Critical Reasoning

A compelling optical illusion called the illusion of velocity and size makes objects appear to be moving more slowly the larger the objects are. Therefore, a motorist�s estimate of the time available for crossing a highway with a small car approaching is bound to be lower than it would be with a large truck approaching. B truck�s speed is assumed to be the same as the car�s C truck�s speed is assumed to be higher than the car�s D motorist�s estimate of time available is assumed to be more accurate with cars approaching than with trucks approaching E motorist�s estimate of time available is assumed to be more accurate with trucks approaching than with cars approaching

The tobacco industry is still profitable and projections are that it will remain so. In the United States this year, the total amount of tobacco sold by tobacco-farmers has increased, even though the number of adults who smoke has decreased. Each of the following, if true, could explain the simultaneous increase in tobacco sales and decrease in the number of adults who smoke EXCEPT:

Recently a court ruled that current law allows companies to reject a job applicant if working in the job would entail a 90 percent chance that the applicant would suffer a heart attack. The presiding judge justified the ruling, saying that it protected both employees and employers. The use of this court ruling as part of the law could not be effective in regulating employment practices if which of the following were true?

The cotton farms of Country Q became so productive that the market could not absorb all that they produced. Consequently, cotton prices fell. The government tried to boost cotton prices by offering farmers who took 25 percent of their cotton acreage out of production direct support payments up to a specified maximum per farm. The government's program, if successful, will not be a net burden on the budget. Which of the following, if true, is the basis for an explanation how this could be so?

A proposed ordinance requires the installation in new homes of sprinklers automatically triggered by the presence of a fire. However, a home builder argued that because more than 90 percent of residential fires are extinguished by a household member, residential sprinklers would only marginally decrease property damage caused by residential fires. B Since new homes are only a tiny percentage of available housing in the city, the new ordinance would be extremely narrow in scope. C The installation of smoke detectors in new residences costs significantly less than the installation of sprinklers. D In the city where the ordinance was proposed, the average time required by the fire department to respond to a fire was less than the national average. E The largest proportion of property damage that results from residential fires is caused by fires that start when no household member is present.

The more frequently employees take time to exercise during working hours each week, the fewer sick days they take. Even employees who exercise only once a week during working hours take less sick time than those who do not exercise. Therefore, if companies started fitness programs, the absentee rate in those companies would decrease significantly. Which of the following, if true, most seriously weakens the argument above?

Increases in the level of high-density lipoprotein (HDL) in the human bloodstream lower bloodstream cholesterol levels by increasing the body�s capacity to rid itself of excess cholesterol. Levels of HDL in the bloodstream of some individuals are significantly increased by a program of regular exercise and weight reduction. Which of the following can be correctly inferred from the statements above?

Spending on research and development by United States businesses for 1984 showed an increase of about 8 percent over the 1983 level. This increase actually continued a downward trend evident since 1981 � when outlays for research and development increased 16.4 percent over 1980 spending. Clearly, the 25 percent tax credit enacted by Congress in 1981, which was intended to promote spending on research and development, did little or nothing to stimulate such spending. The conclusion of the argument above cannot be true unless which of the following is true?

A discount retailer of basic household necessities employs thousands of people and pays most of them at the minimum wage rate. Yet following a federally mandated increase of the minimum wage rate that increased the retailer�s operating costs considerably, the retailer�s profits increased markedly. B The retailer�s customer base is made up primarily of people who earn, or who depend on the earnings of others who earn, the minimum wage. C The retailer�s operating costs, other than wages, increased substantially after the increase in the minimum wage rate went into effect. D When the increase in the minimum wage rate went into effect, the retailer also raised the wage rate for employees who had been earning just above minimum wage. E The majority of the retailer�s employees work as cashiers, and most cashiers are paid the minimum wage.

Some people have questioned the judge�s objectivity in cases of sex discrimination against women. But the record shows that in sixty percent of such cases, the judge has decided in favor of the women. This record demonstrates that the judge has not discriminated against women in cases of sex discrimination against women. The argument above is flawed in that it ignores the possibility that

A study of marital relationships in which one partner's sleeping and waking cycles differ from those of the other partner reveals that such couples share fewer activities with each other and have more violent arguments than do couples in a relationship in which both partners follow the same sleeping and waking patterns. Thus, mismatched sleeping and waking cycles can seriously jeopardize a marriage. B The sleeping and waking cycles of individuals tend to vary from season to season. C The individuals who have sleeping and waking cycles that differ significantly from those of their spouses tend to argue little with colleagues at work. D People in unhappy marriages have been found to express hostility by adopting a different sleeping and waking cycle from that of their spouses. E According to a recent study, most people's sleeping and waking cycles can be controlled and modified easily.

Fact 1: Television advertising is becoming less effective: the proportion of brand names promoted on television that viewers of the advertising can recall is slowly decreasing. Fact 2: Television viewers recall commercials aired first or last in a cluster of consecutive commercials far better than they recall commercials aired somewhere in the middle. Fact 2 would be most likely to contribute to an explanation of fact 1 if which of the following were also true?

A cost-effective solution to the problem of airport congestion is to provide high-speed ground transportation between major cities lying 200 to 500 miles apart. The successful implementation of this plan would cost far less than expanding existing airports and would also reduce the number of airplanes clogging both airports and airways. B One-half of all departing flights in the nation�s busiest airport head for a destination in a major city 225 miles away. C The majority of travelers departing from rural airports are flying to destinations in cities over 600 miles away. D Many new airports are being built in areas that are presently served by high-speed ground-transportation systems. E A large proportion of air travelers are vacationers who are taking long-distance flights.

An airplane engine manufacturer developed a new engine model with safety features lacking in the earlier model, which was still being manufactured. During the first year that both were sold, the earlier model far outsold the new model; the manufacturer thus concluded that safety was not the customers� primary consideration. Which of the following, if true, would most seriously weaken the manufacturer�s conclusion?

Many people argue that tobacco advertising plays a crucial role in causing teen-agers to start or continue smoking. In Norway, however, where there has been a ban on tobacco advertising since 1975, smoking is at least as prevalent among teen-agers as it is in countries that do not ban such advertising. Which of the following statements draws the most reliable conclusion from the information above?

Corporate officers and directors commonly buy and sell, for their own portfolios, stock in their own corporations. Generally, when the ratio of such inside sales to inside purchases falls below 2 to 1 for a given stock, a rise in stock prices is imminent. In recent days, while the price of MEGA Corporation stock has been falling, the corporation�s officers and directors have bought up to nine times as much of it as they have sold. The facts above best support which of the following predictions?

Which of the following best completes the passage below? Established companies concentrate on defending what they already have. Consequently, they tend not to be innovative themselves and tend to underestimate the effects of the innovations of others. The clearest example of this defensive strategy is the fact that __________.

Passengers must exit airplanes swiftly after accidents, since gases released following accidents are toxic to humans and often explode soon after being released. In order to prevent passenger deaths from gas inhalation, safety officials recommend that passengers be provided with smoke hoods that prevent inhalation of the gases. Which of the following, if true, constitutes the strongest reason to require implementation of the safety officials' recommendation?

When limitations were in effect on nuclear-arms testing, people tended to save more of their money, but when nuclear arms testing increased people tended to spend more of their money. The perceived threat of nuclear catastrophe, therefore, decreases the willingness of people to postpone consumption for the sake of saving money. The argument above assumes that

A recent spate of launching and operating mishaps with television satellites led to a corresponding surge in claims against companies underwriting satellite insurance. As a result, insurance premiums shot up, making satellites more expensive to launch and operate. This, in turn, has added to the pressure to squeeze more performance out of currently operating satellites. B When satellites reach orbit and then fail, the causes of failure are generally impossible to pinpoint with confidence. C The greater the performance demands placed on satellites, the more frequently those satellites break down. D Most satellites are produced in such small numbers that no economies of scale can be realized. E Since many satellites are built by unwieldy international consortia, inefficiencies are inevitable.