Question 1

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Question skill: Flaws
Question type: Identify a flaw

Your confidence level: Pretty sure

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Beginning of reading passage.

Editorialist: The city council is considering increasing the amount of air traffic allowed at
the airport beyond its original design capacity. Several council members say that this increase
would not decrease safety as it would be accompanied by the purchase of the latest safety
technology. But in fact it would decrease safety. Numerous studies conducted 30 years ago show
that safety was reduced at every airport where the permitted level of traffic was increased beyond
the airport's original design capacity, even when those airports made use of the latest safety
technology.
End of reading passage.

Which one of the following most accurately describes a flaw in the editorialist's argument?

Choose 1 answer:
Choose 1 answer:

(Choice A, Checked, Incorrect)

INCORRECT (SELECTED)
The argument draws a conclusion on the basis of a general statement that has in turn been inferred from a very
limited number of particular instances.
This doesn’t describe a flaw in the argument. The argument doesn’t base anything on “a very limited number
of instances.” Rather, the argument bases its claims on numerous studies that show what happened
at every airport that reflected the current situation.


(Choice B, Correct)

CORRECT
The argument fails to consider the possibility that whether an airport can allow more air traffic than it was
originally designed for without reducing safety depends largely on what the latest technology is.
This describes a flaw in the argument and conceptually matches what we predicted in the question overview.
It’s possible that the latest safety technology today is much more effective in managing higher air traffic than
whatever the latest safety technology was 30 years ago. So we can’t be sure, based on those 30-year-old
studies, that safety will decrease in the current situation.


(Choice C, Incorrect)

INCORRECT
 The argument fails to consider the possibility that the city council members who support the increase are aware
of the studies that were conducted 30 years ago.
This isn’t a flaw in the argument. If the city council members wereaware of the studies cited, that wouldn’t
hurt the argument, so the arguer can’t be faulted for overlooking that possibility.


(Choice D, Incorrect)

INCORRECT
The argument confuses an absence of evidence for the claim that the airport can safely permit air traffic in
excess of its original design capacity with the existence of evidence against this claim.
This statement describes something that isn’t actually happening in the argument. There isn’t an “absence of
evidence” for the claim of safety—the council members cite purchasing the latest safety technology as their
evidence for the claim of safety. Therefore, there can be no confusion of an absence of evidence for something
else.


(Choice E, Incorrect)

INCORRECT
The argument fails to consider that a slight increase in safety risks might be acceptable if it yields overriding
benefits of another kind.
Other types of benefits are irrelevant to this argument, which addresses only whether the new policy will
decrease safety. The argument isn’t for whether the overall benefits will be greater, which is one situation in
which this choice might be relevant.
Question 2

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Question skill: Explain or Resolve

Question type: Explain

Your confidence level: Confident

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Beginning of reading passage.

Babblers, a bird species, live in large cooperative groups. Each member attempts to defend
the group by sounding a loud barklike call when it spots a predator, inciting the others to bark
too. Babblers, however, are extremely well camouflaged and could usually feed safely, unnoticed
by predators. These predators, indeed, generally become aware of the presence of babblers only
because of their shrill barks, which continue long after most members of the group have been
able to take cover and which signal the group's approximate location to the predators.
End of reading passage.

Which one of the following, if true, would most help to explain the babblers' strange behavior?

Choose 1 answer:
Choose 1 answer:

(Choice A, Incorrect)

INCORRECT
Babblers fly much faster than the predators that prey upon them.
This doesn’t make the strange behavior seem any less strange. The information that babblers are faster than
their predators might help explain why babblers can afford to bark even though doing so makes predators
aware of their approximate location, but it doesn’t explainwhy they bark; we still can’t determine
an advantage of making all that noise.


(Choice B, Correct)

CORRECT
Babblers' predators are generally intimidated by large numbers of babblers.
This suggests a way the barking might help protect babblers from predators and therefore helps explain the
apparently strange behavior. We’re told in the passage that when one babbler starts barking, the rest of the
group joins in. If it’s true that predators are intimidated by large numbers of babblers, then it’s possible that the
sound of many babblers barking together could scare them off. Thus, even though the barking might make
predators aware of babblers’ presence, it could ultimately help babblers more than it hurts them.


(Choice C, Incorrect)

INCORRECT
There is more than one type of predator that preys upon babblers.
This doesn’t explain why babblers bark when they spot a predator even though doing so can indicate their
approximate location to the predator. Regardless of how many types of predators babblers have, it seems
strange that babblers would do something that can make it easier for their predators to find them.


(Choice D, Incorrect)

INCORRECT
Babblers' predators have very good eyesight but relatively weak hearing.
This doesn’t make the strange behavior seem any less strange. We’re told in the passage that babblers are well
enough camouflaged to feed safely without being noticed by their predators, so information that their predators
have “very good” eyesight doesn’t matter; we already know it usually isn’t good enough to overcome
babblers’ camouflage. Similarly, we’re told in the passage that babblers’ barking is what generally makes their
predators aware of their presence, so information that their predators have “relatively weak” hearing doesn’t
matter; we already know it’s good enough to hear babblers’ barking.


(Choice E, Checked, Incorrect)

INCORRECT (SELECTED)
Animals that live in close proximity to babblers are also preyed upon by the predators that prey upon babblers.
This information might suggest that babblers’ barking helps otheranimals, but it doesn’t suggest it helps
the babblers. It still seems strange that babblers would do something that makes it easier for their predators to
find them.
 Tips, strategies, and related content, click to collapse


Article
Explain or resolve | quick guide(opens in modal dialog)


Video 6 minutes 2 seconds6:02
Explain | video lesson(opens in modal dialog)

Article
Explain or resolve | learn more(opens in modal dialog)


Video 3 minutes 32 seconds3:32
Explain | worked example(opens in modal dialog)
Answer explanation, click to collapse
1/1
Hint #1

What we’re looking for

We’re looking for new information that explains why babblers bark when they spot a predator, inciting the rest
of the group to start barking too, even though doing so is usually the only thing that makes a predator aware of
the babblers’ presence.

The answer might indicate some way that group-barking can help protect babblers from predators (even though
it also makes predators aware of their presence).

Question 3
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Question skill: Conclusions and disputes

Question type: Identify the conclusion

Your confidence level: Pretty sure

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Beginning of reading passage.

For consumers, the most enjoyable emotional experience garnered from shopping is feeling
lucky. Retailers use this fact to their advantage, but too often they resort to using advertised price
cuts to promote their wares. Promotions of this sort might make bargain-minded consumers feel
lucky, but they cut into profit margins and undermine customer loyalty.
End of reading passage.

Which one of the following most accurately describes the overall conclusion drawn in the argument?

Choose 1 answer:
Choose 1 answer:

(Choice A, Incorrect)

INCORRECT
Feeling lucky is the most enjoyable emotional experience garnered from shopping.
This can’t be the overall conclusion, because it isn’t supported by anything else in the passage. It’s simply
background information that gives context for the author’s opinionated conclusion that retailers resort to
advertised price cuts too often.


(Choice B, Incorrect)

INCORRECT
Retailers take advantage of the fact that shoppers enjoy feeling lucky.
This isn’t the overall conclusion. It’s simply background information that gives context for the author’s claim
that retailers resort to advertised price cuts too often. Note that this statement comes before the pivot word
“but”, which is where the core of the author’s argument starts.


(Choice C, Correct)

CORRECT
Advertised price cuts are overused as a means of gaining retail sales.
We know this is the overall conclusion because:

o It’s stated in the passage. It’s an idea-for-idea match for the claim made at the end of the
second sentence—“too often they [retailers] resort to using advertised price cuts to promote their wares”.
o It’s supported by other statements in the passage. Why is it a bad idea to use advertised price
cuts too much? Because “they [advertised price cuts] cut into profit margins and undermine customer loyalty.”
o The statement itself isn’t used to support anything else that’s said in the passage. Nothing
stated in the passage is implied to follow from the claim that advertised price cuts are used too much.

(Choice D, Checked, Incorrect)

INCORRECT (SELECTED)
Using advertised price cuts to promote retail products reduces profit margins and undermines customer loyalty.
This can’t be the overall conclusion—it supports another claim in the passage. The author advances the claim
that retailers too often resort to using advertised price cuts. The statement in this choice, which gives us some
specific downsides of using advertised price cuts, provides grounds for believing that advertised price cuts are
used more than they should be. Note that the reverse relationship doesn’t make any sense at all; the claim that
advertised price cuts are used more than they should be doesn’t give any grounds for believing that advertised
price cuts have specific downsides.


(Choice E, Incorrect)

INCORRECT
Making consumers feel lucky is usually not a good formula for retail success.
This isn’t something that’s stated in the passage, so it can’t be the passage’s overall conclusion. The author
suggests that a particularstrategy that makes consumers feel lucky is used too often. But the author doesn’t
state that making consumers feel lucky (by any strategy) is usually a bad idea.

Question 4

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Question skill: Techniques, roles and principles

Question type: Identify the principle

Your confidence level: Pretty sure

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Beginning of reading passage.

Office worker: I have two equally important projects that remain undone. The first one is late
already, and if I devote time to finishing it, then I won't have time to finish the second one before
its deadline. Admittedly, there's no guarantee that I can finish the second project on time even if I
devote all of my time to it, but I should nonetheless devote all of my time to the second one.
End of reading passage.

Which one of the following principles, if valid, most helps to justify the office worker's reasoning?

Choose 1 answer:
Choose 1 answer:

(Choice A, Crossed out, Incorrect)

INCORRECT
It is better to focus one's time on a single project than to split one's time between two projects.
 This principle neither strengthens nor weakens the office worker’s reasoning. The office worker wants to
devote all of her time to the second project rather than devoting any time to the first project. We need a
principle that will show why that prioritization makes sense, but this choice compares a single project with
splitting time between two projects.


(Choice B, Crossed out, Incorrect)

INCORRECT
It is better to finish one of two projects than to risk failing to finish both projects.
This principle neither strengthens nor weakens the office worker’s reasoning, since the office worker isn’t
concerned with failing to finish a project. The concern here is finishing projects on time.


(Choice C, Crossed out, Incorrect)

INCORRECT
It is better to first finish those projects that must be done than to interrupt them with projects that are merely
optional.
This principle neither strengthens nor weakens the office worker’s reasoning, since there is no distinction in
importance between the two projects. We’re told that they’re “equally important”, but this choice’s principle
prioritizes mandatory projects over optional projects.


(Choice D, Checked, Incorrect)

INCORRECT (SELECTED)
It is better not to worry about having failed to finish a project on time than to allow such worry to interfere
with finishing a competing project on time.
This principle neither strengthens nor weakens the office worker’s reasoning, since the office worker never
addresses worry at all. We would have to assume something about how the office worker isfeeling in order to
even start justifying this choice.


(Choice E, Crossed out, Correct)

CORRECT (BUT YOU CROSSED IT OUT)

It is better to attempt to finish a project on time than to attempt to finish a late project that does not have higher
priority.
This principle strengthens the office worker’s reasoning. The office worker wants to devote all of the allotted
time to the second project, even with no guarantee that she can finish the second project on time. The first
project is late already. So, this choice’s principle applies: if it’s better to attempt to finish a project on time (the
second project) than to attempt to finish a late project (the first project) that doesn’t have higher priority (since
they’re both equally important), then the office worker is correct in wanting to devote all of her time to the
second project.
Question 5

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Question skill: Assumptions
Question type: Necessary assumptions
 Your confidence level: Pretty sure
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Beginning of reading passage.

Science teacher: An abstract knowledge of science is very seldom useful for the decisions
that adults typically make in their daily lives. But the skills taught in secondary school should be
useful for making such decisions. Therefore, secondary school science courses should teach
students to evaluate science-based arguments regarding practical issues, such as health and
public policy, instead of or perhaps in addition to teaching more abstract aspects of science.
End of reading passage.

Which one of the following is an assumption the science teacher's argument requires?

Choose 1 answer:
Choose 1 answer:

(Choice A, Incorrect)

INCORRECT
Secondary schools should teach only those skills that are the most useful for the decisions that adults typically
make in their daily lives.
This premise is too strong and isn’t necessary to the argument. The teacher doesn’t need for secondary schools
to only teach skills that are the most useful for adult decision-making. In fact, the teacher even mentions the
possibility that the practical-issue-based science could be taught in addition to the stuff that’s less helpful for
decision-making.


(Choice B, Incorrect)

INCORRECT
Teaching secondary school students the more abstract aspects of science is at least as important as teaching
them to evaluate science-based arguments regarding practical issues.
This premise actually weakens the argument, so it can’t be a necessary assumption. The teacher believes that
the more abstract aspects of science is less important than the practical side of science.


(Choice C, Incorrect)

INCORRECT
Adults who have an abstract knowledge of science are no better at evaluating science-based arguments
regarding practical issues than are adults who have no knowledge of science at all.
This premise isn’t necessary to the argument because it compares adults who have an abstract knowledge of
science with adults who have no knowledge of science at all. That comparison is irrelevant to the argument,
which never addresses adults who have no knowledgeof science.


(Choice D, Incorrect)

INCORRECT
 No secondary school science courses currently teach students how to evaluate science-based arguments
regarding practical issues.
What secondary school science courses currently do is irrelevant to the argument. The teacher makes
recommendations about whatshould happen, not what is currently happening. Whether some secondary school
science courses currently teach students how to evaluate science-based arguments regarding practical issues or
not, the argument about what should happen is unaffected.


(Choice E, Checked, Correct)

CORRECT (SELECTED)
The ability to evaluate science-based arguments regarding practical issues is sometimes useful in making the
decisions that adults typically make in their daily lives.
This is a necessary assumption. We were never told that the ability to evaluate science-based arguments
regarding practical issues isuseful, but that would have to be true in order for the argument in favor of teaching
it to work. To test this choice, let’s make it not be true and see if the argument is weakened: what if the ability
to evaluate science-based arguments regarding practical issues is neveruseful in making daily adult decisions?
In that case, the given argument in favor of teaching that topic is weakened, since the teacher’s support is that
secondary-school skills should be useful in this regard! We can therefore be confident that choice (E) is
necessary to the argument.
Tips, strategies, and related content, click to collapse


Article
Necessary assumptions | quick guide(opens in modal dialog)

Video 9 minutes 21 seconds9:21
Necessary assumptions | video lesson(opens in modal dialog)


Article
Necessary assumptions | learn more(opens in modal dialog)

Video 4 minutes 26 seconds4:26
Necessary assumptions | worked example(opens in modal dialog)
Answer explanation, click to collapse
1/1
Hint #1

Conclusion

 Secondary school science courses should teach students to evaluate science-based arguments
regarding practical issues, such as health and public policy, instead of or perhaps in addition to teaching more
abstract aspects of science

because

Support

 An abstract knowledge of science is very seldom useful for the decisions that adults typically make in
their daily lives, but
 The skills taught in secondary school should be useful for making such decisions.

What we’re looking for

 Let’s take a look at the gap in this argument: the teacher recommends teaching students how to
evaluate science-based arguments regarding practical issues over teaching more abstract aspects of science,
and supports this preference by saying that abstract science is very seldom useful for daily adult decision-
making.
 However, the teacher doesn’t tell us whether science regarding practical issues is useful for the same
decision-making! That’s our gap.

We can make a strong prediction that the answer will express this idea:

Teaching students to evaluate science-based arguments regarding practical issues is useful for the
decisions that adults typically make in their daily lives.