LR-Critical Reasoning - Test

Electricity would revolutionize agriculture according to a prediction of the not-so-distant future published in 1940. Electrodes would be inserted into the soil, and the current between them would kill bugs and weeds and make crop plants stronger.

Which of the following, if true, most strongly indicates that the logic of the prediction above is flawed?

1 Mark(s)

In order for farmers to avoid electric shock while working in the fields, the current could be turned off at such times without diminishing the intended effects
If the proposed plan for using electricity were put into practice, farmers would save on chemicals now being added to the soil.
It cannot be taken for granted that the use of electricity is always beneficial.
Since weeds are plants, electricity would affect weeds in the same way as it would affect crop plants.
ecause a planting machine would need to avoid coming into contact with the electrodes, new parts for planting machines would need to be designed.

A drug that is highly effective in treating many types of infection can, at present, be obtained only from the bark of the ibora, a tree that is quite rare in the wild. It takes the bark of 5,000 trees to make one kilogram of the drug. It follows, therefore, that continued production of the drug must inevitably lead to the ibora's extinction.

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

1 Mark(s)

The drug made from ibora bark is dispensed to doctors from a central authority.
The drug made from ibora bark is expensive to produce.
The leaves of the ibora are used in a number of medical products.
The ibora can be propagated from cuttings and grown under cultivation.
The ibora generally grows in largely inaccessible places.

The Maxilux car company's design for its new luxury model, the Max 100, included a special design for the tires. That was intended to complement the model's image. The winning bid for supplying these tires was submitted by Rubco. Analysts concluded that the bid would only just cover Rubco's costs on the tires, but Rubco executives claim that winning the bid will actually make a profit for the company.

Which of the following, if true, most strongly justifies the claim made by Rubco's executives?

1 Mark(s)

In any Maxilux model, the spare tire is exactly the same make and model as the tires that are mounted on the wheels
Rubco holds exclusive contracts to supply Maxilux with the tires for a number ofother models made by Maxilux.
he production facilities for the Max 100and thosefor thetires to be supplied by Rubco are located very near each other.
When people who have purchased a carefully designed luxury automobile need to replace a worn part of it, they almost invariably replace it with a part of exactly the same make and type.
When Maxilux awardedthe tire contract to Rubco, the only criterion on which Rubcos bidwas clearly ahead of its competitors bids was price.

Last year the rate of inflation was 1.2 percent, but for the current year it has been 4 percent. We can conclude that inflation is on an upward trend and the rate will be still higher next year.

Which of the following, if true, most seriously weakensthe conclusion above?

1 Mark(s)

The inflation figures were computed onthe basis of a representative sampleof economic data rather than all of the available data.
Last year a dip in oil prices brought inflation temporarily below its recent stable annual level of 4 percent.
Increases in the pay of some workers are tied to the level of inflation, and at an inflation rate of 4 percent or above, these pay raises constitute a force causing further inflation.
The 1.2 percent rate of inflation last year represented a 10-year low.
Government intervention cannot affect the rate of inflation to any significant degree.

An industry wants to change its policy concerning daily working hours. Currently, this company requires all employees to arrive at work at 7 a.m. The proposed policy would permit each employee to decide when to arrive-from as early as 5 a.m. to as late as 10 a.m.

The adoption of this policy would be most likely to decrease employees’ productivity if the employees’ job functions required them to

1 Mark(s)

work without interruption from other employees
consult at least once a day with employees from other companies
submit their work for a supervisor’s eventual approval
interact frequently with each other throughout the entire workday
undertake projects that take several days to complete

For similar carsand comparable drivers, automobile insurance for collision damage has always costmore in Great port than in Fairmont. Police studies, however, show thatcars owned by Greatport residents are, on average, slightly less likely to be involved in a collision than cars in Fairmont. Clearly, therefore, insurance companies are making a greater profit on collision-damage insurance in Greatportthan in Fairmont.

In evaluating the argument, it would be most useful to compare

1 Mark(s)

the level of traffic congestion in Greatport with the level oftraffic congestion in Fairmont
the cost of repairing collision damage in Great port with the cost of repairing collision damage in Fairmont
the rates Greatport residents pay for other forms ofinsurance with the rates paid for similar insurance by residents of Fairmont
the condition of Greatports roads and streets with the condition of Fairmonts roads and streets
the cost of collision-damage insurance in Greatport and Fairmont with that in other cities

In an effort to curb drug abuse, the government has imposed strict laws to prosecute the dealers. However, such an initiative is unlikely to be effective. Prosecuting dealers will lead to a shortage of drugs. At the same time, because no efforts are being taken to curb demand, drugs will be sold at a premium, attracting more people to the very remunerative job of drug dealing. Therefore, to effectively reduce drug abuse, the government will have to prosecute the drug users and not dealers.

Which of the following is the most relevant information in evaluating the credibility of the argument?

1 Mark(s)

Whether efforts have been successfully taken in any other country to regulate drug users.
Whether the payoff from selling drugs outweighs the severity of the punishment
Whether drugs will continue to be sold at a premium when there are dealers in the market again
Whether the majority of the users will be willing to pay a premium to continue to use the drugs
Whether the government will be able to keep track of new dealers as and when they enter the market

In order to reduce the number of items damaged while in transit to customers, packaging consultants recommended that the TrueSave mail-order company increase the amount of packing material so as to fill any empty spaces in its cartons. Accordingly, TrueSave officials instructed the company's packers to use more packing material than before, and the packers zealously acted on these instructions and used as much as they could. Nevertheless, customer reports of damaged items rose somewhat.

Which ofthe following, if true, mosthelps to explain why acting onthe consultants' recommendation failed to

achieve its goal?

1 Mark(s)

The change in packing policy ledto an increase in expenditure on packing material and labor.
When packing material is compressed too densely, it loses some of its capacityto absorb shock.
The amount of packing material used in a carton does not significantly influence the ease with which a customer can unpack the package.
Most of the goods that TrueSave shipsare electronic products that are highly vulnerable to being damaged in transit.
True Save has lost some of its regular customers as a result of the high number of damaged items they received

The tulu, a popular ornamental plant, does not reproduce naturally, and isonly bred and sold by specialized horticultural companies. Unfortunately, thetulu is easily devastated by a contagious fungal rot. The government ministry plans to reassure worried gardeners by requiring all tulu plants to betested for fungal rot before being sold. However, infected plants less than 30 weeks old have generally notbuilt up enough fungal rot in their systems to be detected reliably. And many tulu plants are sold before they are 24 weeks old.

Which of the following, if performed bythe government ministry, could logically be expected to overcome the problem with their plan to test for the fungal rot?

1 Mark(s)

Releasing a general announcement that tulu plants less than 30 weeks old cannot be effectively tested for fungal rot
Requiring all tulu plants less than 30 weeks old to be labeled as such
Researching possible ways to test tulu plants less than 24 weeks old for fungal rot
Ensuring that tulu plants not be sold before they are 30 weeks old
Quarantining all tulu plants from horticultural companies at which any case of fungal rot has been detected until those tulu plants can be tested for fungal rot

Wood smoke contains dangerous toxins that cause changes in human cells. Because wood smoke presents such a high health risk, legislation is needed to regulate the use of open-air fires and wood-burning stoves.

Which of the following, if true, provides the most support for the argument above?

1 Mark(s)

The amount of dangerous toxins contained inwood smoke is much less than the amount contained in an equal volume of automobile exhaust.
Within the jurisdiction covered by the proposed legislation, most heating and cooking is done with oil or natural gas.
Smoke produced by coal-burning stoves is significantly more toxic than smoke from wood-burning stoves
No significant beneficial effect on air quality would result if open-air fires were banned within the jurisdiction covered by the proposed legislation
In valleys where wood is used as the primary heating fuel, the concentration of smoke results in poor air quality

LR-Critical Reasoning - Test - 1 : Question 1 of 10