Critical Reasoning Practice Test: Arguments and Inferences
A comprehensive practice test covering essential critical reasoning skills including identifying assumptions, drawing inferences, strengthening and weakening arguments, analyzing logical consistency, and recognizing parallel reasoning patterns.
Questions
After a rebellion in a certain country was put down, the country's parliament debated how to deal with defeated rebels. One side proposed that all the rebels be imprisoned in order to deter those who might be strongly tempted to rebel in the future. The other side argued against imprisonment because it would only discourage future insurrectionists from surrender.
Both positions logically depend on the assumption that
- imprisonment is a harsh penalty
- a rebel will prefer a sentence of imprisonment to death
- there will be no future rebellion in country
- it is unlikely that future rebels will surrender
- a rebellion can be put down by force
Identify the respect in which these two items are similar.
The relation between an enzyme and its substrate is like the relationship between a lock and a key. Just as each key acts only upon a specific lock, so each enzyme acts only upon a specific substrate. Thus, no enzyme is an all-purpose tool.
- An enzyme acts only upon a specific substrate and it is not an all-purpose tool.
- A key acts only upon a specific lock and it is not an all-purpose tool.
- An enzyme acts only upon a specific substrate and it is a key.
- A key acts only upon a specific lock and it is an all-purpose tool.
Despite the system in the hospitals having repeatedly failed, we still have been to expect 'good' services. And this means asking for something as basic as prompt treatment for an accident victim.
What may be inferred from the above statement?
- It would be a surprise if the accident victims are treated, as they are generally not treated.
- The hospitals have improved their services and will thereby be more efficient too.
- We should not lose hope in the system, just because of its system, as it will take some more time for the services to become “good”.
- We cannot expect the hospital services to give treatment to accident victims, because these become police cases.
One theory of the Moon's origin is that the Earth, early in its development, was rapidly rotating body of molten rock in which most of the iron had settled to the core; some of this fluid was cast off from the surface of the spinning mass and later solidified to form the Moon.
Which of the following statements can be most directly inferred from the above?
- The Moon is the only sizeable heavenly body in orbit around the Earth.
- The Moon has proportionally less iron at its core than the Earth does.
- The surface of Moon solidified after the surface of the Earth did.
- Most of the fluid cast off from the Earth was dispersed into outer space.
- All matter on Earth in its early stages of development was in a liquid state.
Directions: Refer to the given information and answer the following question.
Speaker: A great majority of people in this city have access to the best medical care available anywhere in the world.
Opposition: There are thousands of poor in this city who cannot afford to pay to see a doctor.
Which of the following is true of the opposition's comment?
- It constitutes a hasty generalization on few examples.
- It cites statistical evidence which tends to corroborate the views of the speaker.
- It tries to compare two unrelated data and draws a contrary conclusion.
- It is not necessarily inconsistent with the speaker's remarks.
- It pinpoints the contradiction in the speaker's comment.
Directions: Refer to the given information and answer the following question.
Speaker: A great majority of people in this city have access to the best medical care available anywhere in the world.
Opposition: There are thousands of poor in this city who cannot afford to pay to see a doctor.
A possible objection that opposition could have fielded to the speaker's comments would be to point to the existence of
- a city which has more doctors than this city
- a city in which people are given better medical care than this city
- a city which has a higher per capita hospital bed than this city
- the amount spent on medical insurance for people of this city
- a corresponding fall in the quality of medical care
United States advertising agencies are increasingly using interviews at shopping malls, called, “mall intercepts” to test for advertising effectiveness, products viability, and consumer buying habits. Critics of mall intercepts maintain that the shopping habits of mall shoppers are not representative of those of the larger populations.
Which of the following argument most strengthens the viewpoint of the critics?
- Some mall shoppers patronize more than one mall in any given shopping trip.
- Mall shoppers, on average, spend 50 percent more time shopping than shoppers at other locations do.
- In the course of any year, 95 percent of all households in the United States have at least one member who does some shopping at a mall.
- Mall shopper who use public transportation to reach the mall tend to have lower incomes than mall shoppers who drive to the mall.
The right to vote under humane conditions is a fundamental right of all people in India. Therefore, all men and women have the right to a vote and are entitled to equal right in selecting the candidate.
Which of the following arguments most closely parallels the reasoning of the argument above?
- The expression of fear is a natural instinct of human beings who feel threatened. Therefore, Vipul is not to be blamed for expressing fear when he felt threatened.
- Ronit is one of the most honest legislative leaders ever to serve this slate. Therefore, Ronit could not have committed the dishonest acts of which he has been accused.
- The Bill of Rights protects the free practice of religion in this country. Therefore, all people have the right to worship God in a manner of their own choosing.
- Children are human beings who have the potential for adult behavior. Therefore, any right or privilege that is granted to adults ought, in fairness, to be granted to children as well.
- Since queen bee contributes nothing to the collection of honey, all honey is collected by worker bees only.
According to McNeill, a Brahmin priest was expected to be able to recite at least one of the Vedas. The practice was essential for several centuries when the Vedas had not yet been written down. It must have had a selective effect, since priests would have been recruited from those able or willing to memorise long passages. It must have helped in the dissemination of the work, since a memorised passage can be duplicated many times.
Which one of the following can be inferred from the above passage?
- Reciting the Vedas was a Brahmin's obligation.
- The Vedic priest was like a recorded audio-cassette.
- McNeill studied the behaviour of Brahmin priests.
- Vedic hymns had not been scripted.
- Vedas were the most important scriptures of the Hindus.
Angler: Fish such as suckers, shiners, and chubs are neither fun to catch nor good to eat. They should be eliminated from mountain pound to make way for trout.
Fish and Game Commissioner: The state's policy is to preserve any aquatic ecosystems that are indigenous to a given area. Interfering with fish population in these ponds would violate this policy.
Which of the following, if true, would cast most doubt on the Fish and Game Commissioner's position that the angler's proposal is a violation of state policy?
- The suckers, shiners, and chubs in mountain ponds are descendants of fish brought to those ponds by anglers for use as bait in catching the once abundant trout.
- The state's policy of preserving natural aquatic ecosystems favors the interest and hobbies of one group of people over those of other groups.
- Suckers, shiners and chubs are dull, unattractive fish with none of the graceful beauty of trout.
- People who fish in mountain ponds have an appreciation of nature than do people who never visit such areas.
- In the past there have been many exceptions to the state policy.
A ten-year comparison between India and China in terms of crop yields per acre revealed that when only planted acreage is compared, Chinese yields are equal to 60 percent of India yields. When total agricultural acreage (planted acreage plus fallow acreage) is compared, however, Chinese yield is 110 percent of India's yield.
From the information above, which of the following can be most reliably inferred about India and Chinese agriculture during the ten-year period?
- A higher percentage of total agricultural acreage was fallow in India than in China.
- India had more fallow acreage than planted acreage.
- Fewer total acres of available agricultural land were fallow in China than in India.
- China had more planted acreage than fallow acreage.
- China had greater land mass than India and, therefore, had greater chances of increasing planted acerage by converting fallow acreage.
Developed countries have made adequate provisions for social security for senior citizens. State insurers (as well as private ones) offer medicare and pension benefits to people who can no longer earn. In India, with the collapse of the joint family system, the traditional shelter of family is not in a position to provide social security. So, it is advisable that the working population gives serious thought to building a financial base for itself.
Which one of the following, if it were to happen, weakens the conclusion drawn in the above passage the most?
- The investible income of the working population, as a proportion of its total income, will grow in the future.
- The insurance sector is underdeveloped and trends indicate that it will be extensively privatised in the future.
- India is on a path of development that will take it to the status of a developed country, with all its positive and negative implications.
- If the working population builds a stronger financial base, there will be a revival of the joint family system.
- Although the joint family system is on the decline, the value systems in India do not permit total abandonment of our elders, as is the case in certain developed countries.
Calcified bones marked with scratches other than tooth marks were discovered in Harrapa excavations, near some stone tools. This was used as evidence that the residents used stone tools because when bones were scratched using similar tools, the resulting scratches resembled the scratches found on the fossils. Therefore, stone tools had probably been used on the animal bones that became calcified.
Which of the following, if true, most seriously undermines the argument?
- The calcified bones with scratches are not as old as nearby found calcified bones found to have tooth marks.
- Periodic earth movements can produce scratches on buried bones that are similar to those on the fossils.
- Stone tools have been found in areas where nearby calcified bones were not scratched.
- The stone tools were too hard to be scratched by animal bones.
- Some carnivores used their paws, not their teeth to tear the flesh away.
Various studies have shown that our forested and hilly regions, and, in general, areas where biodiversity - - as reflected in the variety of flora - - is high, are the places where poverty appears to be high. And these same areas are also the ones where educational performance seems to be poor. Therefore, it may be surmised that, even disregarding poverty status, richness in biodiversity goes hand in hand with educational backwardness.
Which one of the following statements, if true, can be said to best provide supporting evidence for the surmise mentioned in the passage?
- In regions where there is little variety in flora, educational performance is seen to be as good as in regions with high variety in flora, when poverty levels are high.
- Regions, which show high biodiversity, also exhibit poor educational performance, at low levels of poverty.
- Regions, which show high biodiversity, reveal high levels of poverty and poor educational performance.
- In regions where there is low biodiversity, at all levels of poverty, educational performance is seen to be good.
- Regions with low bio-diversity, though having high levels of poverty, do not have such wide disparities in educational performance.
The changes made in the format of “Engineering Journal” are nothing but a myopic move by the management. By adding a new section “Books For Professional Readers,” opposite to the present section “Books For Your Enjoyment”, the editors think they will generate interest in the research and development that is taking place in industry and thereby increasing readership. This is not the case. The titles of the two sections suggest that research literature is not enjoyable reading, a suggestion that will repel the Monthly's readers from such literature. Thus, the audience will be less interested in research articles and literature and less able to distinguish serious research from some new offbeat ideas. The editors of the Monthly could have done better by maintaining status quo.
The author of the passage above assumes that the “Engineering Journal” readers will draw which of the following conclusions from the editors' change of the book-review format?
- The editors are attempting to stimulate the market for their magazine.
- Books reviewed in “Books for Professionals” will tend not to be enjoyable reading.
- A reader of serious literature has more discriminating tastes than other readers.
- A reader can enjoy serious literature as well as popular literature.