Which of the following, if true, would most seriously weaken the conclusion of the argument?
In order to see what statement would weaken the reasoning, we should look more closely at the reasoning in the excerpt:
"Microwaves heat objects by exciting the molecules, causing them to move faster. However, microwaves are larger than the size of an ant. Therefore, an ant is not affected by microwaves . . . "
The correct answer choice introduces information that disrupts the conclusion. If microwaves can enter an ant, it would in fact affect them, and thereby overturn the conclusion.
The statement in the correct answer most closely relates to the chain of logic. The incorrect answer choices are too tangentially related to the chain of logic to be correct.
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Yogurt aids digestion due to the bacteria that it contains. This is because the bacteria cultures are beneficial to human internal organs, allowing them to function more effectively. However, not all yogurts contain active bacteria cultures, and rather than being made purely with milk, use cornstarch and other additives in order to thicken them and give them the consistency of true yogurt. These yogurts cannot aid digestion.
Which of the following, if true, most seriously weakens the argument?
The argument is setting forth the contention that yogurt is good for digestion because of the bacteria it contains. However, if yogurt was actually found to be good for digestion for another reason, and not because of the bacteria it contains -- such as the types of amino acids that it contains -- the chain of logic in the argument would deteriorate.
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Environmental activists who primarily focus on reducing carbon emissions are misguided. There are many environmental issues that should be of great concern, including some that present more serious challenges than carbon emissions. Water pollution, for example, has devastating results on the environment. Activists who primarily focus on carbon emissions apparently do not recognize that water pollution and other issues cause damage to the environment.
Which of the following, if true, most seriously weakens the argument?
The purpose of the passage is to propose that environmental activists who primarily focus on carbon emissions are misguided. The claim that other issues are also important is only a part of the larger argument. The reasoning is weakened if some activists are focused on carbon emissions because that area provides greater opportunity for change; they are less likely to be misguided.
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As a society, we have no excuse for the prevalence of chronic dehydration. The remedy is simply too obvious and accessible. Those who suffer from the condition seek doctors’ opinions and medications, suffer from unexplained dizziness and other symptoms, and are susceptible to sickness. To solve these problems and to increase energy and focus, these people need only to drink more water—either by itself or as a primary ingredient in other beverages.
Which of the following, if true, most weakens the argument?
The point of the passage is that there is no excuse for the prevalence of chronic dehydration because increased water consumption provides a simple, effective remedy. That point is directly undermined if those who suffer from the condition cannot consume more water.
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Cleaning supply labels often carry warnings regarding the dangers of combining certain chemicals. The reason for this is that combinations of common household cleaning supplies have resulted in serious injuries. Nonetheless, after purchasing potentially harmful chemicals, customers casually place them near each other, apparently unaware of the consequences should the chemicals be combined. Most people are placed in grave danger by the contents of their cleaning closets.
Which one of the following, if true, most weakens the argument?
The argument suggests that combinations of certain cleaning supplies can lead to serious injuries and that most people are in danger as a result. The argument is weakened if most people do not purchase enough of the chemicals to be in danger.
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Recent studies demonstrate that homeowners who decorate their homes with tranquil scenes, whether paintings or photos, feel peace and comfort. Those who feel anxiety or restlessness should decorate their homes with images of tranquil scenes. By doing so, they can increase feelings of peace and comfort.
Which of the following, if true, most weakens the argument?
The argument suggests that, because those who decorate with tranquil scenes feel peace, others can increase feelings of peace by decorating with tranquil scenes. This assumes that the tranquil scenes cause the feelings. This key assumption is weakened if those who decorate with tranquil scenes do so because they already feel peace and comfort.
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Video games have been getting progressively more violent over the past twenty years. Likewise, there has been an increase in violent incidents among high school students over the same period of time. However, new studies show that the majority of the perpetrators of such violent behavior have not spent significantly more time playing violent video games than the average student. Therefore, exposure to video game violence is not a significant influence in the majority of these violent incidents.
Which one of the following, if true, would most seriously weaken the argument?
The argument’s conclusion is that exposure to video game violence is not a significant influence in the majority of violent incidents among high school students. While it does not definitively show causation, the fact that many students were not violent prior to being exposed to such video games and were violent afterwards is strong evidence of influence.
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Health coach: It is well-documented that mental stress often leads to temporary reduction in the immune system’s effectiveness. But recent studies have gone even further. These studies show that mental stress can actually permanently damage the immune system, thus leaving a person permanently vulnerable to disease and illness. So, it is now clear that purely mental states can permanently alter the body’s functioning, which proves that human beings are more than mere biological machines.
Which one of the following would, if true, most weaken the health coach’s argument?
The health coach is making a causation argument: One’s mental state can alter the functioning of one’s body. A classic way to undermine a causation argument is to show that the causation actually runs in the opposite direction. The correct answer choice here does precisely that. It reverses the “mind influences body” claim with the counter-assertion that “body influences mind.” That is to say, it states that the functioning of the body (i.e., bodily exhaustion) can affect mental states (i.e. mental stress). The answer choice involving exposure to toxic environments somewhat weakens the health coach’s claim, but it is a rather mild form of weakening, so it is not the best choice here.
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Company Executive: James should not be promoted to Assistant Manager. Sales figures for the past six months show that three other employees in the same division had more sales than James did over that period of time. As you know, we base our promotions almost solely on an employee's ability to sell.
Which one of the following, if true, most seriously weakens the company executive's argument?
The correct answer choice is the one that most directly indicates James' ability to sell, which the executive noted is the most important factor in determining company promotions. If James was assigned especially difficult clients, that would explain the overall discrepancy between his sales and others' sales. Further, the fact that sales increased among those clients is a strong indicator of James' relative ability. The other answer choices emphasize factors that, while they may be relevant, are not as significant to the argument.
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Cell phone technology has progressed more quickly than almost anyone could have predicted. Only fifteen years ago was it even conceivable that handheld devices might be able to both store large amounts of data and access the internet. Yet, just a few years later, cell phones accomplish both of these things and are readily accessible to the public. While technology usually advances at predictable, moderate speed, advancements during some periods are so rapid as to be truly remarkable. The development of the cell phone provides an example of just such a time.
Which of the following, if true, most weakens the argument?
The key assertion of the argument is that cell phone development illustrates a phenomenon of rapid technological development. This assertion is directly undermined if cell phone technology actually developed at predictable, moderate speeds.
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Historically, there has been little need for the law to directly protect privacy rights. Before the internet was widely used, trespassing laws prohibited violations of privacy within homes. The internet, however, has changed everything. Now, companies monitor the websites people visit and sell data gathered about individuals. While some economic benefits accompany these intrusions, privacy interests are sacrificed. New laws are needed to address modern privacy concerns.
Which of the following, if true, most weakens the argument?
The argument claims that trespass laws once prohibited violations of privacy but are now inadequate because of new types of privacy violations. The argument is directly undermined if trespass laws prohibit both old and modern privacy violations. There would no longer seem to be a need for new laws.
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