|
|
Social scientists are underrepresented on the advisory councils of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Since these councils advise NIH directors and recommend policy, the underrepresentation of social scientists results in a relative lack of NIH financial support for research in the social sciences.If the statements above are correct, they most strongly support which of the following?
|
|
|
Among the more effective kinds of publicity that publishers can get for a new book is to have excerpts of it published in a high-circulation magazine soon before the book is published. The benefits of such excerption include not only a sure increase in sales but also a fee paid by the magazine to the book's publisher.Which of the following conclusions is best supported by the information above?
|
|
|
To prevent some conflicts of interest, Congress could prohibit high-level government officials from accepting positions as lobbyists for three years after such officials leave government service. One such official concluded, however, that such a prohibition would be unfortunate because it would prevent high-level government officials from earning a livelihood for three years.The official's conclusion logically depends on which of the following assumptions?
|
|
|
Most consumers do not get much use out of the sports equipment they purchase. For example, 17 percent of the adults in the United States own jogging shoes, but only 45 percent of the owners jog more than once a yea, and only 17 percent jog more than once a week.Which of the following, if true, casts the most doubt on the claim that most consumers get little use out of the sports equipment they purchase?
|
|
|
A greater number of newspapers are sold in Town S than in Town T. Therefore, the citizens of Town S are better informed about major world events than are the citizens of Town T.Each of the following, if true, weakens the conclusion above EXCEPT:
|
|
|
Small-business groups are lobbying to defeat proposed federal legislation that would substantially raise the federal minimum wage. This opposition is surprising since the legislation they oppose would, for the first time, exempt all small businesses from paying any minimum wage.Which of the following, if true, would best explain the opposition of small-business groups to the proposed legislation?
|
|
PREP07 Test 2
|
An unusually severe winter occurred in Europe after the continent was blanketed by a blue haze resulting from the eruption of the Laki Volcano in the European republic of Iceland in the summer of 1984. Thus, it is evident that major eruptions cause the atmosphere to become cooler than it would be otherwise.Which of the following statements, if true, most seriously weakens the argument above?
|
|
|
Networks of blood vessels in bats' wings serve only to disperse heat generated in flight. This heat is generated only because bats flap their wings. Thus paleontologists' recent discovery that the winged dinosaur Sandactylus had similar networks of blood vessels in the skin of its wings provides evidence for the hypothesis that Sandactylus flew by flapping its wings, not just by gliding.The argument in the passage relies on which of the following assumptions?
|
|
|
In order to finance road repairs, the highway commission of a certain state is considering a 50 percent increase in the 10-cents-per-mile toll for vehicles using its toll highway. The highway commissioner claims that the toll increase will increase the annual revenue generated by the toll highway by at least 50 percent per year.Which of the following is an assumption on which the highway commissioner's claim depends?
|
|
|
Environmentalist: The commissioner of the Fish and Game Authority would have the public believe that increases in the number of marine fish caught demonstrate that this resource is no longer endangered. This is a specious argument, as unsound as it would be to assert that the ever-increasing rate at which rain forests are being cut down demonstrates a lack of danger to that resource. The real cause of the increased fish-catch is a greater efficiency in using technologies that deplete resources.Which of the following strategies is used in the presentation of the environmentalist's position?
|
|
OG12 OG15 OG16
|
Hotco oil burners, designed to be used in asphalt plants, are so efficient that Hotco will sell one to the Clifton Asphalt plant for no payment other than the cost savings between the total amount the asphalt plant actually paid for oil using its former burner during the last two years and the total amount it will pay for oil using the Hotco burner during the next two years. On installation, the plant will make an estimated payment, which will be adjusted after two years to equal the actual cost savings.Which of the following, if it occurred, would constitute a disadvantage for Hotco of the plan described above?
|
|
|
The average life expectancy for the United States population as a whole is 73.9 years, but children born in Hawaii will live an average of 77 years, and those born in Louisiana, 71.7 years. If a newlywed couple from Louisiana were to begin their family in Hawaii, therefore, their children would be expected to live longer than would be the case if the family remained in Louisiana.Which of the following, if true, would most seriously weaken the conclusion drawn in the passage?
|
|
|
"Fast cycle time" is a strategy of designing a manufacturing organization to eliminate bottlenecks and delays in production. Not only does it speed up production, but it also ensures quality. The reason is that the bottlenecks and delays cannot be eliminated unless all work is done right the first time.The claim about quality made above rests on a questionable presupposition that
|
|
PREP07 Test 1 PREP2012
|
According to the Tristate Transportation Authority, making certain improvements to the main commuter rail line would increase ridership dramatically. The authority plans to finance these improvements over the course of five years by raising automobile tolls on the two highway bridges along the route the rail line serves. Although the proposed improvements are indeed needed, the authority's plan for securing the necessary funds should be rejected because it would unfairly force drivers to absorb the entire cost of something from which they receive no benefit.Which of the following, if true, would cast the most doubt on the effectiveness of the authority's plan to finance the proposed improvements by increasing bridge tolls?
|
|
GWD
|
Charcoal from a hearth site in Colorado, 2,000 miles south of Alaska, is known to be 11,200 years old. Researchers reasoned that, since glaciers prevented human migration south from the Alaska-Siberia land bridge between 18,000 and 11,000 years ago, humans must have come to the Americas more than 18,000 years ago.Which of the following pieces of new evidence would cast doubt on the conclusion drawn above?
|
|
GWD PREP08 Test 1
|
Kate: The recent decline in numbers of the Tennessee warbler, a North American songbird that migrates each fall to coffee plantations in South America, is due to the elimination of the dense tree cover that formerly was a feature of most South American coffee plantations.Scott: The population of the spruce budworm, the warbler's favorite prey in North America, has been dropping. This is a more likely explanation of the warbler's decline.Which of the following, if true, most seriously calls Scott's hypothesis into question?
|
|
GWD
|
Business Analyst: National Motors began selling the Luxora-its new model of sedan-in June. Last week, National released sales figures for the summer months of June, July, and August that showed that by the end of August only 80,000 Luxoras had been sold. Therefore, National will probably not meet its target of selling 500,000 Luxoras in the model's first twelve months.Which of the following would be most useful to establish in order to evaluate the analyst's prediction?
|
|
OG15 OG16 OG17 GWD OG18 OG19
|
By competing with rodents for seeds, black ants help control rodent populations that pose a public health risk. However, a very aggressive species of black ant, the Loma ant, which has recently invaded a certain region, has a venomous sting that is often fatal to humans. Therefore, the planned introduction into that region of ant flies, which prey on Loma ants, would benefit public health.Which of the following, if true, most strengthens the argument?
|
|
|
A product that represents a clear technological advance over competing products can generally command a high price. Because technological advances tend to be quickly surpassed and companies want to make large profits while they still can, many companies charge the greatest price the market will bear when they have such a product. But large profits on the new product will give competitors a strong incentive to quickly match the new product's capabilities. Consequently, the strategy to maximize overall profit from a new product is to charge less than the greatest possible price.In the argument above, the two portions in boldface play which of the following roles?
|
|
GWD PREP08 Test 1
|
In the United States, of the people who moved from one state to another when they retired, the percentage who retired to Florida has decreased by three percentage points over the past ten years. Since many local businesses in Florida cater to retirees, this decline is likely to have a noticeably negative economic effect on these businesses.Which of the following, if true, most seriously weakens the argument?
|