The rate of smoking, globally, is higher now than ever before. In fact, 20% more people smoke today than did 20 years ago. In the nation of Ebano, 20% of people smoke; in Paisi, 25%. And in the last twenty years, the number of people who smoke increased by 13% in Kitton and 27% in Kappa.

Which of the following conclusions can most properly be drawn from the information above?

While our nation's law enforcement can search our bodily persons in public if they have just cause, they can search our homes only if they have a signed warrant. Therefore, our nation's law enforcement should be able to search our electronic communications only if they have a signed warrant.

The conclusion above would be more reasonably drawn if which of the following were inserted into the argument as an additional premise?

The average distance between the Earth and the moon is approximately $3.8\times {10}^5$ kilometers. Which of the following is the closest to the average distance in feet? (1 kilometer is approximately $3.2\times {10}^4$ feet.)${10}^4$

The design of an article of clothing generally cannot be patented, but functional aspects or devices attached to clothing or included as attributes of clothing can usually be patented. Therefore, the design of a website selling fashion accessories should not be patentable, but the programming of that website, it if is unique, should be patentable.

Which of the following statements, if true, would most strengthen the argument above?

In most countries, lower taxes stimulate economic growth, which is an increase of the capacity of an economy to produce goods and services. In the nation of Tattua, economic growth is significantly higher than it is in the nation of Hothal. Clearly, therefore, Tattua's industries must, on the whole, be further advanced technologically than Hothal's are.

The argument is most vulnerable to which of the following criticisms?

A legal service bills p dollars for the first hour of service on a task and q dollars for each additional hour, where $p>q$. If the client requires a specific number of hours h of service, how does the amount billed to the client change if the work is broken up into n tasks rather than one task?

Analyst: In our nation's television news programs, the number of stories aired about armed conflicts in Africa was much lower last year than it had been previously. Several armed conflicts have been fully or partly resolved with ceasefire agreements, so it is probable that the low number of articles is due to a decline in armed conflict in Africa.

Which of the following, if true, most seriously undermines the analyst's argument?

Citing hard-to-predict sudden changes to the Earth's environment, a panel of advisors has urged the nation to implement an early warning system, conduct further research of threats, and building a capability to respond to these disruptions.

Which of the following inequalities is an algebraic expression for the shaded part of the number line above?

Mixture A of spices is 60 percent parsley and 40 percent oregano by weight. Mixture B of spices is 25 percent parsley and 75 percent thyme. If a mixture of A and B contains 35 percent parsley, approximately what percent of the weight of the mixture is A?

A quark-gluon plasma, a hypothesized phase of quantum chromodynamics of interest to physicists, is supposed to exist at conditions of extremely high temperature or density that never naturally occur on Earth. The conditions engendering quark-gluon plasma were thought to have occurred in the first hundred microseconds or so of the universe. It follows that physicists will never be able to observe quark-gluon plasma.

Which of the following, if true, most seriously weakens the argument above?

A major car company experienced a drop in sales in the month following the publication of a widely read review of the latest model, which asserted the new model was of low quality. The company also received numerous complaints from consumers who had read the review. The company, nevertheless, insists that negative reactions to the review had nothing to do with the company's subsequent drop in sales.

Which of the following, if true, most strongly supports the company's position?