A
Regular exercise prevents weight gain.
Aerobic exercise helps stave off one negative consequence of quitting smoking. This supports the idea that picking up exercise helps people quit smoking.
B
Each group in the study included four hundred randomly selected participants.
The study had a solid sample-size. Works for us.
C
Nonsmokers accustomed to regular exercise do not gain weight when they stop exercising.
We don’t care about nonsmokers. We care about how exercise can help smokers quit smoking.
D
Aerobic exercise can stimulate the brain’s production of endorphins, which reduce tension.
Exercise helps diminish tension, which is a negative side effect of quitting smoking. This supports the idea that picking up exercise helps people quit smoking.
E
Of those in the second group in the study, 38 percent had not smoked at the one-year mark.
The people who quit smoking didn’t relapse later on. Thus, exercise was indeed helpful for quitting smoking.
Summarize Argument
The author concludes that a group of unusual meteorites found in Shergotty, India probably came from Mars. As support, the author says that the structure of the meteorites suggests that they came from Mercury, Venus, or Mars. Any material from Mercury would have been captured by the Sun and any material from Venus would not have escaped into space, which leaves Mars as the likely source of the meteroites.
Describe Method of Reasoning
The author’s argument works by laying out three possible options (Mercury, Venus, and Mars), and eliminating two of the options (Mercury and Venus), leaving Mars as the likely source of the meteorites.
A
offering a counterexample to a theory
The author does not offer a counterexample. Instead, the author outlines a question (the origin of the unusual meteorites) and makes a conclusion about the answer to this question (that the meteorites probably came from Mars).
B
eliminating competing alternative explanations
The author’s argument works by eliminating Mercury and Venus as potential alternate explanations of the origin of the meteorites.
C
contrasting present circumstances with past circumstances
The author does not contrast present circumstances with past circumstances; there is no distinction between how things are now and how things were in the past.
D
questioning an assumption
The author does not question any assumptions. Instead, the author lists Mercury and Venus as two of the possible sources of the meteorites because of the meteorites’ structure, then explains that material from Mercury and Venus would not have reached Earth.
E
abstracting a general principle from specific data
The author does not discuss any general principles, nor does the author mention specific data.
Summary
All people prefer colors that they can easily distinguish. Infants can easily distinguish bright colors, but have difficulty distinguishing subtle shades. Brightly colored toys for infants sell better than toys in subtle shades at the same price.
Strongly Supported Conclusions
Infant toy sales reflect the preferences of infants.
A
Infants prefer bright primary colors to bright secondary colors.
This answer is unsupported. We don’t know from the stimulus whether infants are able to distinguish between primary and secondary colors. We only know that infants are able to distinguish between bright and subtle colors.
B
Color is the most important factor in determining which toys an infant will prefer to play with.
This answer is unsupported. To say that color is the “most important factor” is too strong. Color is an important factor for infants, but we don’t have enough information to conclude that it is the most important factor.
C
Individual infants do not have strong preferences for one particular bright color over other bright colors.
This answer is unsupported. The stimulus addresses the preferences of infants generally. We don’t know about any individual infant’s preferences from the stimulus.
D
The sales of toys for infants reflect the preferences of infants in at least one respect.
This answer is strongly supported. We know that infants prefer bright colors and we know that brightly colored toys sell better. Therefore, it’s likely that this preference for bright colors affects the toy sales for infants.
E
Toy makers study infants to determine what colors the infants can distinguish easily.
This answer is unsupported. Nothing in the stimulus addresses the toy maker’s perspective.