Researcher: We studied two groups of subjects over a period of six months. Over this period, one of the groups had a daily routine of afternoon exercise. The other group, the control group, engaged in little or no exercise during the study. It was found that those in the exercise group got 33 percent more deep-sleep at night than did the control group. Exercising in the afternoon tends to raise body temperature slightly until after bedtime, and this extra heat induces deeper sleep.
Summary
Over six months, two groups were studied. One group exercised in the afternoon every day. The other group had little or no exercise. The people in the group that exercised were found to have 33 percent more deep-sleep compared to the group that had little or no exercise. Researchers hypothesize this is because afternoon exercise raises the body temperature slightly until after bedtime, which induces deeper sleep.
Strongly Supported Conclusions
Other activities that raise a person’s body temperature slightly before bedtime may cause that person to have increased levels of deep-sleep.
A
Regular afternoon exercise is one of the things required for adequate deep-sleep.
This answer is unsupported. Saying that regular afternoon exercise is “required” for adequate deep-sleep is too strong. We only know from the stimulus that afternoon exercise can increase deep-sleep.
B
Exercise in the morning is almost as likely to have as many beneficial effects on sleep as is exercise in the afternoon.
This answer is unsupported. The Researcher’s study is limited to exercise performed in the afternoon. We don’t know from these results what effects morning exercise could cause, if any.
C
The best way to get increased deep-sleep is to induce a slight increase in body temperature just before bedtime.
This answer is unsupported. We don’t know from the stimulus whether a slight increase in a person’s body temperature is the “best way” to get increased deep-sleep. There could exist many other methods for this same effect.
D
No one in the control group experienced a rise in body temperature just before bedtime.
This answer is unsupported. It could be true that one or two people in the control group experienced a rise in body temperature, but that doesn’t change the 33 percent increase in deep sleep for the group that exercised.
E
Raising body temperature slightly by taking a warm bath just before bedtime will likely result in increased deep-sleep.
This answer is strongly supported. The Researcher hypothesizes that the rise in body temperature is the cause of increased deep-sleep for the people in the study. Exercise is one method for achieving this effect, but there are likely to be others.
A
presumes, without providing justification, that authority opinion is often incorrect
B
attacks Bacon’s uncritical reliance on authority opinion
C
uses Bacon’s remarks to his students as evidence of his opinions
D
ignores the fact that thirteenth-century science may not hold up well today
E
criticizes Bacon’s character in order to question his scientific findings
The question stem reads: The reasoning in the argument is flawed because of the argument… This is a Weaken question.
The author beings with context, saying that Roger Bacon is a 13-century scientist who is said to have made important optics discoveries. They also claim he preached both hands-on experimentation and not uncritically relying on the opinion of authority to his students. However, the author notes that Bacon would appeal to authority when it was expedient (beneficial) for Bacon's argumentation. So Mr. Bacon was a bit of a hypocrite. The author concludes that Bacon's scientific work must be disregarded because of his hypocritical behavior.
Immediately this jumps out as an ad hominem attack, using someone's character instead of their position. In this case, the author claims we should disregard Bacon's work. Why? Because, on the authors' account, Bacon had some unsavory personality traits. When we attack opponents' arguments or work, our argument needs to be directed at that argument or work. In this case, the author has only provided reasons to think Bacon is a hypocrite and no evidence to discredit the validity of Bacon's discoveries. If this were a sufficient assumption question, we would need a premise like Hypocritie -> disregard work on optics, to bridge the gap between Bacon's personality and his work.
Answer Choice (A) is wrong because the author does not presume the authority's opinion is incorrect. If we turn to the stimulus, the author has nothing to say about whether authority opinion is correct or incorrect.
Answer Choice (B) is incorrect because the author does not actually attack the fact that Bacon relied on authority opinion. The author attacks Bacon for saying one thing and doing another. The author might think that relying on authority opinion is an acceptable practice while still taking issue with Bacon's hypocrisy.
Answer Choice (C) is incorrect because the author does not use bacon remarks to his students to make an inference of Bacon's opinions. He uses Bacon's comments to infer that he is a hypocrite.
Answer Choice (D) is incorrect because the argument is based on Bacon's character - not on whether or not thirteenth-century science holds up well today. Additionally, (D) would not be a problem for the argument as it lends some (minor) credence to the conclusion that Bacon's work should be disregarded.
Correct Answer Choice (E) is our prephase. The author criticizes Bacon's character (the hypocrisy) in order to question his scientific findings (his work on optics).
A
A computerized speech synthesizer is often less expensive than a complete library of audiotapes.
B
Relatively easy-to-use computer systems that can read information aloud, display it in large type, or produce a braille version of it are widely available.
C
Many visually impaired people prefer traditional sources of information to computers that can read information aloud, display it in large type, or produce a braille version of it.
D
Most visually impaired people who have access to information via computer also have access to this same information via more traditional sources.
E
The rate at which printed information is converted into formats easily accessible to visually impaired people will increase.
Analyst: The statistics are welcome news, but they do not provide strong evidence that the new laws caused the drop in crime. Many comparable areas that lack such legislation have reported a similar drop in the crime rate during the same period.
A
pointing out that the legislator has provided no evidence of the reliability of the statistics on which the legislator’s conclusion is based
B
arguing that the legislator has unreasonably concluded that one event has caused another without ruling out the possibility that both events are effects of a common cause
C
objecting that the statistics on which the legislator is basing his conclusion are drawn from a time period that is too short to yield a meaningful data sample
D
claiming that the legislator has attempted to establish a particular conclusion because doing so is in the legislator’s self-interest rather than because of any genuine concern for the truth of the matter
E
implying that the legislator has drawn a conclusion about cause and effect without considering how often the alleged effect has occurred in the absence of the alleged cause