A
Wounds that have simply been cleaned with soap and water and not otherwise treated heal faster than wounds that have been cleaned and then treated with antibiotic ointment.
B
The bacteria found in honey are present in much lower concentrations than the concentrations of bacteria typically present in infected wounds, and applying antibiotic ointment to a wound rarely if ever kills all of the bacteria infecting the wound.
C
Honey has properties that inhibit the growth of bacteria in wounds, including the bacteria the honey contains, and antibiotic ointments damage sensitive wound tissue, which slows healing.
D
The high concentration of sugar in honey inhibits the growth of bacteria in wounds, including the bacteria contained in the honey itself.
E
The antibiotic ointment used in the study damages sensitive tissue in wounds, which slows healing, but honey does not have this effect if the wound has been cleaned.
Many people copy the public actions of celebrities and those who are widely respected.
Some celebrities do not vote.
Serious harm comes to societies in which many people don’t vote.
Widely respected people shouldn’t refrain from voting.
A
A society should require all celebrities to vote.
B
One should vote only if one expects that doing so will cause many other people to do likewise.
C
Celebrities who do not vote should not be widely respected.
D
People should not emulate celebrities who are not widely respected.
E
Widely respected people should not publicly refrain from voting.
Ayla: The best way to combat false views is to challenge them in public. Once Carl’s views are subjected to the kind of public scrutiny the forum provides, people will see them for what they are because the forum will provide convincing arguments against them.
A
one should always avoid legitimizing a view whose adoption one wishes not to support
B
people will see the falsity of every dangerous idea for which they are furnished with forceful counterarguments
C
the best way to fight erroneous ideas involves allowing the public expression of these ideas
D
people who hold false views tend to pose a danger to society
E
one should not encourage the adoption of dangerous views
News report: Some recently invented television screens are built out of small tiles seamlessly joined together, each tile a separate miniature screen. Television sets with these compound screens are just a few inches thick. For a noncompound screen in a set of this thickness, the larger the screen is, the dimmer it is. However, each tile in a compound screen is small enough to be quite bright. Moreover, an unlimited number of the tiles can be joined together, without making the resulting screen any less bright or the set any thicker.
Summary
Compound television screens are built by joining together small tiles that are each a separate miniature screen.
TVs with compound screens are just a few inches thick.
When the thickness of TVs with noncompound screens is held constant, the larger a screen is, the dimmer it is.
Each tile in a compound screen is small enough to retain brightness.
In compound screens, you can have an unlimited number of tiles joined together without making the screen less bright or the TV set thicker.
Notable Valid Inferences
For TVs with compound screens, having a larger screen doesn’t mean that the screen will be dimmer. These TVs can be bright and large.
A
The technology used to make compound television screens is not appropriate for television sets with relatively small screens.
Could be false. There is no information in the stimulus to indicate that compound screens can’t be used for TVs with small screens.
B
There is a great consumer demand for television sets that are just a few inches thick and that have very large screens.
Could be false. The stimulus does not mention consumer demand, so we cannot make inferences about consumer demand.
C
In a television set with a noncompound screen, the thicker the television set, the brighter the screen.
Could be false. The stimulus only discusses noncompound screens “in a set of this thickness.” The stimulus does not discuss how changing the thickness of the TV impacts the brightness of the screen.
D
Television sets that are just a few inches thick can now be made with screens that are both bright and very large.
Must be true. TVs with compound screens are just a few inches thick, and they can have screens that are both bright and very large.
E
Television sets with compound screens do not have any disadvantages relative to sets with noncompound screens.
Could be false. This is outside of the scope of the stimulus; it could certainly be the case that there are many disadvantages of TVs with compound screens that the stimulus did not mention.
Orator: Moral excellence can be achieved only by repeatedly overcoming inclinations to do the wrong thing. Overcoming these inclinations is often difficult to do, even for a morally virtuous person, but the only way to become a morally virtuous person is through the achievement of moral excellence.
Summary
The stimulus can be diagrammed as follows:
Notable Valid Inferences
If one is morally virtuous, then one has repeatedly overcome inclinations to do wrong.
A
A morally virtuous person is incapable of doing the wrong thing.
Must be false. All morally virtuous people have overcome the inclination to do the wrong thing, which means that these people are capable of doing the wrong thing––they just overcame the urge to do so.
B
Most people who achieve moral excellence are morally virtuous.
Could be false. We know that all people who become morally virtuous achieve moral excellence, but we don’t know what quantity of people who achieve moral excellence are morally virtuous.
C
Someone who has no inclination to do anything that is wrong has achieved moral excellence.
Could be false. The stimulus discusses those who have repeatedly overcome inclinations to do the wrong thing, not those who have no inclination to do the wrong thing. These are different ideas.
D
Someone who is not morally virtuous is incapable of achieving moral excellence.
Could be false. We know that all people who become morally virtuous achieve moral excellence. (D) confuses the sufficient and necessary conditions in this relationship.
E
Every morally virtuous person has been inclined to do something that is wrong.
Must be true. We know that all morally virtuous people have repeatedly overcome the inclinations to do something wrong, which means that they have faced this inclination before.