Summary
Caffeine can be as physically addictive as other psychoactive substances.
Some people become unusually depressed, drowsy, or irritable if they don’t have the level of caffeine they’re used to.
As many people consume caffeine as consume any of the other addictive psychoactive substances. So, for example, if 100 people eat psychoactive substance X, then at least 100 people consume caffeine.
Some people become unusually depressed, drowsy, or irritable if they don’t have the level of caffeine they’re used to.
As many people consume caffeine as consume any of the other addictive psychoactive substances. So, for example, if 100 people eat psychoactive substance X, then at least 100 people consume caffeine.
Notable Valid Inferences
There’s no clear inference that I’d have in mind. I’d just use process of elimination for the answer choices.
A
There is no psychoactive substance to which more people are physically addicted than are addicted to caffeine.
Could be false. We know that as many people CONSUME caffeine as consume other psych subs. That doesn’t mean the caffeine-consumers are addicted to it. Also, caffeine CAN BE as physically addictive as psych. substances. That doesn’t tell us how many people actually are addicted.
B
A physical addiction to a particular psychoactive substance will typically give rise to diverse psychological symptoms.
Could be false. We know “some” people have certain symptoms if they don’t have enough caffeine. That doesn’t mean these symptoms are “typical” results of addiction. “Typical” means most of the time.
C
Not all substances to which people can become physically addicted are psychoactive.
Could be false. The stimulus only tells us about psychoactive substances. We have no idea whether there are substances that people can be addicted to that are NOT psychoactive.
D
If one is physically addicted to a psychoactive substance, one will become unusually depressed when one is no longer ingesting that substance.
Could be false. We know “some” people become depressed from not getting enough caffeine. That doesn’t mean if you’re addicted to a substance, you “will” become unusually depressed if you don’t get the substance. We don’t know that result is guaranteed.
E
If alcohol is a physically addictive psychoactive substance, there are not more people who consume alcohol than consume caffeine.
Must be true. Based on the last sentence. As many consume caffeine as consume any other addictive psych subs. So if alchohol is addictive psych subs., as many people consume caffeine as consume alcohol.
"Surprising" Phenomenon
Why does the silver ant leave its nest to scavenge at midday, when it is vulnerable to the heat?
Objective
The correct answer must present an unsatisfactory hypothesis, one that fails to explain why the silver ant leaves its nest at midday. Every wrong answer, meanwhile, will identify a difference between midday and other times of day that implies midday is a safer or more effective time for the ants to scavenge.
A
The chief predators of the silver ant must take cover from the sun during midday.
This is a reason for silver ants to risk the midday heat. The ants’ predators are hiding, so midday is safer than other times of day, despite the heat.
B
The cues that silver ants use to navigate become less reliable as the afternoon progresses.
This is a reason for silver ants to risk the midday heat. If the ants’ navigation becomes less reliable later in the day, they have an incentive to scavenge earlier.
C
Other scavengers remove any remaining corpses as soon as the temperature begins to drop in the afternoon.
This is a reason for silver ants to risk the midday heat. Their food will be taken by other scavengers in the afternoon, so the ants cannot wait for temperatures to drop before scavenging.
D
The temperature inside the silver ants’ nests often exceeds the surface temperature during the hottest times of the day.
This is a reason for silver ants to risk the midday heat. If the ants’ nest is warmer than the surface near midday, then they actually escape the heat by leaving.
E
Silver ants cool themselves by climbing onto small pieces of dried vegetation to take advantage of random light breezes.
This does not explain why the ants choose midday for scavenging. It identifies a mechanism the ants use to cool down, but states nothing about midday that explains the ants’ scavenging schedule.
Summary
The same task causes different levels of environmental awareness in different individuals. For example, mathematical puzzles cause most individual’s environmental awareness to increase. Some people experience a decrease in awareness because they solve the puzzle visually in their mind’s eye. Other people may experience an increase of awareness because their brains signal a rest after every stage of problem solving.
Strongly Supported Conclusions
For at least some people, mathematical puzzles do not cause an increase in environmental awareness.
A
There are some people for whom mathematical puzzles do not cause an increase in their level of environmental awareness.
This answer is strongly supported. We know from the stimulus that some people, those who are visual problem solvers, mathematical puzzles can cause their awareness to decrease.
B
People who visually formulate answers differ from other problem solvers in that the former are aware of their surroundings.
This answer is unsupported. We don’t know anything about other problem solvers from the stimulus to make this comparison.
C
People tend to be more aware of their surroundings when solving mathematical problems than when solving nonmathematical problems.
This answer is unsupported. We don’t know what effect non-mathematical puzzles may have on a person’s environmental awareness. The stimulus is limited to the example of mathematical puzzles.
D
Mathematical problem solvers who rely on visual techniques become aware of their surroundings only during periods of rest.
This answer is unsupported. To say that these problem solves “only” become aware during periods of rest is too strong. We know that this may be one period, but not the only period.
E
Mathematical problem solving requires frequent periods of rest in the form of increased awareness of the problem solver’s surroundings.
This answer is unsupported. We don’t know from the stimulus what is required for a person to solve mathematical problems.
Consultant: Most workers do not have every item they produce judged for quality, but each piece a freelance writer authors is evaluated. That is why freelance writers produce such high-quality work.
Summary
A Consultant argues freelance writers produce high-quality work because they have each piece of their work evaluated by someone else. This is unlike most other workers whose products are not all individually evaluated.
Strongly Supported Conclusions
Having all of one’s work evaluated causes some people to produce better work.
A
A piece authored by a freelance writer is generally evaluated more strictly than the majority of items most workers produce.
The stimulus does not say anything about the “strictness” of an evaluation. Thus, there is no support for the notion that freelance writers are evaluated more strictly even though more of their work is evaluated.
B
By having every piece of their work evaluated, some workers are caused to produce high-quality work.
The stimulus says that freelance writers produce high-quality work because each piece is evaluated. Thus, it is supported that the process of evaluating causes some workers (freelance writers) to produce high-quality work.
C
No other workers produce higher quality work than do freelance writers.
This is far too strong to support. The stimulus says that freelance writers produce high-quality work, not the *highest-quality* work.
D
Only freelance writers have every item they produce evaluated for quality.
The stimulus does not say that *only* freelance writers have every item they produce evaluated. It only says that most other professions do not.
E
Some workers produce high-quality work in spite of the fact that not every item they produce is judged for quality.
While this could be true, nothing in the stimulus says that there are people who produce high-quality work without being evaluated. The stimulus only tells us that freelance writers produce high-quality work.