CR – Flaw in the Reasoning (Special Set 1) 1

Critical Reasoning
FLAW IN THE REASONING
Special Set 1

1. Giselle: The government needs to ensure that the public consumes less petroleum. When things cost more, people
buy and use less of them. Therefore, the government should raise the sales tax on gasoline, a major petroleum
product.
Antoine: The government should not raise the sales tax on gasoline. Such an increase would be unfair to gasoline
users. If taxes are to be increased, the increases should be applied in such a way that they spread the burden of
providing the government with increased revenues among many people, not just the users of gasoline.

As a rebuttal of Giselle's argument, Antoine's response is ineffective because

A he ignores the fact that Giselle does not base her argument for raising the gasoline sales tax on the government's
need for increased revenues
B he fails to specify how many taxpayers there are who are not gasoline users
C his conclusion is based on an assertion regarding unfairness, and unfairness is a very subjective concept
D he mistakenly assumes that Giselle wants a sales tax increase only on gasoline
E he makes the implausible assumption that the burden of increasing government revenues can be more evenly
distributed among the people through other means besides increasing the gasoline sales tax

2. The idea that parents should be given choices in the material taught to their children in nursery school should be
dropped. The parents who want to control the information presented to their young children in pre-school and nursery
school are never happy. For example, last year, one set of parents was angry that their 5-year old twins were not piano
prodigies by the time they started public kindergarten. Their preschool class had been exposed to some basic music
classes and the parents said that those classes should have made their children piano prodigies.

There is a problem with the above argument. The flaw is that it

A misrepresents ideas advocated by opponents.

B assumes the conclusion is true in stating the premise.
C does not discuss the idea being argued but instead attacks parents who support the idea.
D does not define “happy.”
E summarizes a position the argument is directed toward discrediting.

3. The 1980s have been characterized as a period of selfish individualism that threatens the cohesion of society. But this
characterization is true of any time. Throughout history all human actions have been motivated by selfishness. When
the deeper implications are considered, even the simplest “unselfish” acts prove to be instances of selfish concern for
the human species.

Which one of the following is a flaw in the argument?

A The claim that selfishness has been present throughout history is not actually relevant to the argument.
B No statistical evidence is provided to show that humans act selfishly more often than they act unselfishly.
C The argument assumes that selfishness is unique to the present age.
D The argument mentions only humans and does not consider the behavior of other species.
E The argument relies on two different uses of the term “selfish.”
 CR – Flaw in the Reasoning (Special Set 1) 2

4. Advertisement: Anyone who exercises knows from firsthand experience that exercise leads to better
performance of such physical organs as the heart and the lungs, as well as to improvement in muscle tone. And
since your brain is a physical organ, your actions can improve its performance, too. Act now. Subscribe to
Stimulus: read the magazine that exercises your brain.

The advertisement employs which one of the following argumentative strategies?

A It cites experimental evidence that subscribing to the product being advertised has desirable consequences.
B It ridicules people who do not subscribe to Stimulus by suggesting that they do not believe that exercise will
improve brain capacity.
C It explains the process by which the product being advertised brings about the result claimed for its use.
D It supports its recommendation by a careful analysis of the concept of exercise.
E It implies that brains and muscle are similar in one respect because they are similar in another respect.

5. Democracy is the best form of government yet created. Therefore, we must be vigilant in its defense; that is, we
must be prepared to defend the right to freedom. Because this right is fundamental to any progressive form of
government, it is clear that democracy is better than any other form of government.

Which one of the following illustrates the same flawed reasoning as found in the passage?

A I never get a headache when I eat only Chinese food, nor when I drink only wine. But when I eat Chinese food
and drink wine, I get a headache. So the combination of the two must be the cause of my headaches.
B The two times I have gone to that restaurant something bad has happened. The first time the waiter dropped
a glass and it shattered all over the table. And after the second time I went there, I got sick. So why should I
go there again—something bad will just happen again.
C I would much rather live a life dedicated to helping my fellow man than one dedicated to gaining material
possessions and seeing my fellow man as a competitor. At the end of each day, the satisfaction of having
helped people is infinitely greater than the satisfaction of having achieved something material.
D I’m obsessed with volleyball; that’s why I play it constantly. I train seven days a week, and I enter every
tournament. Since I’m always playing it, I must be obsessed with it.
E In my academic studies, I have repeatedly changed majors. I decide to major in each new subject that I’m
introduced to. Just as a bee lights from one flower to the next, tasting the nectar of each, I jump from one
subject to the next getting just a taste of each.

6. A survey of alumni of the class of 1960 at Aurora University yielded puzzling results. When asked to indicate their
academic rank, half of the respondents reported that they were in the top quarter of the graduating class in
1960.

Which one of the following most helps account for the apparent contradiction above?

A A disproportionately large number of high-ranking alumni responded to the survey.

B Few, if any, respondents were mistaken about their class rank.
C Not all the alumni who were actually in the top quarter responded to the survey.
D Almost all of the alumni who graduated in 1960 responded to the survey.
E Academic rank at Aurora University was based on a number considerations in addition to average grades.
 CR – Flaw in the Reasoning (Special Set 1) 3

7. A medical journal used a questionnaire survey to determine whether a particular change in its format would
increase its readership. Sixty-two percent of those who returned the questionnaire supported that change. On
the basis of this outcome, the decision was made to introduce the new format.

Which one of the following, if it were determined to be true, would provide the best evidence that the journal’s
decision will have the desired effect?

A Of the readers who received questionnaires, 90 percent returned them.

B Other journals have based format changes on survey results.
C The percentage of surveyed readers who like the format change was almost the same as the percentage of
the entire potential readership who would like the format change.
D It was determined that the new format would be less costly than the old format.
E Ninety percent of the readers who were dissatisfied with the old format and only 50 percent of the readers
who liked the old format returned their questionnaires.

8. When workers do not find their assignments challenging, they become bored and so achieve less than their
abilities would allow. On the other hand, when workers find their assignments too difficult, they give up and so
again achieve less than what they are capable of achieving. It is, therefore, clear that no worker’s full potential
will ever be realized.

Which one of the following is an error of reasoning contained in the argument?

A mistakenly equating what is actual and what is merely possible

B assuming without warrant that a situation allows only two possibilities
C relying on subjective rather than objective evidence
D confusing the coincidence of two events with a causal relation between the two
E depending on the ambiguous use of a key Term

9. Clearly, the strict policy adopted by prestigious Central University against cheating has worked. Since the
university implemented its “no tolerance for cheating” policy two years ago, no student has dared to risk the
harsh consequences for cheating. Central University has threatened to immediately shut down all competitive
athletic activities if any student is caught cheating on an exam. Because students don’t want to incur the wrath
of the university and their fellow students, no has been caught cheating on an exam since the policy was
implemented. This proves that the policy works.

Which of the following selections points out a flaw in the author’s reasoning?

A Central University’s athletic programs account for a significant percentage of the university’s annual budget.
B Considering the problems Central University experienced in the years preceding the “no tolerance for
cheating” policy, it is impossible to predict that students will never again cheat on exams at Central
University.
C A teacher could accuse a student of cheating who is innocent, for instance, if a student’s examination on
computer disk was inadvertently copied onto another student’s disk during the grading process; this could
trigger a shut-down of athletic activities.
D Students have cheated in more sneaky ways outside of classroom exams, for example, by students
paraphrasing their classmates’ book reports.
E It is impossible to tell whether cheating incidents disappeared due to another reason, i.e., perhaps teachers
implemented classroom testing procedures which made it extremely difficult to cheat on classroom tests.
 CR – Flaw in the Reasoning (Special Set 1) 4

10. To score in the ninetieth percentile on the GMAT, one must study hard. If one studies four hours a day for one
month, she will score in the ninetieth percentile. Hence, if a person scored in the top ten percent on the GMAT,
then she must have studied at least four hours a day for one month.

Which one of the following most accurately describes the weakness in the above argument?

A The argument fails to take into account that not all test-prep books recommend studying four hours a day
for one month.
B The argument does not consider that excessive studying can be counterproductive.
C The argument does not consider that some people may be able to score in the ninetieth percentile though
they studied less than four hours a day for one month.
D The argument fails to distinguish between how much people should study and how much they can study.
E The author fails to realize that the ninetieth percentile and the top ten percent do not mean the same thing.

11. The significance of Monet’s work is reflected in a recent discussion of art more than it was in his own descriptions.
He is, usually, considered a founding member of French impressionists. Thus, his descriptions are unlikely to do
more than confirm what he thought to be true.

Which one of the following most accurately describes a questionable technique used in the argument?

A It cites two pieces of evidence, each of which is both questionable and unverifiable, and uses this evidence
to support its conclusions.
B It uses the descriptions from a famous artist to support its conclusions.
C It attempts to establish the validity of a claim, which is otherwise unsupported, by denying the truth of the
opposite of that claim.
D It bases a conclusion on two premises that contradict each other and minimize this contradiction by the
vagueness of the terms employed.
E It draws conclusions about the merit of a position from evidence about the position’s source.

12. Good medical care for all citizens is a national problem. Older people are running out of Medicare benefits and
poor people are running out of Medicaid benefits. Also, it is not uncommon for people who do have insurance
to run up bills above their insurance limits. But additional government funding is not the solution. Medical care
is available at free clinics. So, the claim that people cannot get good medical care is wrong.

That medical care is a problem figures in the discussion in which one of the following ways?

A It is compatible either with accepting the conclusion or with denying it.

B It suggests an alternative perspective to the one in the argument.
C It sets out a problem the argument is designed to resolve.
D It summarizes a position the argument is directed toward discrediting.
E It is required to establish the conclusion.