A
The extremely sophisticated equipment used for the experiments was not available to physicists before the 1970s.
B
No previously established scientific results are incompatible with the notion of a fifth universal force.
C
Some scientists have suggested that the alleged fifth universal force is an aspect of gravity rather than being fundamental in itself.
D
The experiments were conducted by physicists in remote geological settings in which factors affecting the force of gravity could not be measured with any degree of precision.
E
The fifth universal force was postulated at a time in which many other exciting and productive ideas in theoretical physics were developed.
Alex: No, you’re more likely to win the lottery when the money pot is small, because that’s when the fewest other people are playing.
Alex thinks Sandy is more likely to win when fewer people play, but that’s not true. Her chance of picking the correct five numbers doesn't depend on how many other people are playing. The number of other players may affect how many people she’d have to split the pot with, but it doesn’t affect her individual chance of winning.
A
Sandy holds that the chances of anyone’s winning are unaffected by the number of times that person plays.
B
Alex holds that the chances of Sandy’s winning are affected by the number of other people playing.
C
Sandy holds that the chances of anyone’s winning are unaffected by the size of the pot.
D
Alex holds that the chances of Sandy’s winning in a given week are unaffected by whether anyone has won the week before.
E
Sandy holds that the chances of there being a winner go up if no one has won the lottery for quite a while.
Columnist: George Orwell’s book 1984 has exercised much influence on a great number of this newspaper’s readers. One thousand readers were surveyed and asked to name the one book that had the most influence on their lives. The book chosen most often was the Bible; 1984 was second.
Summarize Argument
The author concludes that 1984 has had a great influence on the newspapers’ readers. This is because the second-most readers chose 1984 as the book that’d had the greatest influence on their lives.
Notable Assumptions
In order for 1984 to have exercised a great influence on the newspapers’s readers, the author assumes that 1984 received a substantial amount of votes. If the Bible had received 990 of the votes and 1984 had received 2, followed by an 8-way tie for third place, then the study wouldn’t demonstrate 1984’s great influence by any stretch.
A
How many books had each person surveyed read?
Irrelevant. We don’t care how many books each person read. We’re only interested in the ones the readers named as the book that most influenced their lives.
B
How many people chose books other than 1984?
If many people chose books other than 1984, then 1984 may not have received all that many votes (e.g if 500 books were chosen, 1984 might’ve only needed 10 votes to be 2nd place). If few people did, then 1984 might’ve received hundreds of votes (e.g. Bible 500, 1984 400, etc.).
C
How many people read the columnist’s newspaper?
We don’t care how many people read the newspaper. We know they surveyed 1000 people.
D
How many books by George Orwell other than 1984 were chosen?
We don’t care about other Orwell books. Even if those were chosen, we know those ranked lower than 1984.
E
How many of those surveyed had actually read the books they chose?
The author never claims people have read the books they cite as being influential on their own lives. The Bible may be influential on someone’s life even if that person hasn’t read it.
Psychiatrist: We are learning that neurochemical imbalances can cause behavior ranging from extreme mental illness to less serious but irritating behavior such as obsessive fantasizing, petulance, or embarrassment. These findings will promote compassion and tolerance when looking at a mental illness, quirk, or mere difference between two persons, since being mentally healthy can now begin to be seen as simply having the same neurochemical balances as most people.
Summarize Argument
The psychiatrist predicts that recent findings about the neurochemical causes of behavioral issues will result in a more compassionate, tolerant view of things like mental illness and behavioral differences. Why the kinder view? Because people can start to view the idea of “mental health” as really just a certain neurochemical balance that happens to be more common.
Identify Conclusion
The psychiatrist’s conclusion is his prediction: “These findings [about neurochemical balances being a cause of mental illness and other issues] will promote compassion and tolerance when looking at a mental illness, quirk, or mere difference between two persons.”
A
Understanding the role of the neurochemical in behavior will foster empathy toward others.
This paraphrases the psychiatrist’s conclusion: knowledge about how neurochemical imbalances affect behavior will “promote compassion and tolerance” or “foster empathy” toward those with mental health or behavioral issues.
B
Neurochemical imbalances can cause mental illness and other behaviors.
The psychiatrist uses this fact as context. His conclusion is that this fact will produce a certain effect: it will promote compassion and tolerance toward those with mental health or behavioral issues.
C
Neurochemical balances and imbalances are the main determinants of mental behavior.
The psychiatrist never suggests what the main determinant of mental behavior is. He merely states that neurochemical balances and imbalances are one potential determinant.
D
Being mentally healthy is a matter of having the same neurochemical balances as most people.
The psychiatrist states that mental health can be viewed this way, but this forms his premise, not his conclusion. The fact that mental health can be seen in this light leads him to conclude that people will become more tolerant of mental health and behavioral issues.
E
Advances in neurochemistry enhance our theories of mental illness.
The psychiatrist doesn’t reach any conclusions about theories of mental illness. He presents findings about a possible cause of mental illness, and concludes that those findings will affect people’s attitudes.