GMAT
The First Amendment prevents the government from violating a person's right to free speech. But it does not protect government employees from disciplinary action for all statements they make in the course of their official duties. However, laws should protect them in cases in which employees bring to light information that advances the public interest in honest government and the rule of law.Which of the following would provide the best example for the argument above?
Child development specialists have observed that adolescents who receive large weekly allowances tend to spend money on items considered frivolous by their parents whereas adolescents who receive small weekly allowances do not. Thus, in order to ensure that their children do not spend money on frivolous items, parents should not give their children large weekly allowances.Which of the following pieces of information would be most useful in evaluating the validity of the conclusion above?
State X recently decided to cut state funding for the public library system in County X. To help counteract this cut in funding, the county library system has increased library late fees from $.10 per day to $.12 per day. Since the fee increase, library administrators have seen no decline in the number of overdue books. The director of the county library system concludes that the fee hike has helped to counteract the cut in state funding.Which of the following statements, if true, most strengthens the director's claim?
Scientists have discovered a new species of butterfly that lives only in a small region of Central America and is active only at night. During the day, it rests in treetops, where its green color matches the foliage perfectly. Therefore, the scientists must have discovered the butterfly at night.The argument depends on which of the following assumptions?
The new heart scans offer patients significant benefits. They can be completed in a fraction of the time required for an angiogram, with no recovery time necessary. Furthermore, the scans are more sensitive and can identify problem areas that an angiogram might not perceive. However, heart scans use more radiation than most diagnostic procedures, and can cause undue concern over and treatment for the harmless abnormalities often picked up by such sensitive technology. Which of the following conclusions is best supported by the statements above?
Scientist: All other things being equal, the intensity of heat increases as the distance from the heat source decreases. Knowing this, most people conclude that the Earth's seasons are caused by the Earth's changing distance from the sun. In other words, winter occurs when the Earth is far from the sun, and summer occurs when the earth is close to the sun. However, we know that as North America experiences summer, South America experiences winter, even though the difference in the continents' distance to the sun is negligible. Therefore, the earth's changing distance from the sun does not cause the seasons. In the argument, the two portions in boldface play which of the following roles?
To decrease the number of crimes in city Y, the city's Police Commissioner proposed taking some police officers from low-crime districts of the city and moving them to high-crime districts of the city. His proposal is based on city Y crime data that show that the number of crimes in any district of the city decreases when additional police officers are moved into that district.The Police Commissioner's proposal depends on which of the following assumptions?
Most water companies in the United States add fluoride to tap water to help prevent cavities. Some dentists argue, however, that this practice actually causes more harm than good because people overestimate the protection afforded by the fluoride and do not take the proper steps to care for their teeth, such as brushing and flossing after every meal. If water companies did not add fluoride, the dentists claim, people would be forced to be more active in their dental hygiene and tooth decay would decline as a result.Which of the following, if true, most weakens the dentists' claims?
The mayor of Coast Town has determined that the best way to pay for the construction of a new library is to charge all residents and non-residents a fee for visiting Coast Town's well-regarded beach. The mayor reasons that at current levels of visitation, the revenue generated from the beach visitation fee will pay for the new library within three years. Which of the following pieces of information would be most useful in evaluating the mayor's conclusion?
Footwear designer John de los Santos last year released several limited editions of his best-known model of sneaker in exotic colors and prints. Although the new releases were priced substantially higher than their counterparts in more traditional colors, they sold out within a week of their release, and have since been selling on the resale market for up to four times the original price. The cost of producing the sneakers in exotic prints is no greater than that of producing them in more traditional colors, so de los Santos could earn a higher profit per unit by producing a greater percentage of his sneakers in such prints.Which of the following is an assumption made in drawing the conclusion above?
Weight loss programs that guarantee results mislead their customers. No program can ensure that someone who follows it will lose weight. These programs prey upon unhappy and insecure people who are often driven more by emotion than by reason. Moreover, many people who lose weight while on a program eventually regain the weight within a year. So while the programs' claims may be true for a short period, customers will be disappointed in the long run.The two portions in boldface play which of the following roles?
A recent survey conducted in the New Homes magazine indicated that more than 70% of its readers are planning to purchase or build a new home over the next two years. Based on the results of the survey, the editor of the magazine concluded that over the next two years, the real estate industry is likely to experience rapid growth driven by the high market demand for new homes.Which of the following statements, if true, would be the most damaging to the conclusion of the magazine's editor?
Country X contains many rivers that flow down from its high mountains. These rivers have been dammed to harness the hydroelectric power that can be derived from this resource. Enough power is generated to create a reserve that is more than enough to meet the country's year-round energy needs. Yet, citizens of Country X often experience power shortages or even outages.Which of the following, if true, best explains the situation described above?
Researchers have noticed that people whose blood shows abnormally low levels of calcium usually have laryngeal polyps, which can permanently damage vocal cords and result in partial or even total loss of voice. In order to reduce the risk of polyps, the researchers recommend a diet high in calcium-rich foods such as dairy and green, leafy vegetables.Which of the following, if true, most strongly suggests that following the researchers' recommendation would NOT be effective?
Company X conducted a taste test to determine whether its new soft drink had a good chance of commercial success. A sample of consumers was asked to compare the flavor of the new soft drink to that of an established brand without knowing the true identity of either beverage. Overwhelmingly, the consumers preferred the taste of the proposed soft drink to that of the established brand. Clearly, Company X has a good chance of commercial success with its new soft drink.Which of the following, if true, would most seriously weaken the argument above?
According to a study concerning environmental economics, any manufacturer that offers an environmentally sound lawnmower, such as a manual push mower, will almost certainly reap a huge profit because consumers say that they want a mower that requires neither gasoline nor electricity. A spokesman for the trade association of gasoline lawnmower manufacturers asserted that this claim had little factual support.Which of the following, if true, would best support the claim made by the spokesperson?
Any government action that intrudes on the right of privacy of an individual is unconstitutional. Therefore, the requirement that students in public school submit to random locker searches is unconstitutional.Which of the following, if true, most weakens the conclusion that random locker searches in public schools are unconstitutional?
Antoine: The alarming fact is that among children aged 19 years and younger, the number taking antipsychotic medicines soared 73 percent in the last four years. That is greater than the increase in the number of adults taking antipsychotic medicines during the same period.Lucy: But the use of antipsychotic drugs by adults is considered normal at the current rate of 11 adults per 1,000 taking the drugs. In contrast, the number of children on antipsychotic medication last year was 6.6 per 1,000 children.Lucy's argument is structured to lead to which of the following as a conclusion?
Consumer advocate: Ephedra is a naturally occurring compound that some people use as a weight-loss aid. Recently, the government prohibited the sale of dietary supplements containing ephedra on the grounds that ephedra has been shown to have grave side effects. This prohibition is unreasonable. Echinacea is another natural compound that has been shown to have side effects, yet echinacea is widely available at health food stores.The consumer advocate's argument depends on which of the following assumptions?
More and more companies have begun to consume less energy by making themselves more efficient. Over time, these efforts could place the United States at the forefront of an emerging global market for cleaner technologies. Such efforts are also essential to tackling the two big energy-related issues of the age: global warming and the dependence on precarious supplies of oil. The federal government should encourage these efforts by providing the necessary incentives, whether as loans, direct grants or targeted tax breaks.Which of the following, if true, provides the most effective support for the argument?