A
the relationship between being a criminal and being a rabbit is not of the same kind as that between being suspected and being gray
Like (B), the analogy rests on the relationship between being a gray rabbit and a rabbit, as analogized to the relationship between being a suspected criminal and a criminal. The relationships between being a criminal and a rabbit or being suspected and being gray are irrelevant.
B
the relationship between being suspected and being a rabbit is not of the same kind as that between being gray and being a criminal
Like (A), the analogy rests on the relationship between being a gray rabbit and a rabbit, as analogized to the relationship between being a suspected criminal and a criminal. The relationships described in (B) are irrelevant.
C
the relationship between being a gray rabbit and being a rabbit is not of the same kind as that between being a suspected criminal and being a criminal
All gray rabbits are rabbits, but not all suspected criminals are criminals. So the author’s argument relies on analogizing between two kinds of relationships that are not relevantly similar. One is a subset vs. superset relationship and the other is not.
D
not all rabbits are gray
This is true, but it doesn’t describe the flaw in the author’s argument. She claims that all gray rabbits are rabbits; this allows for the fact that some rabbits are not gray.
E
not all criminals are suspected
This is true, but it doesn’t describe the flaw in the author’s argument. She claims that all suspected criminals are criminals; this allows for the fact that some criminals are not suspected.
"Surprising" Phenomenon
Why did people in Groups 1 and 2 have the same amount of plaque buildup after a year while people in Group 3 had less?
Objective
The correct answer choice must provide a similarity between people in Group 1 and Group 2 that helps explain why they had the same level of plaque buildup, a difference between people in Group 3 and those in Groups 1 and 2 that helps explain why people in Group 3 had less plaque buildup, or both.
A
The buildup of plaque on teeth, which brushing twice a day helps to prevent, is accelerated by the growth of bacteria on toothbrushes that remained unsterilized for more than a month.
People in Group 2 sterilized their toothbrushes monthly but had the same level of plaque buildup as those in Group 1. Also, people in Groups 2 and 3 used sterilized toothbrushes to begin each month, but they had differing buildup levels. (A) explains none of these things.
B
The stiffness of the bristles on new toothbrushes, which the mechanical action of brushing destroys after several months, inhibits the buildup of plaque.
This gives us a key difference between the experience of people in Group 3 from the experience of people in Groups 1 and 2. Only those in Group 3 used a new toothbrush each month, so (B) helps explain why people in Group 3 had less plaque buildup than those in Groups 1 and 2.
C
The people who did the study measured the amount of plaque buildup by a new method not usually employed by dentists.
This new method was used to measure the plaque buildup of all people in each Group, so it doesn’t help explain our phenomena.
D
Before they joined the study, some of the people in Group 3 had been in the habit of brushing their teeth only once a day.
What people were doing before the study is irrelevant. We want to know why people in Groups 1 and 2 saw the same level of plaque buildup during the study, people in Group 3 saw less buildup than those in Groups 1 or 2, or both.
E
The people in Group 2 and Group 3 brushed their teeth as vigorously as did the people in Group 1.
(E) gives us a similarity between all 3 groups. It explains nothing about why Groups 1 and 2 saw the same amount of plaque buildup even though they took different approaches to teeth cleaning nor why people in Group 3 saw different levels of buildup than those in Groups 1 and 2.
Yvette: An art form without dedicated young artists will decay and die. If tourists were forbidden to buy thangkas, young artists would cease making thangkas and concentrate instead on an art form tourists can buy.
Summarize Argument: Counter-Position
Yvette implicitly concludes that, in order to prevent the thangka art form from dying out, Nepal should not prohibit thangka sales to tourists. This is based on the claims that young artists will only focus on art forms whose products can be sold to tourists, and that focused young artists are needed to prevent an art form from dying. This implies that banning thangka sales to tourists would contribute to the death of thangka art.
Describe Method of Reasoning
Yvette counters Xavier’s proposal by pointing out an unconsidered consequence of his proposal, which would actually undermine his intended goal.
A
denying the existence of the problem that Xavier’s proposal is designed to ameliorate
Yvette never denies that the dying out of thangka painting would be a problem. She merely argues that Xavier’s proposal would contribute to that problem.
B
challenging the integrity of Xavier’s sources of information
Yvette doesn’t challenge any of the information Xavier brings forward, nor its sources. She only introduces new information to undermine Xavier’s proposal.
C
arguing that Xavier’s proposal, if implemented, would result in the very consequences it is meant to prevent
Yvette argues that Xavier’s proposal to prohibit thangka sales to tourists would result in thangka’s death as an art form—the very consequence that Xavier seeks to prevent.
D
using an analogy to draw a conclusion that is inconsistent with the conclusion drawn by Xavier
Yvette doesn’t draw any analogies. She directly discusses the same subject and situation that Xavier does.
E
showing that the evidence presented by Xavier has no bearing on the point at issue
Yvette doesn’t claim that Xavier’s evidence is irrelevant, only that Xavier misses an important consideration and draws the wrong conclusion from the evidence.
"Surprising" Phenomenon
Why did the number of on-the-job accidents tend to increase in the months following improvements to safety training programs for manufacturers during the 1980s?
Objective
The right answer will identify why manufacturers in the 1980s saw increases in on-the-job accidents in the months following improvements to their safety training programs when improvements in safety training programs tend to lead to safer work environments. The answer will address a way the changes in training programs contributed to the increase in accidents or a different cause for the accidents than the improvements in training programs.
A
A similar survey found that the number of on-the-job accidents remained constant after job safety training in the transportation sector was improved.
We’re not concerned with the transportation sector. We want to know why there was an increase in accidents after training programs were improved in the manufacturing sector.
B
Manufacturers tend to improve their job safety training only when they are increasing the size of their workforce.
This provides a different cause for the increase in accidents than the improvements in training programs. (B) points out that the increase in accidents may not have been the result of the changes in training programs but rather a result of the increased workforce size.
C
Manufacturers tend to improve job safety training only after they have noticed that the number of on-the-job accidents has increased.
We’re concerned with why on-the-job accidents increased after the training programs were improved in the 1980s. (C) only addresses a reason that manufacturers sometimes decide to improve job safety training in the first place.
D
It is likely that the increase in the number of on-the-job accidents experienced by many companies was not merely a random fluctuation.
Rules out the possibility that the increase in accidents was a fluctuation doesn’t help explain why the increase occurred.
E
Significant safety measures, such as protective equipment and government safety inspections, were in place well before the improvements in job safety training.
We’re not concerned with measures that were in place before the improvements in job safety training. We want to know why on-the-job accidents increased after the improvements.
Summarize Argument: Phenomenon-Hypothesis
The author hypothesizes that interest among recent North American college/university graduates in choosing art history as a career has declined over the last four years. This is based on the fact that the reported number of applications to North American Ph.D. programs in art history has gone down in each of the last four years.
Notable Assumptions
The author assumes that there’s no other explanation for the decline in reported applications for admission than a decline in North American college/university graduates’ interest in a career in art history.
A
The number of North American Ph.D. programs in art history that opted to report data about applications for admission has declined in each of the last four years.
This provides a potential alternate explanation for the decline in reported applications. Fewer Ph.D. programs reporting data would naturally lead to a lower number of applications reported.
B
The average age of applicants for admission to North American Ph.D. programs in art history has increased in each of the last four years.
The potential impact of an increase in average age of applicants is unclear. If anything, this might suggest fewer “recent” (and therefore, on average younger) graduates are applying, which is consistent with the author’s reasoning.
C
The number of errors in data about applications for admission to North American Ph.D. programs in art history has increased substantially during the last four years.
This raises the possibility that the data the author relies on has become less reliable. The decline in reported applications may not reflect an actual decline in applications.
D
The number of North American employers willing to hire individuals without a Ph.D. for jobs in art history has increased in each of the last four years.
This raises a potential alternate explanation for the decline in reported applications. Maybe interest in pursuing art history as a career is just as high, but more graduates are being hired directly by employers in the industry rather than pursuing a Ph.D.
E
The percentage of applications for admission received from outside North America by North American Ph.D. programs in art history has declined substantially in the last four years.
This raises a potential alternate explanation for the decline in reported applications. The decline might not be coming from North American graduates, but from people outside North America. Thus, it doesn’t necessarily reflect decline in the interest of North American graduates.